Whenever I see her in the Episode I always think of Diana Rigg
Oh I see who you mean, it's Linda Marlowe. You're right, she is a bit like Diana Rigg.
I looked her up and she's 73 now, so perhaps also a bit too long in the tooth for the Countess.
I love playing the casting game but am hamstrung by the fact that I find contemporary film and television generally so awful that I don't watch much of it, so am not very familiar with the current crop of actors, and it doesn't help that so many of them look so similar nowadays.
Oh Sorry, It isn't one of my favourites but it is better in my view than any of the ones with the 2nd Sargeant, I don't like those episodes except perhaps the one with Jim Carter, btw I am currently reading the book the Pilot was based on The Killings of Badgers Drift, I can't find pictures of the Actress I mean when looking up the Episode on IMDB, I might be wrong about the woman playing a wife, it might be an ex-wife, there are a lot of those in the episode, It says on IMDB that John Nettles wanted to create a Policeman who wasn't divorced or anything like other TV Cops which is refreshing, I for one am glad he did.
I love your Username It makes me think of my Favourite Miss Marple story.
Just looked up Linda Marshall up, that is who I mean, I always think of Diana Rigg in Witness For The Prosecution, I think "Oh They would be good as X but then realise I am imagining they still look like what I saw them in something which could have been in the 80s or 90s
I agree lachy, there is an actor who was in an adaptation of Partners in Crime (The one with the man who wants to find out how a woman can bee in two places at once) Anyway, the actor who plays the Waiter looks like my idea of Poirot more but I don't think he would have the ability to make Poirot approachable, I think Ian Holm also looks like my idea of Poirot, but also with him I think you would have the same problem, Ian Holm did play Poirot in a TV drama where Poirot visited Agatha Christie (Peggy Ashcroft) to ask why she killed him off, when I knew David Suchet had got the part of Poirot I thought what a pity Ian Holm didn't get it, but David Suchet is almost Perfect for the role.
I enjoy the film version of Evil Under the Sun but not Ustinov's performance. As if Poirot would ever wear a swimsuit! David Suchet is Poirot. Just as Joan Hickson is Miss Marple
SUCHETTTTT for me , he just looks more like poirot in my opinion . Also his walk and all is more perfect , and to me he seems more Belgian - I know he s not but he does look it .
SUCHETTTTT for me , he just looks more like poirot in my opinion . Also his walk and all is more perfect , and to me he seems more Belgian - I know he s not but he does look it .
You're right. Unfortunatelly, there are a few adaptations that don't mesure up his performance.
I totally agree! In my opinion David Suchet is the definitive Poirot. Not only does he look exactly how I picture Poirot to look but his attention to detail in terms of his mannerisms etc is down to a T and I think Agatha would be extremely happy with him.
HOWEVER! I love all of the Ustinov movies and although he seemed to be playing Poirot for comedic effect, I think that the casting in his versions are far better. I also love the glamour in his movies, especially in Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun which are two of my favourite films of all time so for me, the Suchet versions just do not compare to these.
I totally agree with your Analysis Zeddie, DS looks like my idea of Poirot but the PU versions are better, I would however add that Ian Holm and the man who plays the waiter in the Twins TAT Adaptation look a bit more like my idea of Poirot but DS as Poirot looks as near as Wotsit
And David Suchet was getting better over the years! But Ustinov versions, especially Death on the Nile and Appointment with death were very well done! The adaptions were really good and the cast was excellent. Suchet version of Evil under the sun is similar to the plot of the PC game, not the book! Ustinov version is much better!
Both versions of Evil Under The Sun have something the other doesn't, The Ustinov version has a feel of magic and a Great Cast. The Suchet Version have Hastings, Miss Lemon and Japp which make it wonderful, I would call it a Draw
I'm reading Poirot and Me, by David Suchet and find it very insightful to David Suchet's knowledge of Poirot; he read every Poirot book and short stories.
David Suchet is the best, he is remarkable in every way. I admire the way he has brought such personality and detailed his character to perfection. I have seen the others and they did a good, really good job but I believe Mr. Suchet has perfected the role. I I see many layers as he plays Poirot, just little things that make me believe he is the genuine article. Love him!
Both are excellent actors and both played the roll of Poirot to perfection but if I was to pick between the two I would pick David Suchet. He plays the role of Poirot in such a way that you could believe he has stepped out of the pages of any one of the Poirot novels .
