Poirot (franchise)
Poirot is a mystery-detective media franchise based on the novels by Agatha Christie about her most known detective Hercule Poirot
Original series (1931−34)
The original film series was broadcast between 1931 and 1934. The film series starred Austin Trevor as Poirot, Richard Cooper as Captain Hastings and Melville Cooper and John Turnbull as Inspector Japp.
| Year | Film | Poirot actor |
|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Alibi | Austin Trevor |
| Black Cofee | ||
| 1934 | Lord Edgware Dies |
Alibi (1931)
Black Coffee (1931)
Lord Edgware Dies (1934)
Hercule Poirot is hired by Lady Edgware, an American actress, who wants him to make arrangements for her to obtain a divorce from her aristocratic husband. In fact, it turns out that Lord Edgware has already agreed to a divorce, only to be found murdered just later that night.
The Alphabet Murders (1965)
In 1965, Tony Randall starred as Poirot in The Alphabet Murders alongside Robert Morley as Captain Hastings and Maurice Denham as inspector Japp.
Albert Aachen, a clown with a unique diving act, is found dead, the murder weapon happens to be a poison dart. When a woman named Betty Barnard becomes the next victim, detective Hercule Poirot suspects that Sir Carmichael Clarke could be in grave danger.
As Poirot and Captain Hastings look into the crimes, a beautiful woman with an interesting monogram named Amanda Beatrice Cross becomes the focus of their investigation, at least until she leaps into the Thames.
Finney/Ustinov series (1974−88)
In 1974, Albert Finney starred as Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express. As he was unavailable for the sequel, Peter Ustinov took over the role in the next six sequels.
| Year | Film | Poirot actor |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Murder on the Orient Express | Albert Finney |
| 1978 | Death on the Nile | Peter Ustinov |
| 1982 | Evil Under the Sun | |
| 1985 | Thirteen at Dinner | |
| 1986 | Dead Man's Folly | |
| 1986 | Murder in Three Acts | |
| 1988 | Appointment with Death |
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
In December 1935, Hercule Poirot, having solved a case for a British Army garrison in Jordan, is due to travel to London on the Orient Express from Istanbul and encounters his old friend Signor Bianchi, a director of the company which owns the line. Other passengers travelling in the same coach as Poirot and Bianchi are American widow Harriet Belinda Hubbard; English governess Mary Debenham; Swedish missionary Greta Ohlsson; American businessman Samuel Ratchett, with his secretary/translator (Hector McQueen) and English valet (Edward Beddoes); Italian-American car salesman Antonio ("Gino") Foscarelli; elderly Russian Princess Natalia Dragomiroff and her German maid Hildegarde Schmidt; Hungarian Count Rudolf Andrenyi and his wife Elena; British Indian Army Colonel John Arbuthnott; and American theatrical agent Cyrus Hardman.
The morning after the train departs, Ratchett tries to secure Poirot's services as a bodyguard for $15,000 as he has received death threats. Poirot declines Ratchett's offer, but curiously questions the motives of his enemies, angering him. That night, Bianchi gives Poirot his compartment as he transfers to another coach. The train is stopped by a snowdrift between Vinkovci and Brod in Yugoslavia, and Poirot is awoken from sleep several times, once by a scream from Ratchett's cabin. The next morning, Ratchett is found stabbed to death, and Bianchi asks Poirot to solve the case. Poirot enlists help from Stavros Constantine, a Greek medical doctor who slept in the same coach as Bianchi. Dr. Constantine ascertains that Ratchett was stabbed 12 times in a distorted pattern and with seemingly varying accuracy and lethality.
Found at the crime scene is a fragment of a letter, revealing that Ratchett was actually Lanfranco Cassetti, a gangster, who five years earlier, planned the kidnapping and murder of Daisy Armstrong, infant daughter of wealthy British Army Colonel Hamish Armstrong and his American wife, Sonia. Cassetti had a mafia colleague help him kidnap and kill Daisy, but then betrayed him and fled the country with the ransom money and was only revealed on the eve of his partner's execution. Overcome with grief, the pregnant Mrs. Armstrong had given premature birth to a stillborn baby and died in the process. Colonel Armstrong, consumed by grief from the loss of his family, committed suicide. A French maidservant named Paulette, wrongly suspected of complicity in the kidnapping, had also committed suicide to avoid being arrested, only to be found innocent afterwards. Further clues are discovered, including a pipe cleaner, a handkerchiefwith the initial "H," Cassetti's broken watch, and a conductor's suit. Poirot's timeline of passenger activities the night before indicates that Cassetti was murdered at about 1:15 a.m., the time of the smashed watch and the scream. As the coach was isolated through the night, the murderer must be one its passengers or the train's French conductor, Pierre Michel. Mrs. Hubbard reports that she detected a man in her room, later finding the bloodied knife discarded in her compartment. Foscarelli dramatically hints the murder was most likely part of a Mafia feud.
