[Andrew999]

This month marks the 100th anniversary of the first appearance of Hercule Poirot in the UK (oddly, he was published in the US first three months earlier).

I'm not sure if there were any earlier Agatha Christie comic strips but most recently the genre was given a boost with 24 bande dessinee fom the 1990s onwards, 21 of which are available in English:

http://www.europeancomics.net/index.html?a=p&b=HarperCollins

HarperCollins should be shot for those dreadful covers - why not just use the more attractive French covers?

https://www.bedetheque.com/serie-10764-BD-Agatha-Christie-Emmanuel-Proust-Editions.html

Odd that - as far as I am aware - there was never a Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot newspaper strip in the UK - I'm guessing Agatha must have turned down many offers - perhaps fearing a loss of control of her characters.

[gregjh]

I still shudder at the name "Agatha Christie". When I was a kid, sometime in the very late 80s, my sister deliberately made me watch some of 'Miss Marple' on TV and it scared the living daylights out of me!

[paw broon]

It would be interesting to know which Miss Marple it was.  My wife and I are big fans of the Joan Hickson version and we've watched them often enough to act them. 

[The Australian Panther]

My Sister was and I think still is, a huge Christie Fan. She was in Europe in '77 and visited London for only a few days. But she made a point of seeing, 'The Mousetrap'. Anybody know if that play is still running or did lockdown finally close it down?

Cheers!     

[crashryan]

You know how events in our childhoods shape our lives? When I was in junior high school the family watched two Margaret Rutherford Miss Marple movies on television. I found the character incredibly grotesque. I lost any desire to explore Christie further. Later in life, my classic detective friends dismissed her as boring, reenforcing my prejudice. To this day I don't believe I've ever cracked open an Agatha Christie book or watched her adaptations on the screen, small or large. I don't say I'm proud of this, only that with so many things to read, old preconceptions linger when choosing what to read.

[The Australian Panther]

I lost any desire to explore Christie further. Later in life, my classic detective friends dismissed her as boring, re-enforcing my prejudice. To this day I don't believe I've ever cracked open an Agatha Christie book or watched her adaptations on the screen, small or large. 

You are not alone there Crash. When I was younger I felt exactly the same way about Christie. I haven't changed much. I will watch a Christie film, if one is on free-to-air TV, but wouldn't go to a theatre to watch one. Have occasionally watched an episode of Poirot. Wasn't impressed. Have never read any of the books, but I have read some of her short stories. I have tried, but never get past the first few pages. I once was stranded somewhere - don;t remember where and could only find a Christie novel to read. So I read it backwards. last chapter - whodunit. So we read to the front to find out what they did! Didn't improve it much.
I have to be careful not to pick up a Doyle Holmes book, because I will read the whole thing again. The prose is just so good.
One of the reasons Christie is still so well-known and popular is because the family protects and promotes her work, whereas other writers of the same period get no promotion and therefore go unrecognised.
Agatha Christie Estate Acquired By U.S.-Based Acorn Media
https://deadline.com/2012/02/agatha-christie-estate-acquired-by-u-s-based-acorn-media-237820/

I prefer my detective books to be more gritty and realistic.
I'm particularly fond of Noir works.

Cheers!
               

[profh0011]

Sometimes I think it's hilarious that while I have assembled a HUGE collection of Agatha Christie films and TV series over the last 40 years, I have never read even a single one of her stories.

For many years, i forgot what my first exposure to her work was, probably because, at the time, I had no idea it was hers, or who she was.  That was... "THE ALPHABET MURDERS".  This is a mid-60s "romp", with many known actors having too much fun in a story that rambles INCOHERENTLY and makes NEARLY NO SENSE, topped off by an inappropriate actor doing a terrible job portraying a badly-misconceived version of Hercule Poirot.  And the plot has virtually nothing in common with the novel it took its name from.  However, some years ago, while re-watching it, trying to give it another chance, I was completely floored when it got to the climax of the film, and an obscure plot point from the first 5 minutes of the story came back to BITE somebody in the ass.  My jaw dropped.  The writer of this atrocity... had actually been PAYING ATTENTION.  Never would have guessed.

