Hercule Poirot

1974 – Murder on the Orient Express

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
  • IMDb: link

Murder Mystery Monday takes us back to the 1930s and another case for the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express is one of the rare instances where I prefer the Kenneth Branagh version than the classic telling we received in 1974. Director Sidney Lumet assembles a well-known cast who all board a train for murder. However, from the very beginning of the film I have issues with how Lumet chose to frame the story revealing the importance of the Armstrong tragedy in several scenes and newspaper front pages that go on ad nauseam.

…

1974 – Murder on the Orient ExpressRead More »

1974 – Murder on the Orient Express Read More »

Poirot – Appointment with Death

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Poirot – Appointment with Death
  • IMDb: link

Murder Mystery Monday takes us back to early 20th Century London and another case for the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. “Appointment with Death” is a curious adaptation of the Agathe Christie novel of the same name involving the murder of a sadistic matriarch with an iron grip over her family. The adaption for Poirot makes a number of curious changes to the story including keeping the matriarch’s husband alive (his death, and the will left behind is the catalyst of all that comes afterwards) and changes the woman from being the family’s stepmother into one of two adoptive parents for all the various grown children.

…

Poirot – Appointment with DeathRead More »

Poirot – Appointment with Death Read More »

Poirot – Death on the Nile

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Poirot – Death on the Nile
  • IMDb: link

Murder Mystery Monday takes us back to early 20th Century London and another case for the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Despite a tighter budget than either of the feature film adaptations, Poirot‘s adaptation of Death on the Nile is the best of the bunch. Introducing, then quickly dispensing with, the the superfluous early bits of the story, the double-sized episode gets us to Egypt in less than 6 minutes, gets us on the boat in less than 20, and gets us to the fateful night where murder and shenanigans start occurring prior to the halfway-point of the episode allowing the majority of time to be set aside for Poirot (David Suchet) to solve a case where the two most obvious suspects have iron-clad alibis for the crime.

…

Poirot – Death on the NileRead More »

Poirot – Death on the Nile Read More »

Poirot – The Adventure of the Clapham Cook

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Agatha Christie’s Poirot – The Adventure of the Clapham Cook
  • IMDb: link

Murder Mystery Monday takes us back to early 20th Century London and another case for the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Adapted from one of Agatha Christie’s short stories chronicling Poirot’s early cases, “The Adventure of the Clapham Cook” offers Poirot (David Suchet) a case he believes is beneath him searching for a missing cook (Freda Dowie), and a client who promptly fires him well before the case is closed, only for the detective to stumble on a much larger mystery involving murder, fraud, and the theft of thousands from the local bank.

…

Poirot – The Adventure of the Clapham CookRead More »

Poirot – The Adventure of the Clapham Cook Read More »