Poirot interviews the passengers and Pierre. He learns McQueen was the son of the Armstrong case's District Attorney and was very fond of Mrs. Armstrong; Beddoes had been a British Army batman; Greta Ohlsson has limited knowledge of English and has been to America; Countess Andrenyi is of German descent, and her maiden name is Grünwald (German for "Greenwood," Mrs. Armstrong's maiden name); Pierre Michel's daughter died five years earlier of scarlet fever; Colonel Arbuthnott, who displays knowledge of Armstrong's military decorations, reveals his plans to marry Ms. Debenham (which Poirot, suspicious, overheard) once his divorce from his philandering wife is finalized. When Poirot questions Princess Dragomiroff, he discovers she was a friend of Linda Arden, retired actress and Mrs. Armstrong's mother; the Princess was Sonia's godmother. He learns that the Armstrongs had a butler, a secretary, a cook, a chauffeur, and a nursemaid. Poirot flatters Schmidt by saying he knows a good cook. Foscarelli denies having been a chauffeur. Hardman reveals he is, in fact, a Pinkerton detective hired as a bodyguard by Cassetti. When Poirot shows him the photo of Paulette, he is visibly moved.
Poirot gathers the suspects and describes two solutions to the murder. The first suggests Cassetti's murder was simply the result of a Mafia feud, with an undetected assailant escaping from the train through the snow. This is rejected by Bianchi and Dr. Constantine as absurd. The second, more complex solution links all the suspects in the coach to the Armstrong case. In addition to self-incriminating revelations by Hardman, McQueen, Schmidt, and the Princess, Poirot has deduced Countess Elena is actually Mrs. Armstrong's sister, Helena. The Princess claimed the Armstrong's secretary's name as "Miss Freebody;" this is in fact Mary Debenham (freely associated from the well-known British department store (at that time known as 'Debenhams and Freebody'). Beddoes was Armstrong's butler in the Army; Miss Ohlsson was Daisy's nursemaid; Colonel Arbuthnott was a close army friend of Armstrong's; Foscarelli was the family's chauffeur; Pierre was Paulette's father; Hardman was a policeman in love with Paulette and Mrs. Hubbard is in fact Linda Arden, Mrs. Armstrong's mother. McQueen had drugged Cassetti, rendering him unconscious and allowing the conspirators to murder him jointly, (the Andrenyis stabbing together), totaling 12 wounds - the typical number of a jury - of differing damage. The scream and broken watch were provided by McQueen to persuade Poirot the murder had occurred earlier, when the other suspects were in the clear. In fact, the suspects joined to commit the murder once Poirot had returned to sleep, after two o'clock. The only passengers not involved in the murder are Bianchi and Dr. Constantine, both having slept in the other coach, which was locked.
Poirot asks Bianchi to choose one solution before the train is freed from the snowdrift, but admits that the Yugoslavian police will much prefer the simple one. Bianchi, in sympathy with the suspects, and knowing how evil Cassetti was, proposes the simple solution, and Poirot agrees, although he will struggle with his conscience. The relieved passengers and Pierre toast each other as the train is freed from the snowdrift and resumes its journey.
Death on the Nile (1978)
Jacqueline "Jackie" de Bellefort asks her close friend, wealthy heiress Linnet Ridgeway, to hire her unemployed fiancé, Simon Doyle. Jackie is pleased when Linnet agrees, but Linnet and Simon soon start a whirlwind affair and marry. While honeymooning in Egypt, they are continually hounded by the jilted Jackie. In an attempt to get away, the Doyles pretend to go to the Aswan railway station before backtracking to board a Nile paddle steamer, the S.S. Karnak.
During an on-shore excursion to the nearby Temple of Karnak, a large stone is pushed off a pillar and narrowly misses the Doyles. They are shocked when Jackie joins the cruise, ignoring detective Hercule Poirot's warning to stay away. She also reveals that she carries a small .22 caliber pistol in her handbag and is a crack shot. That night, Jackie confronts Simon in a drunken rage and shoots him in the leg. The next morning, Linnet is found dead from a gunshot wound to the head. A "J" written in blood on the wall above her bed implicates Jackie, but she has a solid alibi as Miss Bowers sedated her with morphia and stayed with her all night.