The best scene in the entire film, by the way... is when Poirot (Tony Randall) has been released by the police after spending a night in jail... and as he's walking out of the police station... MISS MARPLE (Margaret Rutherford) and her pal are walking in, and discussing HIS case.  "It's perfectly obvious, anyone with half a brain could figure it out."  They stop, and look each other in the eyes.  And the look on HER face clearly shows that she thinks he's an IDIOT. 



My REAL introduction came some years later.  I saw the ads for "DEATH ON THE NILE", promoted big-time as a sequel to the immensely-successful "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS", which my parents had spectacularly failed to take me to see (as usual with so many films before I got my own car).  I went with my Dad.  It was ONE OF THE BEST FILMS I've ever seen in my life.  We both loved it.  So much that my Dad did something he NEVER did.  He went with me to see it AGAIN, 2 weeks later. It was so fresh in our heads, that watching it the 2nd time, KNOWING what was REALLY going on, it was like an entirely different movie.  And we loved it all over again.  For decades, that was my FAVORITE Agatha Christie film.

Until I finally figured out what was going on in "EVIL UNDER THE SUN" (1982).  Now THAT's my favorite Agatha Christie film.


Many of her stories are SO complex, I need to watch them TWICE, in a short space of time, just to be able to follow what's going on.  The worst in that respect is the Joan Hickson MISS MARPLEs.  Trying to watch the series twice didn't help.  I finally had to watch EACH story twice, back-to-back, before moving onto the NEXT story, to have any hope of being able to follow the plots.  I suspect there's a HELL of a lot missing from all of the adaptations.  But after more than 30 YEARS of having them in my collection, I finally got to like them... because I could FINALLY follow the plots.

I never had this problem with any of the POIROTs.

Another real favorite was when I saw the Billy Wilder version of "WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION".  This is like an all-English version of PERRY MASON.  With SEVERAL twist endings, back-to-back.  Charles Laughton totally steals the picture as the defense attourney.

[Andrew999]

I loved all the Margaret Rutherford Miss Marples - they are such fun, though they drift away from the books somewhat.

I'm torn between David Suchet and Peter Ustinov as Poirot. Suchet is definitve and exact in his portrayal (an interesting aside is I used to work with David Suchet's nephew, Kieron - the son of newsreader John Suchet) but Ustinov brings a charm that may even be said to be lacking in the books. I agree Evil Under the Sun is a much underrated movie.

I'm surprised you haven't read any of the books - give it a shot - my advice would be to start with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

As a further aside, try the Miss Silver mysteries by Patricia Wentworth which apparently Agatha used to read with envy. You can download for free from fadedpage.

[Andrew999]

The Mousetrap still continues its initial run at St Martin's - it's now close to 28,000 performances. The odd thing is, I saw it once and didn't think it was that great a plot - though the performances were excellent.

Currently, the 'initial run' is suspended but expects to kick back in within a month or so.

They 'mystery' over the killer has always been one of the worse kept secrets on the planet. You can read more about it here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mousetrap

As a follow-up, you should read Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound which is hilarious whilst also being pretty deep - something that dear Agatha could never aspire to - but then why should she when she was reaping in millions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Real_Inspector_Hound

[The Australian Panther]

the Miss Silver mysteries by Patricia Wentworth which apparently Agatha used to read with envy. You can download for free from faded page   

I've just noticed these and the positive review of them.
I will definitely be checking to see if they live up to the review.  This was one of the authors that I think are relatively unknown compared to Christie. 
Another would be Hulbert Footner's Madame Rosika Storey.

His most successful creation was the beautiful and brilliant Madame Rosika Storey and her plain assistant who explains the evolving solutions to her boss? cases. His Madame Storey mysteries fit the flapping 1920s like the long lizard gloves that graced her arms and did well supporting his travelling family?s lifestyle. His Rosika Storey cases appeared in Argosy All-Story Weekly every year from 1922 through 1935.

