Agatha Christie's "Poirot"

[Nick Charles]

AHHH! Honeysuckle Weeks ( Samantha Stewart) in Foyles War. I love Michael Kitchens dialouge delivery.

 

[Sunny]

Chalk up another Poirot lover! My mother got me hooked on Agatha Christie when I was in my impressionable teens. Wait - To be fair, I am/was an insatiable reader. She had them, they were available, so I read them! Anyway, between us we have almost everything she wrote.

She's also taped just about all of the David Suchet shows, too, upwards of 10 8-hour tapes, I think! I do so love the style in those. I actually bought a walking stick for my 15-year-old brother for Christmas - his request! He specifically wanted one with a handle, so he could hook it over the brim of his hat like Poirot does when Hastings is driving. He can imitate Poirot's walk, too, those small steps, moving the stick ahead, one hand behind his back.
lol

I have some audiobook .mp3s in which David Suchet reads some Poirot short stories. It's amazing to hear how much his voice changes when he switches from narrator to Poirot! For that matter, he does an excellent job of voices the other characters as well. He'd have been a good radio actor.

I also like the Miss Marple adaptations with Joan Hickson. It's funny, though, that in some of them the styles seem to be pretty good (Murder at the Vicarage comes to mind), but in others the women are definitely in the 1980s. I was really disappointed in The Moving Finger on that score. It's one of my favorites books, with three young women in it, and I was looking forward to seeing the different ways their characters were costumed. One especially was to be the height of town style. It's set during wartime, too, for more interest. But instead, the women are in 1980s style! Grr!

Nick Charles, isn't Death on the Nile a Peter Ustinov one? That's an excellent book. My brother (the same one with the stick) figured out the solution halfway through! Although he did have a day to think about it in the middle. He wants to grow up to be an FBI agent. I wonder why...

VanillaT, I thought that's who was in your avatar! Love it!

 

[Nick Charles]

david did Death on the Nile in 2004 its on DVD. I hated Ustinovs Poirot

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Death on the Nile, Thirteen at Dinner & Evil Under the Sun are three of several films with Peter Ustinov as Poirot. I enjoy them as much as Suchet's - they're just different interpretations of the same character. Some think Suchet's the only Poirot. Frankly, I like Ustinov's instilling a little humor into the character at times. I've even got the soundtrack CD from Evil Under the Sun. It's a great Cole Porter score. But Maggie Smith going toe to toe with Diana Rigg - a wonderful catfight or two. Thirteen at Dinner is probably the weakest. Peter Ustinov vs. Faye Dunaway...he hadn't a chance at hamming it up with her on-screen. I have to wonder - Thirteen - was that only the number of dinner guests or the count on her facelifts as well?

And there's also a new series (2 seasons) of Miss Marple, this time with Geraldine McEwan. Again, for many, Hickson's the only proper interpretation. Some love only Margaret Rutherford's somewhat bumbling fun performances as Marple. It took me an episode or two to adjust to McEwan as Marple - again, it's just another actor's interpretation of the role, and it grows on you. But what a surprise when Joanna Lumley (Patsy from AbFab) burst on-screen as Dolly Bantry in The Body in the Library!

20+ years ago, PBS also had Tommy & Tuppense Bereford in the Partners in Crime series - Christie's detecting duo set just after WWI. He's just back from the war, she's a flapper, so let the 20's roar. The characters also showed up in a couple of the Miss Marple books. I was a little let-down in the new Marple series in one of those stories where they didn't cast Francesa Annis & James Warwick as the older Tommy & Tuppence. They'd be just the right age, and a great tip-of-the-hat to the earlier series. Memo to self - give Geri McEwan a call... Oooo - it's now out on DVD!

And in a similar vein, Diana Rigg did one season of The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries for PBS a few years ago. Definitely worth a viewing. She's a 50ish divorcee/criminolgist/crime writer in the 1920's & 30's, traveling around England with her chauffer George solving murders. I think I've mentioned before - part of the fun with Mrs. Bradley is every now and then, she'll look dead into the camera to give those of us behind the 4th wall a little inside joke, quip, clue or comment. A young woman's body drops out of a fisherman's netful of fish - close-up of Rigg as she turns to the camera to say, "Well, there's a rather tragic kettle of fish!" and cue themesong - a 20's jazzy version of "You're the Cream in my Coffee."

But Christie's still the queen of mystery writers. Several completely different characters in terms of location & temperament - Jane Marple, Hercule Poirot, Tommy & Tuppence Beresford - in somewhat the same era - WWI up until the 50's - and a monumental output of books.

 

[Sunny]

I've seen both Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun, but only once and I don't remember them very well. I remember especially liking Colonel Race in the first. Good thing, because he's one of my favorite characters from the books. Wasn't he first in The Man in the Brown Suit? Christie must have liked him as well, to have worked him into other books. There are a couple of Poirots, as well as... let me see... Remembered Death. The one with "Anthony Brown." And I love soundtracks. Thanks for the tip!

