what is your favorite Poirot?

rabbity300

When it comes to the little,Belgian detective, what is your favorite one ? On holiday in Egypt or maybe down in Cornwall dealing with lies and drugs. What ever it is what is yours? 

Tommy_A_Jones

My Favourites happen to be set in Britain but Death On The Nile is quite high up where as Peril At End House is near the bottom just above Murder In Mesopotamia, and Five Little Pigs, Sad Cypruss, Hickory Dickory Dock and The Hollow are nearer Peril At End House than Death On The Nile.

CrookedQuin

Five Little Pigs, The Hollow, Sad Cypress, and Death on the Nile

For some reason I love the ones that involve a romantic couple at the center since it adds an emotional intensity that works well with her writing and characters. ABC murders is also one I adore. 

HerculeAndAchille

For some unfathomable reason, I have always enjoyed Evil Under the Sun. Perhaps it is because of the relish I get when seeing characters contorted and misrepresented in adaptations, or the sheer satisfaction of a (not entirely conventional) ingenious plot, which makes Poirot question the most basic and obvious of assumptions.

Tommy_A_Jones

I am confused, Is The question about The Books with Poirot or the David Suchet series, I have said many times I haven't got a favourite of the Books, My FavouriteS are ABC Murders, Cards On The Table, Mrs McGinty's Dead, Cat Among The Pigeons, Death On The Nile, The Clocks and Evil Under The Sun, my Favourite ADAPTATIONS are all of those MINUS Cards ON The Table, I like The Afaptation of Evil Under The Sun because it has Hastings, Japp and Miss Lemon, I love The Film too.

ChristieFanForLife

I didn't care much for the Evil Under The Sun adaptation with David Suchet. I didn't care much of the inclusion of Hastings and Miss Lemon. I didn't mind the use of Japp (though having Poirot work with Colonel Weston would've been a bit better and made more sense) but cramming the former and using the ridiculous subplot of Poirot being medically obsese and changing the Jolly Roger Hotel to a health resort instead, all these silly inclusions took away the attention of the other characters, which I felt were lacking. The guest actors didn't stand out. Instead of Hastings and Miss Lemon, how about putting Mr. & Mrs. Gardner back in, using them for some comic relief instead of depending on the trio for that most of the time? This film could have been so much better and it felt like they played too safe, depending too much on Hastings and Lemon instead of letting them go and allowing Poirot to be by himself for a change. When Five Little Pigs aired, the series was a breath of fresh air. The series by the time of Evil Under The Sun became rather stale. Too bad the quality of the series after Five Little Pigs (along with Sad Cypress and The Hollow which were superb) in season 9 had more misses then hits. But the series was in definite need of a change but more care should've been considered because stories like Orient Express, Curtain, Appointment With Death, Death On The Nile, Cards On The Table should have been better then they were.  

ChristieFanForLife

I love how in Evil Under The Sun, the book that is, Poirot compares the tanned, bronzed bodies lying in the sun to slabs of meat on the butchers table. Only Poirot can make such an odd simile. Good use of humor yet dark at the same time.

Tommy_A_Jones

I liked The Inclusion of Miss Lemon, Japp and Hastings, I love The Subplot, I probably would have liked it if it was without Japp, Hastings and Miss Lemon as I really ike Cat Among The Pigeons and After The Funeral but it was one of the last Episodes with all Four and I liked them, There are some Episodes and Books where I really wish at least one of the 3 would appear.

taliavishay-arbel

Right now my favourite book Poirot book is "The Hollow". My favourite Movie is the old "Evil under the sun" and my favourite actor who played Poirot is Albert Finney. I'm sure these selections won't be very popular.

ChristieFanForLife

taliavishay-arbel said:

Right now my favourite book Poirot book is "The Hollow". My favourite Movie is the old "Evil under the sun" and my favourite actor who played Poirot is Albert Finney. I'm sure these selections won't be very popular.

They may not be popular in the eyes of many Christie fans but I respect your opinion. Speaking of The Hollow, it's one of my favorite Poirot books as well. Poirot visits the country and we get funny comments from him such as a dislike of trees because they have a habit of dropping their leaves. The novel has deep characterization that is beautifully written throughout and we have a good mystery to boot. How can anyone not like it? The Hollow is not your typical Poirot and that's probably why many don't take a liking to it.

tudes

ChristieFanForLife said:

I love how in Evil Under The Sun, the book that is, Poirot compares the tanned, bronzed bodies lying in the sun to slabs of meat on the butchers table. Only Poirot can make such an odd simile. Good use of humor yet dark at the same time.

I love this remark either. It's so clever! Although I don't dislike Suchet adaptation, it would be better not include Miss Lemon and Hastings. The plot is so ingenious. It would be better to be faithful to the book. I love this book. The scenario, the plot, the characters, everything is well written. And the way Poirot solves the murder is fantastic and really clever. I think it's one of the best endings. 

ChristieFanForLife

@tudes, I still prefer the book over the two adaptations. I might take a look at the Ustinov version again tonight. I think the comparison to the bodies compared to slabs of meat is in there. At least Linda Marshall is in the film and not changed to Lionel . . . .ugh!

HerculeAndAchille

I found it very interesting that Agatha Christie said that she thought that The Hollow would be so much better without the inclusion of Poirot. I myself found Poirot vital to the fact, and the fact that SPOILER the gun was found outside Poirot's home was an interesting twist a la Murder on the Orient Express.