Can be found in the same place Andrew found the Miss Silver books.
And there are many others.
I have just [re]found the 3 volumes of 'The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes' Victorian stories of other detectives collected by Grahame Greene and his brother Hugh and edited by Hugh Greene . The Greene boys were true nerds and spent much of their adolescence visiting antique book-stores and collecting obscure Victorian mystery stores. Authors include William Hope Hodgson, Baroness Orczy, Jacques Futrell, E Phillips Openheim, Fergus Hume and others. These stories were made into a TV series - 2 seasons? by THAMES TV.
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes full episodes
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+rivals+of+sherlock+holmes+full+episodes

Enjoy yourself finding out how many famous British Thespian faces you can spot.
In the first episodes Blakes 7 fans might recognise a familiar face if you look closely.

I think that one reason that Christie doesn't cut it for me is that she doesn't write people that I can care about. She can definitely write intricate plots, but its about as emotionally fulfilling as rehashing a chess game. Which, I know, really turns some people on!

Witness for the Prosecution? Billy Wilder? Charles Laughton? Now you're talking!
Cheers!
         

[profh0011]

I shouldn't even mention this, but... "HallMark Hall of Fame" did a TV version of "WITNESS..."  It was an all-star cast, topped by Diana Rigg.  And like nearly all "Hallmark" productions... IT WAS TERRIBLE.  How in the living HELL could anyone take a story that good, with a cast that fabulous, and TOTALLY F*** it up?  There's a scene where Donald Pleasence has a look on his face that seems to scream to me... "My GOD, this director is an IDIOT!"




"...ORIENT EXPRESS" was a huge success.  Apparently, so was "...NILE".  But the 3rd film by those same producers, "THE MIRROR CRACK'D", vanished from theatres after only one week.  (Some say two.)  "EVIL...", as far as I know... NEVER ran in theatres in my area!!! It's no wonder the people who did those 4 films stopped after that.

My best friend BLEW the ending of "ORIENT EXPRESS" for me before I got to see it.  But that's not my real problem with the film.  Albert Finney is.  every single thing about his performance SCREAMS, "This is a performance".  he may look right, but somehow, he feels COMPLETELY fake.  Which, he is.

David Suchet is ALSO completely fake.  But he FEELS REAL.  When he plays Poirot, it's like he's not even acting.  HE IS that guy.  Which makes it such a shock when I see him in anything else, speaking in any other voice.  He's so good, it doesn't even feel like a performance.  WHOA.

Peter Ustinov also doesn't feel like he's acting.  I know in his case, very little make-up was required.  But somehow, his Poirot feels every bit as real, even though he & Suchet are so different.

Funny enough... I also LOVE Alfred Molina as Poirot.  CBS performed the same sacreledge they did with Ustinove and others in the 80s... they UPDATED the story to the modern day.  But Molina's performance in his film is so good.  I even love them giving him a romantic side. It helps that the woman Poirot falls for is one of the most gorgeous actresses I've ever laid eyes on.


"THE MIRROR CRACK'D" is the most low-key of the 4 John Brabourne / Richard Goodwin AC films.  It took a while to grow on me.  But these days... it's my FAVORITE Miss Marple film by a mile.  I remember being shocked when I found out some years later... that Angela Lansbury was NOWHERE NEAR as old as she looked in the film.  The make-up was that good. She looks like that NOW.   

I also love Edward Fox as her police inspector nephew.  And the onscreen verbal catfights between Liz Taylor and Kim Novak are hilarious.


I understood "EVIL..." each time I saw it.  But I cold never REMEMBER the details.  Each time, it was like watching it new.  It's THAT complicated.  I finally nailed it some years ago, when I fell asleep on the last 20 minutes.  I got so angry, I got up, got some food, came back, wound the tape back and watched the last half-hour again.  SUDDENLY... I "got" it. And I've remembered it ever since.