I agree with @MissQuin that that Zoe Wanamaker is a bit difficult at first to accept as Mrs Oliver. She certainly didn't LOOK the way I pictured her. Japp - yes, he's good. Like Lestrade to Sherlock Holmes... Ustinov is a wonderful actor but he simply doesn't LOOK like Poirot, and let's face it - a large part of being Poirot is looking the part. The height, the mustaches. In the books, Poirot goes on and on about his mustaches and his clothes. Since they are such a large part of his persona, if they're not right then it just doesn't work. Egg-shaped head, large black mustaches, dandified appearance. Green-light in eyes when excited. Short and stands to his full height... Those are the key-phrases that appear again and again to describe him. I agree with @SeaSnap that Suchet has it.
I personally think Zoe Wanemaker isn't the right shape to be Ariadne, when I saw her in the 1st one which was filmed with Ariadne, I thought she was too acerbic but I later read other books with Ariadne and realised I was wrong about that, but she still isn't the right shape, Lil Roughly would have ben better, I don't think Japp looks like Japp either, I think he is too tall, and his Hat is wrong, It should be a Bowler having said all this Zoe Wanamaker and Philip Jackson are excellent, I just think David Suchet looks more like Japp in Thirteen At Dinner than Philip Jackson does.
Overall, I believe David Suchet has been the best Hercule Poirot. The fact that he read all the books and made a list of his habits and behaviors clearly shows in the series. However, I would say that Finney's Murder on the Orient Express was much more faithful to the book than the one that Suchet appeared in. Ustinov's and Suchet's Death on the Nile were both well done. Suchet's version of Evil Under the Sun is much better than the one that Ustinov appeared in. However, the Suchet version of Appointment with Death is not faithful to the book. The changes in characters only weaken the Suchet version. The addition of severe child abuse is very un-Christie and not in keeping with her works. The Ustinov version of Appointment with Death is much more faithful to the book.
SPOILER ALERT! I like The scene with Poirot and Race dancing with Salome and Rosalie in The Ustinov version of Death On The Nile and the scene with the snake in the Ustinov version
I agree with you that the Ustinov version of Appointment With Death was better than The Suchet one but I read somewhere that Agatha Christie was planning a Book with that sought of Subject matter but decided the world was not ready for it or something like that so perhaps it wasn't so un-Christie after all, I preferred Suchet's Three-Act Tragedy to Ustinov's Murder in Three Acts and Suchet's Lord Edgwae Dies is better than Thirteen At Dinner in my view but that has nothing to do with Suchet's performance in The Ustinov Film and I do like The Ustinov version of Dead Man' Folly, I like the idea of Ariadne and Hastings meeting.
For me the best Poirot is David Suchet. Ustinov may be a great actor but simply doesn't fit the look of Poirot. David with all these little Poirot thing (the smiling under mustache, the walking) makes me happy.
As to Zoe Wanamaker. It's fact that Agatha described her "gross" , and Zoe doesn't fit. (I think it's something like marketing strategy or whatever it's called, because for the viewers it will be more pleasant to watch a good-looking lady) But I adore her impersonation, I think she does Ariadne things as it's described in the books.
Miss Lemon in the book is like a machine. I think that it's mentioned that she's ugly (not sure bout that). Miss Lemon in the movie is exactly the opposite (Pauline is so charming) and even in one episode has a secret admirer. But for me it's the better variant.
Definitely Suchet. Whoever reads a Poirot novel for the first time, he imagines someone exactly like Suchet. I also love his acting, giving importance to the small details.
I simply do not get all this fandom for Suchet as Poirot!
I know I go against what seems to be the 'flow' of quite a lot of the opinion here, but I personally detest David Suchet as Poirot. Just terrible! He is all wrong for the part - mannered to the painful extreme with a really ersatz and overdone 'Belgian' accent, which is entirely unconvincing. I tried so hard to like him when the series first came out on UK television years ago, but simply could not. I also found him strangely 'cold' and stilted in his rendition of my beloved Poirot. Hercule Poirot may be very pedantic and even insufferable at times, but cold and stilted he most certainly is not.
It has to be Peter Ustinov all the way - perfectly accented, wry in his humour and slyly self-deprecating, even when being pompous or utterly self-important! Ustinov gave Poirot humour, a justly irreverent continental touch (which Suchet, unavoidably a quintessential English actor, completely misses) and, yes, warmth. Suchet, hard as he tries, still comes across like a humourless Englishman with a funny accent. Peter Ustinov was of course also English-born. But Ustinov was also a far better and far more versatile actor than Suchet has ever been, allowing Ustinov to capture the Belgian / continental 'otherness' and essence that is Hercule Poirot.