Tommy_A_Jones

I do prefer the Play to the Book, I think Agatha Christie was right, or at least to do it well Hastings should have been in it.

rabbity300

i agree

HerculeAndAchille

@ChristieFanForLife , I found it quite appalling when they changed Linda to Lionel as well. It was a major disappointment and served no real purpose in the plot. The newer adaptation in the Poirot series, I remember, also removed the whole SPOILER voodoo aspect of it, turning it instead into chemistry. "Ugh" is right.

The novel, I found, had some of the most interesting subplot characters. Mr and Mrs Gardner were extremely comical, for example, and Mr Blatt's bluff, jovial exterior provided for a SPOILER excellent cover.

ChristieFanForLife

@HerculeAndAchiile, I found the change from Linda to Lionel quite cliche because it's so obvious that a young man -- his age, build, and an utter dislike for his stepmother -- would be THE OBVIOUS suspect. I've seen it time and time again. But the way Christie did it, making a female a suspect, a YOUNG one at that and one who supposedly strangled her stepmother, a method that one wouldn't usually associate with the female sex -- it's too hands on and violent -- is fresh and goes against the usual expectations, whereas [SPOILERS are REVEALED from another Christie book BELOW!!]  . . . . . . 

Josephine Leonides, a young girl from Crooked House, resorts to poisoning her victims, a typical method of murder from the female perspective. And that's seen not only in this but in many of Christie's stories.

I like how the Ustinov film remained true to the book in respects of keeping Linda and not changing her sex like the Suchet film did, obviously creating some sort of credibility for modern audiences, which I felt was why they changed her to Lionel. So based on Linda alone, here are my scores for Evil Under The Sun: 

The Book: 1
Film w/ David Suchet: 0
  Film w/ Ustinov: 1

ianthepoet

After some consideration I have decided that Murder on the Orient Express is my all time favourite. Every time I go back to read it I find something that I missed the last time. Of course everyone knows the ending, however this novel enchants me every time. 

ianthepoet

Well I have finally finished Murder on the Orient Express, and as usual I wasn't disappointed. Now to watch the film. 

PoirotBabosaGalaxy

Poirot was best described putting wax on the little moustaches and then using that jet black hair dye in the ABC murders and also sitting in a wheelchair waiting his death as he pulled the curtain to look outside one final last time...

PoirotBabosaGalaxy

“Dear, Mister Poirot, you are not so clever as all that A.B.C. I bet you cannot expect what happens next. X.Y.Z. I expect next time you might watch out where you were going. -X.”

taliavishay-arbel

Getting back to "Evil under the sun" - the Ustinov movie, they did something that I felt made the story tighter and better for a movie - MOVIE SPOILER - they changed the characters to have a connection to the victim. The Gardeners are not just american tourists but producers who expected Arlena to be in their next project, while she reneged on her contract, causing them a loss; instead of the (suspectedly unbalanced) reverend, there is the effeminate scandal writer who Arlena is threatening to sue if he publishes his book about her; Blatt is after Arlena because she stole a jewel from him. That makes for a lot of credible suspects. I was rather sorry they eliminated Rosamund, but replacing her with an Irene Castle - an old flame of Marshal, kind, spicy and an old rival of Arlena - was brilliant! So, movie-wise - this is still my favorite.

Tommy_A_Jones

I agree tali, it is Brilliant, I love the points you make.

Miranda

Curtain is definitely my favourite Poirot book but I thought the Suchet adaptation was terrible.

ChristieFanForLife

Miranda said:

Curtain is definitely my favourite Poirot book but I thought the Suchet adaptation was terrible.

I feel the adaptation should have better. This was the last Poirot film and the film didn't fully meet my expectation. The Poirot series lost steam at that point, more misses rather than hits and I'm guessing the production team wanted to get the series over with. Curtain should have been a longer film -- the airtime wasn't long enough. It felt rushed and I didn't get a good feel of the characters from the actors. And what happened to the Poirot theme? There was no variant version of the theme in nor the end of the film -- such a same! 

Miranda

I agree about the series.  IMO, they made a right mess of Orient Express as well.  There's a lot of humour in that book.  Which adds to the pathos of the ending.  The drama had the wrong feel about it from beginning to end for me.

Tommy_A_Jones

I totally agree.

Mohan

ChristieFanForLife said:

I love how in Evil Under The Sun, the book that is, Poirot compares the tanned, bronzed bodies lying in the sun to slabs of meat on the butchers table. Only Poirot can make such an odd simile. Good use of humor yet dark at the same time

I just LOVE this quote!  Poirot's remark really takes you by surprise.  

My favourite Poirot novel is easily Cards on the Table.  Favourite short story is The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding - I've read this one so MANY times and I never tire of it!

Tommy_A_Jones

My Favourite Short story is the Hunters Lodge one, I love the way Poirot solves it without being on the scene.

ChristieFanForLife

Tommy_A_Jones said:

My Favourite Short story is the Hunters Lodge one, I love the way Poirot solves it without being on the scene.

The Disappearance Of Mr. Davenheim, a great mystery, is another Poirot short story where Poirot solves the case from the confines of his flat, never once at the scene of the crime. This brings the series a freshness to it and adds to Poirot's genius as private detective.

Mohan

@Tommy_A_Jones and @ChristieFanForLife
I like both Hunters Lodge and the Davenheim - great stories with excellent detection.  Hunters Lodge especially the location is creepy - I think it's miles from anywhere with the nearest station being about 10 miles away right?  I've often wondered about constructions like Hunters Lodge - do these kind of extremely lonely houses still exist in Britain?  Or do these clearly hark back to a completely different era?

SPOILER
The Davenheim reminds me of the Sherlock Holmes short story The Man with the Twisted Lip! :-)