It's like this.  The only way to really remember WHAT happened WHEN... it to understand... WHY.  (This sounds like a Don Adams routine.) You must grasp the MOTIVE for the murder... otherwise, the chaotic mess of who's doing what where when, is almost impossible to follow.

I love how I can say this WITHOUT blowing it for anyone who hasn't seen it.

[profh0011]

My favorite bit is with Maggie Smith...

"Oh, no, he DOES have an alibi, because you see I saw him when he was..."

(Poirot is visibly annoyed.)

"Did I say something wrong?  Oh-- OHH!! I see what you mean.  You mean... NOBODY did it!"

"And yet... we still have, A BODY."

[The Australian Panther]

Prof! I'm surprised you haven't mentioned this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OejS7tab2v0
Kenneth Branagh Poirot
Murder on the Orient Express | Boarding The Train (Full Scene) | 20th Century FOX
In which Johnny Depp plays Johnny Depp. To perfection.
The beginning of this film shows a lot of actors, a lot of money being used, a very egotistic shot of Poirot walking through the train. And absolutely no suspense or grabbing the audience's attention.
KENNETH BRANAGH defends the big MOUSTACHE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_Q_x9g-USA
'A perfectly ridiculous little man with that silly moustache, the sort of man one could never take seriously.'!   

Cheers!

[Andrew999]

I quite enjoyed the Branagh 'Orient' but felt it lacked punch somehow.

Although Sarah Phelps is a Marmite person - you either love her adaptations or hate them - I very much enjoyed her recent version of Witness for the Prosecution - mainly because of Toby Jones in the lead role.

[paw broon]

Less well known than her other work are the short stories of The Mysterious Mr. Quin. 
This is from a Christie wiki:-
"Each chapter or story involves a separate mystery that is solved through the interaction between the characters of Mr Satterthwaite, a socialite, and the eponymous Mr Quin who appears almost magically at the most opportune moments and disappears just as mysteriously. Satterthwaite is a small, observant man who is able to wrap up each mystery through the careful prodding and apposite questions of Quin, who serves as a catalyst each time the men meet."
Well worth reading. We both found them enjoyable.
We saw the Branagh Orient film and thought it was awful.  Truly awful. Poirot behaving like a superhero, brawling, fighting. Yuk.

[profh0011]

I got very annoyed when I learned there was a brand new theatrical feature film of an Agatha Christie story... about 4 WEEKS after it vanished from theatres.  I would have gone if I'd known.  But then I started hearing all kinds of HORRIBLE things about it.  Hmm.

I've seen ONE Kenneth Branagh film... and I wasn't impressed. To put it lightly.

But, you know, EVEN that Tony Randall film has actually grown on me over successive viewings, so, I suppose anything is possible.  And it did take me 30 YEARS to really begin to enjoy Joan Hickson.

[profh0011]

So... and thi shouldn't be a surprise to ANYBODY... Johnny Depp's gonna get MURDERED in this one.

Just watched the clip.  Judi Densch & Michelle Pfeiffer?  Hmm.  Well, it cvertainly LOOKS a hell of lot better than that 1965 Poirot film did. 

But I do think Alfred Molina was better...




Tasha de Vasconcelos has a pair of cameos as Vera Rossikoff (I forget which Poirot story she ACTUALLY appeared in, but it wasn't this one).



Good GOD, is she beautiful.

[The Australian Panther]

Can''t argue with that. Alfred Molina is very underrated.
Was great as Doc Ock too.

Just checked IMDB and I see Molina as down to play Doc Ock in the next Spiderman film.
Hope he gets well-paid.
Just when I had decided I wasn't going to see more MCU films!

Modifies:-
Back on IMDB I find:-
Auditioned for the part of Rimmer in Red Dwarf (1988).

Re Well-paid:
Surprised to find this information on IMBD, but
Salary
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)    $2,500 /week
Spider-Man 2 (2004)    $3,000,000

So I would say if he is playing the role twice, he will be well conpensated.
Cheers!