How do you mean, Ustinov adding humor to Poirot? I thought that Suchet did that fairly often. A lot of times they did that by bringing Inspector Japp into the story. "Double Sin" is a really good one for that. And throughout Hickory Dickory Death they have a continued difference of opinion about food. lol

I saw one of the Tommy and Tuppence shows, but I may have been babysitting at the time - whatever I was doing, I wasn't able to pay close attention. It was the drug-smuggling one, though. The name escapes me. I'm glad to hear they're as good as I'd hoped; the first three of their books are among my all-time favorites. Too bad the later ones were kinda weird; all her books got a little strange in the sixties. It's interesting how she aged them realistically, unlike Poirot and Miss Marple. Which Miss Marple are they in? I know the "Was it your poor child?" incident really happened to Christie, so she worked it into at least two books.

Thanks for all the recommendations!

 

[jazzzbaby]

I've read a couple of the stories, and they are excellent--I've really enjoyed them!



I enjoy pretty much all of them as well. Have you seen the show "Drop Dead Gorgeous"? That's one of my favorites--the fashions were amazing

I haven't seen that one and now I am going to have to google it. I have loved a newer series called Rosemary & Thyme. It's set in modern times, and it's these two older gals that are gardeners (one is a prof. of horticulture and the other an ex copper) My daughter LOVES this show too. The scenery is amazing and really plays as much of a role as the two gals.

ALSO...I am happy to see I am not the only British Murder Mystery fanatic either. It will be fun to chat about these from time to time!

 

[Sunny]

My mother has been recording Rosemary & Thyme! I haven't had time to watch for myself yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I guess what I meant is Suchet adds humor at times, but not a whole lot of the time, whereas Ustinov plays it a little more tongue-in-cheek, a little more over the top. I guess I'd said Suchet plays it serious most of the time, while Ustinov plays it a little more fun most of the time.

 

[mysterygal]

Oh, I am a total British murder mystery FREAK! Totally addicted to ALL of them. As you can also see from my avatar!

they're the best! I love PBS for having some of them on late at night, between watching a great murder mystery or a great book, there's no better way to spend the last part of my night!

 

[moustache]

Here is a question i have regarding the Poirot series:

The building that he lives in is an architectural beauty!!!Where is this building?
Hopefully not a set facade.

I have every Poirot episdoe and am busy now transferring them to DVD.
The costumes are impeccable as are the vehicles and settings.

Peter Ustinov did a spledid job in my opinion.But Suchet really has that edge.
Similar to Jeremy Brett having the edge over Rathbone and others.

In all,one of THE best television series as regards sartorial and historical accuracy.

Jim in Vancouver,Wa

 

[Tomasso]

The building that he lives in is an architectural beauty!!!Where is this building?

It's stands off Charterhouse Square in London.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Hi, Moustache. I have heard that the producers scour England for actual sets. They do a grand job! Love this show. It's so soothing. I'm on the lookout for my own Captain Hastings

 

[moustache]

How grand!

Hi, Moustache. I have heard that the producers scour England for actual sets. They do a grand job! Love this show. It's so soothing. I'm on the lookout for my own Captain Hastings

They certainly do a delightful job finding such stately homes.

And i have no doubt your Hastings will arrive soon!!!!

JD

 

[The Reno Kid]

The newer Poirot series is absolutely outstanding. I like both actors, but the Suchet productions are much more fun to me. For me, the Ustinov/Suchet debate boils down to this: Ustinov played a fairly generic detective role that seemed to be more Ustinov than Poirot. Suchet transforms himself into the character as conceived by Christie. I would make a similar comparison between Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett.

Also, if you haven's seen them, you really should take a look at the series of three Dorothy L. Sayers mysteries with Edward Petherbridge as Lord Peter Wimsey. I really enjoyed the older Wimsey productions with Ian Carmichael, but Petherbridge really captures the character. Highly recommended!

 

[dhermann1]

The same goes double for Joan Hickson as Miss Marple, compared to Margaret Rutherford. Rutherford really made a caricature of Miss Marple, Hickson really had her soul. Agatha Christie herself once said that she hoped Hickson would play the role some day.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I prefer Suchet in the role as well. Perhaps this is partly due to the fact that I saw his version of Poirot first, but I feel that he adds a little something extra to the character.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Thanks to Amanda, Poirot is a new passion for me. It is simply not on often enough. I see it shows up on the Biography Channel from time to time and I always try to catch it.

Now, someone told me there's some novelizations out there... lol

 

[Feraud]

I am very fond of Suchet's Poirot.

fftopic: On an embarrassing note, I just recently watched my first episode of Foyle's War. What a great show!

 

[Brian Sheridan]

I think Suchet's performance is more subtle than the bombastic Ustiov.

To really get an understanding of Suchet's talents, get one of the Poirot audiobooks he narrates. He does all of the characters which is impressive.

 

[Sunny]

I think Suchet's performance is more subtle than the bombastic Ustiov.

To really get an understanding of Suchet's talents, get one of the Poirot audiobooks he narrates. He does all of the characters which is impressive.

Golly, I second that. He does a fantastic job of voicing all those parts. And his ordinary narration voice does just that - narrates the story - while itself just disappearing.