Poirot and his friend, Colonel Race, investigate. They discover that numerous passengers had motives to kill Linnet: Louise Bourget, Linnet's maid, was bitter due to her mistress' refusal to grant her a promised dowry; Andrew Pennington, Linnet's American trustee, was anxious to prevent her from discovering that he embezzled from her; Mrs. van Schuyler, an elderly American socialite suffering from kleptomania, displayed a great interest in Linnet's pearl necklace; van Schuyler's nurse, Miss Bowers, blamed Linnet's father for financially ruining her own father; Salome Otterbourne, a romance novelist, was being sued for libel for a similarity between Linnet and one of her characters; Mrs. Otterbourne's daughter, Rosalie, was anxious to protect her mother from financial ruin; Jim Ferguson, an outspoken Communist, resented Linnet's wealth; and Dr. Ludwig Bessner, a Swiss psychiatrist, faced exposure by Linnet concerning his unorthodox methods affecting Linnet's past friends.
Soon after, the crew pulls a small bundle from the Nile. The missing pistol is wrapped in Mrs. van Schuyler's stole, which has a small bullet hole. There is also a blood-stained handkerchief, and a marble ashtray used as a weight. When Linnet's pearls are missing, Mrs. van Schuyler denies taking them. Soon after, the necklace is found on Linnet's body, so Poirot deduces Mrs van Schuyler has "returned" them.
While Poirot and Race conduct their investigation, Louise Bourget is found dead, her throat cut with one of Dr. Bessner's scalpels, and a fragment of a banknote clutched in her hand. Poirot deduces she saw the murderer coming out of Linnet's cabin and extorted money for her silence. Salome Otterbourne claims to have seen Louise's murderer and is about to tell Poirot and Race when she is shot in the head through an open cabin door with Pennington's revolver, too large to have been used on Linnet.
Poirot gathers everyone in the saloon and reveals that Simon is responsible for Linnet's murder, with Jackie as his accomplice. She pretended to shoot Simon, drawing attention to herself. After running to Linnet's cabin and shooting her in the head, Simon shot himself in the leg, using Mrs. van Schuyler's stole as a silencer, then replaced the empty cartridges with a new one should the gun be found. He then wrapped the gun in the stole, along with a marble ashtray and the supposed blood-stained handkerchief, and threw the items out the open window, into the Nile. Jackie later killed Louise, who was blackmailing Simon because she witnessed him enter Linnet's cabin, then killed Mrs. Otterbourne, who saw Jackie exiting Louise's cabin. The plan was that Simon would marry and then kill Linnet, inherit her money, and at a later date, marry his old love.
When Simon claims Poirot has no proof, Poirot reveals that the police will do a gunshot residue test known as a "moulage" test on both him and Jacqueline. Realizing they are caught, Jackie confesses and embraces Simon. Poirot suddenly realizes she has reclaimed her pistol but cannot prevent her from shooting Simon in the head and then killing herself.
The passengers depart at the next port, and Poirot is congratulated for his work.
Evil Under the Sun (1982)
A hiker finds a dead woman on the North York Moors. The victim had been strangled and is identified as Alice Ruber. Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) is asked to examine a diamond ring belonging to millionaire industrialist Sir Horace Blatt (Colin Blakely). Poirot identifies it as a fake and assures that Sir Horace would have had given a real diamond to his mistress and that Arlena Stuart Marshall (Diana Rigg) had returned the fake, Poirot agrees to meet Sir Horace at an exclusive Adriatic Sea island and confront her. The hotel is the former summer palace of the reigning King of Tyrania, now owned by Daphne Castle (Maggie Smith), who had received the palace "for services rendered".
Sir Horace's former mistress is an actress on holiday with her husband Kenneth (Denis Quilley). Arlena is emotionally abusive to his daughter, Linda (Emily Hone) and flirts with Patrick Redfern (Nicholas Clay) who is married to Christine (Jane Birkin). Patrick is on the island only because Arlena arranged it. Kenneth turns to his old friend, Daphne, who reviles the way that Arlena treats both him and Linda. Arlena has also caused financial trouble for Odell and Myra Gardener (James Mason and Sylvia Miles) by walking out of a major play and refusing another. Writer Rex Brewster (Roddy McDowall) has already spent the royalties advanced to him for a tell-all biography of Arlena, but she refuses to give him a release, angering him. Early on the third morning, Arlena takes a paddle-boat to Ladder Bay. Patrick and Myra go for a boat trip around the island and see a body lying motionless on the beach. Patrick approaches the body and recognizes Arlena, announcing that she has been strangled. Poirot must determine which of his seven fellow guests, Sir Horace—or Daphne—is the murderer.