[Andrew999]

Nobody has mentioned John Malkovich as Poirot yet - in the ABC Murders.

The series got really slammed but I liked it - I don't see anything wrong with reinventing a persona. I don't think they got everything right - but Malkovich's performance as Poirot - a man with dark secrets and motivations of his own - was a real treat.

Think of it as Poirot in a parallel universe.

[profh0011]

I still need to track down the last several Joan Hickson MISS MARPLES, and the last 10 years of David Suchet as POIROT.  Thank goodness DVDs are not only MUCH-better quality (generally speaking) than videotapes, but a HELL of a lot cheaper than tapes used to be. (Win-win)

I'm currently working on SHERLOCK HOLMES, having tracked down Ronald Howard, Douglas Wilmer & Peter Cushing's TV series on DVD, and then the 14 Basil Rathbones (the MPL box set is the ONLY one where the 12 Universal films are REMASTERED from the best sources).  Just this week I ordered the 1st Arthur Wonter film (long believed lost; his 2nd one is STILL "lost"). Once I get the other 3 Wontners, there's still a PILE of various films I wanna track down on DVD (Raymond Massey, Bruno Guttner, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, John Neville, Stewart Granger, Roger Moore, Frank Langella, Christopher Plummer, Tom Baker, Ian Richardson...).  I may even upgrade the Jeremy Bretts... eventually!   

I figure one of these classic character series at a time...

[Andrew999]

Don't forget Geoffrey Whitehead:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9smcksoAy0I&list=PLFR78Uf6Xh3hTVdlqMJZIQg3NacYI6Udw

[The Australian Panther]

Prof,

Here is the Peter Cushing Holmes. Not a bad print for YouTube.
Sherlock Holmes: The Masks of Death ? 1984 TV Movie Starring Peter Cushing and John Mills
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC_g_1C6CAQ

And here is Edward Woodward. I think Downey Jr. channeled this Holmes.
John Hillerman is Watson, Anthony Andrews chewing up the scenery as Moriarty 
Sherlock Holmes in The Prince of Crime; AKA - Hands of a Murderer - starring Edward Woodward
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZhYivrb1oY

And here is - of all people, Charlton Heston! Haven't watched this one yet! Looks quite good. Also a great print here!
The Crucifer Of Blood [The sign of four]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2nGNimEuNs
Directed by Heston's son, Frazer, and script based on the theatrical adaptation by Paul Giovanni. Richard Johnson as Watson. Edward Fox.

Here Roger Moore with Patrick McNee as Watson and John Huston as Moriarty.
Sherlock Holmes in New York 1976 DVDRip x264
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyvxReX8zUc

From 1933 - 

SHERLOCK HOLMES - A STUDY IN SCARLET (1933) Reginald Owen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEbqpAxnJ94

Everybody wants to try Holmes at some stage!

Prof...... Can you name the Wonter's you are looking for?   

The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935) | FULL MOVIE | Arthur Wontner in Classic Sherlock Holmes Film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkM37-sqQxg

Here is an interesting one.
Holmes used as a character to solve a real life mystery.
Murder on the Bluebell Line - Sherlock Holmes - QED BBC 1987 - Piltdown Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRV0obWcEq8

n 1987 the BBC series QED produced Murder on the Bluebell Line
starring Hugh Fraser as Sherlock Holmes and Ronald Fraser as Doctor Watson. In this docudrama Holmes and Watson investigate the Piltdown forgery and the possible suspects including Arthur Conan Doyle.

Holmes here played by Hugh Frazer, best recognised as David Suchet's Poirot's companion, Captain Hastings. Best remembered by me as Lord Wellington in the - can't be recommended highly enough series - Sharpe.   

Modification.
Just found this one. Would you believe Larry Hagman?!! And modern day too!
Haven't watched it yet!
Sherlock Holmes - The Return of the World's Greatest Detective (1976)   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc2VwlNEmSg

Cheers!





