Favorite "unfaithful" moments by David Suchet as Poirot

kaberi.chakrabarty

We understand that when they adapt the Poirot stories for television, certain changes have to be made to make things more interesting for viewers. I am rewatching all of Mr. Suchet's portrayals on Acorn TV and noting my favorite moments that were not actually scripted by Dame Agatha herself.

From The Adventure of the Clapham Cook: I find Poirot's interview with the housemaid Annie charming. The initial interview is taken directly from the story ("White slavers!" Ha!) but I especially like that, when he goes back to the house and is told off by Mrs. Todd, he sneaks downstairs and finds Annie again and gets additional information out of her.

From The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly: This is the first we hear of Miss Lemon's famous filing system. Although Christie did introduce the idea, whoever scripted Miss Lemon's explanation for this episode had a moment of sly genius:
Miss Lemon: Types of cases...adultery (see also under marriage), bigamy (see also under marriage), bombs...
Poirot: See also under marriage?

What are your favorite Suchet moments? (Please keep in mind that we Americans have not yet seen most of Season 13).

Tommy_A_Jones

I love the fact Hastings, Japp and Miss Lemon are in Evil Under The Sun, I love the Fact Miss Lemon features so Heavily in the Episodes, I love the Script subplot in Murder In Marsdon Manor but Evil Under The Sun has my Favourite Changes

Tommy_A_Jones

I also love the fact ITV put Hastings in Murder In Mesopotamia The Book should have had him

mike1410

I cannot recall any specific Suchet "moments" that were created for the television adaptations and have stuck in my mind, but I do think the scriptwriters must have had a lot of fun with Miss Lemon's lines, and were definitely AC fans. Given that they were writing her into so many stories (where she  did not actually appear in the book) they managed to give her some excellent lines, such as the ones you quite about adultery, without in any way detracting from the character as written by Dame Agatha. It would have been so easy to make the television Miss Lemon a silly caricature of the written one. It must have been easier when writing Insp Japp into the stories, since in many cases he has replaced another policeman (Battle, Spence etc) and basically just taken their lines.

I cannot remember which adaptation it was, but in one of them Mrs Japp is supposedly away on holiday and Insp Japp is having to look after himself at home.....and not being very successful at it. There are some lovely scenes set in the Japp house which I do not remember being in any book. I think it's the same adaptation where Miss Lemon twists Poirot's arm to let Insp Japp stay in his spare room? There follows a delightful scene of Insp Japp's amazement at the breakfast table watching Poirot eat his breakfast toast - perfect little squares of toast and jam arranged symmetrically on the plate! Beautiful.

Tommy_A_Jones

Isn't that Lord Edgware Dies?

kaberi.chakrabarty

Tommy_A_Jones said:

I also love the fact ITV put Hastings in Murder In Mesopotamia The Book should have had him

I agree that the scriptwriters for the series made the most of the "secondary" characters, fleshing their characters  out in a way that Christie didn't do. For example, in the The Third Floor Flat, the accused murderer attempts to make his escape in Hastings' beloved car, crashing the car in the process. Hastings is devastated. When, shortly afterward, the murderer's potential girlfriend asks Hastings, "Is he all right?", Hastings responds with a dazed, "It'll need a whole new front end."

And in Problem at Sea, Hastings and Poirot are taking a cruise to Alexandria, but all Hastings can think about is a clay pigeon shooting tournament aboard ship. When he asks a fellow passenger if she will be participating, the woman distractedly says "Of course I'm interested, but we'll have to talk about it tomorrow." When Poirot points out to him that not everyone shares his fascination with the subject, Hastings responds with "What do you mean? She said she was interested."

TeddyBg

Definitely Sad Cypress when at the end *SPOILER ALERT* the nurse tries to kill Poirot.

TeddyBg

I've recently re-read "Appointment with Death" and I was disappointed with the murderer. Maybe the solution in the movie works better for me.

Tommy_A_Jones

I thought The Identity of the Murderer stayed The same TeddyBg?

TeddyBg

Tommy_A_Jones said:

I thought The Identity of the Murderer stayed The same TeddyBg?

No, it's different, the movie deviates significantly from the novel. Obviosly I had to write SPOILER ALERT. But I think I've seen this deviation mentioned in other topics, so I thought it's well known thing. Sorry!

Tommy_A_Jones

It's Fine, I hav e seen it it, for some reason my Brain started to think of The Ustinov version, The end of that one confused me and the rest annoyed me, I won'tbe buying that one.

LeopoldoAtila

Third Girl. I think the film's development much better than the book. There are some twists and unpredictable things more interesting than the book itself.

TeddyBg

I like that in "Dumb Witness" adaptation the role of Bob is more underlined.

Tommy_A_Jones

I think thsat about Murder In Mesopotamia Leopold.

tudes

For me, the same happens in Elephants can Rememeber.. I like the book, but I think (sometimes) the film is more interesting.

Tommy_A_Jones

Having re-read the Book recently I thought there was enough to the book without having to add to it, I didn't find it confusing at all.

TuppenceBeresford

I agree about Third Girl - I enjoyed most of the book but found the ending impossibly unconvincing. The ITV version was an improvement. I also found Norma's romance more convincing in the TV version. In the book it seemed a bit dodgy.

I didn't enjoy The TV version of The Big Four but felt it had more of a story than the book.

I really liked the book of Sad Cypress and found it interesting that the supposed murderer Elinor was such a cold and not particularly likeable character but I felt more emotionally involved with the vulnerable girl in the TV series.