Daphne had heard Kenneth in his room typing at the time of the murder, and Christine was with Linda at Gull Cove and did not leave until 11:55 for a 12:30 tennis match. Sir Horace argued with Arlena about the diamond at Ladder Bay at 11:30, which is confirmed by his yacht crew and by Daphne. Arlena kept the diamond, promising an explanation that evening, and Poirot finds the fake jewel nearby in a grotto. Patrick left at 11:30 with Myra, seeing Sir Horace's yacht coming, and hearing the noon cannon. Rex met Linda entering Gull Cove at 12:00 and reports that a bottle flung from the top of a cliff nearly hit him. Odell was seen reading by Daphne and her staff. He claims low water pressure hindered his 12:15 wash before tennis, but nobody admits to bathing at that time.
Assembling the suspects together, Poirot accuses Christine and Patrick of the crime: Christine knocked out Arlena and hid her in the nearby grotto, and Patrick strangled the helpless Arlena later. Christine posed as Arlena with makeup to simulate a suntan, Arlena's swimsuit and large red hat, to be purposely mis-identified by Patrick in Myra's presence. But Poirot had smelled Arlena's perfume in the grotto. Christine set Linda's watch twenty minutes fast, suggested a swim cap to muffle the noon cannon, and corrected the watch afterwards. She tossed out the lotion bottle, almost hitting Rex, and bathed off her tan, thus depriving the hotel's poor water system of pressure. Poirot suspects that Patrick switched Sir Horace's jewel with a copy and that Patrick and Christine killed Arlena to protect the theft. The Redferns scoff at the detective's accusations, as he has no real evidence.
On leaving the hotel, Patrick pays by cheque, signing the "R" in "Redfern" in a distinctive way that Poirot recognizes as the same way "Felix Ruber", husband of the Yorkshire moor victim, signed his name. The hiker that found the body had been Christine, establishing Patrick's alibi. Poirot knows photos from the British police will show Patrick and Felix to be the same person. Patrick puts a pipe in his mouth that has never been lit during his stay; Poirot empties the pipe bowl to reveal the genuine diamond. Patrick sucker punches Poirot into unconsciousness. The closing scene shows Daphne feeding the now conscious Poirot and informing him that the king is awarding him the Order of St Goodwin The Inquisitive, First Class, as Kenneth and Linda look on smiling. Meanwhile, several members of Daphne's staff are shown holding the Redferns prisoner on the island's shuttle boat on the way to the mainland while Blatt, Brewster, and the Gardners gleefully taunt the murderous couple with a champagne toast from Blatt's yacht.
Thirteen at Dinner (1985)
Hercule Poirot appears on David Frost's talk show with actor Bryan Martin. The two are joined by Martin's costar Jane Wilkinson, who is later revealed to be a Wilkinson impersonator named Carlotta Adams. Adams' impression of Wilkinson is so perfect it fools Martin himself. Martin, Poirot, and Poirot's assistant Captain Arthur Hastings attend a dinner party, where the real Jane Wilkinson corners Poirot and asks for his help getting her a divorce from her husband, Lord Edgeware. Poirot agrees, only to discover that Lord Edgeware has already granted the divorce.
The next day, Lord Edgware is found dead. His staff insist that Wilkinson must have killed him, since she had threatened to once before. Inspector Japp is ready to arrest Wilkinson for the crime, but she has an alibi: she was at a dinner party with 12 other people. After Carlotta Adams is also murdered, Poirot investigates, much to Japp's annoyance. In the end, it is revealed that Jane Wilkinson did in fact murder her husband, hiring Adams to attend the dinner party in her stead in order to give herself an alibi. She then killed Adams to ensure her silence.
Dead Man's Folly (1986)
Hercule Poirot and his associate, Captain Hastings, are called in by his eccentric mystery author friend, Ariadne Oliver, to a manor house in Devon. Oliver is organizing a "Murder Hunt" game for a local fair to be held at Nass House, but she is troubled by something she cannot quite put her foot on.
Things take a turn for the worse when during the "Murder Hunt" the girl playing the "dead" body is murdered for real. Soon afterwards, the lady of the manor mysteriously disappears and an old man's body is pulled from the river. Poirot must discover who and what are behind these seemingly unconnected events.