I like the Ustinov Films and there is bits where I think "Yes That's Poirot' but In The main the things you like about Ustinov's Poirot I think can be attributed to Suchet and I think Suchet's Japp look's more like Japp should be than Philip Jackson's Japp.
Comments
Oh I see who you mean, it's Linda Marlowe. You're right, she is a bit like Diana Rigg.
I looked her up and she's 73 now, so perhaps also a bit too long in the tooth for the Countess.
I love playing the casting game but am hamstrung by the fact that I find contemporary film and television generally so awful that I don't watch much of it, so am not very familiar with the current crop of actors, and it doesn't help that so many of them look so similar nowadays.
Oh Sorry, It isn't one of my favourites but it is better in my view than any of the ones with the 2nd Sargeant, I don't like those episodes except perhaps the one with Jim Carter, btw I am currently reading the book the Pilot was based on The Killings of Badgers Drift, I can't find pictures of the Actress I mean when looking up the Episode on IMDB, I might be wrong about the woman playing a wife, it might be an ex-wife, there are a lot of those in the episode, It says on IMDB that John Nettles wanted to create a Policeman who wasn't divorced or anything like other TV Cops which is refreshing, I for one am glad he did.
I love your Username It makes me think of my Favourite Miss Marple story.
David Suchet is Poirot. Just as Joan Hickson is Miss Marple
I totally agree with your Analysis Zeddie, DS looks like my idea of Poirot but the PU versions are better, I would however add that Ian Holm and the man who plays the waiter in the Twins TAT Adaptation look a bit more like my idea of Poirot but DS as Poirot looks as near as Wotsit
Suchet version of Evil under the sun is similar to the plot of the PC game, not the book! Ustinov version is much better!
Ustinov is a wonderful actor but he simply doesn't LOOK like Poirot, and let's face it - a large part of being Poirot is looking the part. The height, the mustaches. In the books, Poirot goes on and on about his mustaches and his clothes. Since they are such a large part of his persona, if they're not right then it just doesn't work. Egg-shaped head, large black mustaches, dandified appearance. Green-light in eyes when excited. Short and stands to his full height... Those are the key-phrases that appear again and again to describe him. I agree with @SeaSnap that Suchet has it.
I agree with you that the Ustinov version of Appointment With Death was better than The Suchet one but I read somewhere that Agatha Christie was planning a Book with that sought of Subject matter but decided the world was not ready for it or something like that so perhaps it wasn't so un-Christie after all, I preferred Suchet's Three-Act Tragedy to Ustinov's Murder in Three Acts and Suchet's Lord Edgwae Dies is better than Thirteen At Dinner in my view but that has nothing to do with Suchet's performance in The Ustinov Film and I do like The Ustinov version of Dead Man' Folly, I like the idea of Ariadne and Hastings meeting.
As to Zoe Wanamaker. It's fact that Agatha described her "gross" , and Zoe doesn't fit. (I think it's something like marketing strategy or whatever it's called, because for the viewers it will be more pleasant to watch a good-looking lady) But I adore her impersonation, I think she does Ariadne things as it's described in the books.
Miss Lemon in the book is like a machine. I think that it's mentioned that she's ugly (not sure bout that). Miss Lemon in the movie is exactly the opposite (Pauline is so charming) and even in one episode has a secret admirer. But for me it's the better variant.
I simply do not get all this fandom for Suchet as Poirot!
I know I go against what seems to be the 'flow' of quite a lot of the opinion here, but I personally detest David Suchet as Poirot. Just terrible! He is all wrong for the part - mannered to the painful extreme with a really ersatz and overdone 'Belgian' accent, which is entirely unconvincing. I tried so hard to like him when the series first came out on UK television years ago, but simply could not. I also found him strangely 'cold' and stilted in his rendition of my beloved Poirot. Hercule Poirot may be very pedantic and even insufferable at times, but cold and stilted he most certainly is not.
It has to be Peter Ustinov all the way - perfectly accented, wry in his humour and slyly self-deprecating, even when being pompous or utterly self-important! Ustinov gave Poirot humour, a justly irreverent continental touch (which Suchet, unavoidably a quintessential English actor, completely misses) and, yes, warmth. Suchet, hard as he tries, still comes across like a humourless Englishman with a funny accent. Peter Ustinov was of course also English-born. But Ustinov was also a far better and far more versatile actor than Suchet has ever been, allowing Ustinov to capture the Belgian / continental 'otherness' and essence that is Hercule Poirot.