   

[The Australian Panther]

Prof, you realize you owe me for the distraction and the time I've 'wasted' on YouTube?
Joking !
I've just realized that there are currently 39 episodes of the Jack Gage Sheldon Reynolds produced 1954 Holmes RV series starring Ronald Howard.
Last time I looked there were only about 6.
This may well be my favourite Holmes TV character.
Here are the links.
Sherlock Holmes TV series 1 to 10 in color
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AbbScLLyJs

Sherlock Holmes TV series 11 to 20 in color
https://comicbookplus.com/forum/index.php?action=post;topic=19795.21

Sherlock Holmes TV series 21 to 30 in color
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqv0IE-inUM

Sherlock Holmes tv episode 31 to 39 - colorized - color
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_G-AygBURI

Enjoy!

[profh0011]

I have nearly all of those on videotape, most recorded in the 80s or later, so an "upgrade" seems called for.

Some years ago, for fun, I decided to watch the Jeremy Brett and Ronald Howard series at the same time, alternating between episodes.  To my SHOCK... i wound up enjoying Howard more. I only count 6 of the 39 episode that are adaptations, but I like MOST of them, only a few I'd probably skip on future viewings.  (That's a habit I got into recently with "STAR TREK".  Some episodes I don't like, or have seen too much. I started skipping those... and the entire viewing experience suddenly IMPROVED. And I'm still watching HORRIBLY-bad video copies off a local station from 1980... the one positive thing was, they were UNCUT.)

I saw several Geoffrey Whitehead - Donald Pickering episodes on Youtube (with Patrick Newell as Lestrade).  Crazy but true: ALSO produced by Sheldon Reynolds, MOST of them are exact repmakes of the 1954 episodes.  Shot in POLAND, they look more lavish, but are somehow almost lifeless compared to the earlier series. If I can find it eventually, I might spring for a DVD box set.

I've seen 4 different versions of "The Sign Of Four" so far.  Arthur Wontner put the long flashback entirely at the beginning, so the story is told in chronological rather than book order. The Charlton Heston version repeated this, while also changing the ending, to make SOMEONE ELSE the murderer.  The Jeremy Brett version-- naturally-- is the most "authentic", but like the 4 other 2-hour stories he did, it's nearly-UNWATCHABLE. (Sad as I love most of his series.)  MY favorite is the Sy Weintraub version with Ian Richardson (who reminds me of an older Ronald Howard) and David Healy.  They SHOW the murder before Holmes arrives, which eliminates some of the mystery, but his version is SO much fun to watch, and even the boat-chase is exciting.  From what I just read, the whole "fun fair" sequence was apparently taken from the Wontner version.  The fun fair also turns up in the Rathbone film "THE SPIDER WOMAN", which pays tribute to 7 different Doyle stories in a single film.

[profh0011]

Isn't there a separate SHERLOCK HOLMES thread?  (heeheehee)

Crazy but POSSIBLY true:

"A STUDY IN SCARLET" with Reginald Owen contains a plot VERY, VERY similar to Agatha Christie's 'TEN LITTLE INDIANS".  But, it was filmed BEFORE she wrote her novel.  Did that "original" Holmes film INSPIRE her book?  Maybe...


Last year I found 3 different film series contained the IDENTICAL method of murder. I tracked down the source novels online, and found 2 of them had been written within 2 years of each other, while the 3rd was a Holmes story from decades earlier.  It had never occured to me until that week that 2 of them might have been deliberate tributes to Doyle (or 1 was, and the other was a tribute to the other one).

See 'The Problem Of Thor Bridge", and you'll find the EXACT same murder method later turned up in a PHILO VANCE story, and, an ALBERT CAMPION story.  And, much later, a TV episode of CHARLIE CHAN.

The REALLY crazy thing was, somehow, by the wildest dumb luck, I saw all of these within a week of each other.  WHAT ARE THE ODDS?


I've also seen at least one glaringly obvious instance where a POIROT story paid tribute to a HOLMES story.  Both involve husbands who go missing.