Murder in Three Acts (1986)
Poirot joins his assistant Hastings in Acapulco, Mexico, where Hastings is staying. They go to a party at which the other guests include the writer Janet Crisp, the American actor Charles Cartwright, a clergyman called Babbington, Daisy Eastman and her daughter Egg, Dr Strange, and Ricardo Montoya. Babbington dies of poisoning, then Strange is poisoned, too, and Poirot hunts the murderer.
Appointment with Death (1988)
Emily Boynton, stepmother to the three Boynton children – Lennox, Raymond, and Carol – and mother to Ginevra, blackmails the family lawyer, Jefferson Cope, into destroying her late husband's second will that left them $200,000 each, which would free them from Mrs. Boynton's domination.
She takes the stepchildren and Nadine, her daughter-in-law serving as a nurse, on holiday to Europe. In Trieste, the great detective Hercule Poirot runs into an old friend, Dr. Sarah King. Sarah soon falls in love with Raymond Boynton, to Emily's disapproval.
Lady Westholme is introduced. She was born American but has had British nationality for the last ten years due to her marriage, during which she became an MP. She, her secretary and archaeologist, Miss Quinton, and lawyer, Jefferson Cope (the same) are also on their way to Jerusalem and Qumran.
The Boynton family are surprised to see Cope on board the ship. The adult step-children discover the existence of a second will since their father told Lennox before he died but no-one can prove this. Emily continues to bully her step-children. Cope is having an affair with Nadine which Emily discovers on board the ship. She (possibly) drugs Cope's wine but this is spilt when Nadine's husband thumps Cope having found an engraved cigarette case given to Nadne by Cope. Poirot observes the spill and keeps a close eye on the family when they disembark.
At the archaeological dig, cope and Nadine, Raymond and Dr King go for a walk, but Lennox turns back upset by his wife's preference for Cope. Later the others return. Dr King notices an Arab man hovering over Emily. When she goes over, she finds Emily dead. Dr King thinks Emily died of a heart attack but Poiorot points out it is wise to be suspicious when there is a death of someone who is widely hated. He asks Dr King to check her medical bag and she finds it disordered with an empty bottle of digitalis and there is a missing syringe.
Poirot deduces that Mrs. Boynton was injected with a lethal dose of digitalis, corresponding to a medicine she took that was usually administered by Nadine, in order that her death appear to be by natural causes. Since the family could have altered her medication without needing an additional syringe, he suspects an outsider.
There is an altercation in the street and a gun is fired. Dr King is accused but Poirot has her released so she can travel with him to meet the others for a 'picnic' where he plans to reveal what happened. Having suggested that all the step-children lied about seeing their step-mother alive when she was dead (thinking one of them may have done it and wishing to delay or protect them against discovery), he reveals the truth: Lady Westholme is the murderer. She was once in prison and Emily had recognised her from her time as a prison warden. To keep her quiet and maintain her status, Lady Westholme had resorted to murder.
Murder on the Orient Express (2001)
In 2001. Alfred Molina starred as Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express
Hercule Poirot is travelling on the Orient Express. While on the journey, Poirot meets a very close friend Bouc, who works for the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. The train is stopped when a landslide blocks the line on the second night out from Istanbul, and American millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett is found stabbed to death the next morning.
Since no footprints are visible around the train and the doors to the other cars were locked, it seems that the murderer must still be among the passengers in Ratchett's car. Poirot and Bouc work together to solve the case. They are aided by Pierre Michel, the middle-aged French conductor of the car.
A key to the solution is Ratchett's revealed involvement in the Armstrong tragedy in the United States several years earlier, in which a baby was kidnapped and then murdered. (The fictitious Armstrong case, inspired by the real-life kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh's baby boy.)
Branagh series (2017− )
In 2017, Kenneth Branagh starred as Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express. The sequel, Death on the Nile, was released in 2022. The third film, A Haunting in Venice, is scheduled for release in 2023.[citation needed]
| Year | Film | Poirot actor |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Murder on the Orient Express | Kenneth Branagh |
| 2022 | Death on the Nile | |
| 2023 | A Haunting in Venice |
Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989−13)
Actor David Suchet starred as Poirot in ITV series Agatha Christie's Poirot which ran from 1989 to 2013 for thirteen seasons.
The ABC Murders (2018)
In 2018. John Malkovich starred as Poirot in BBC's three-part series The ABC Murders.
Cast
External links
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