Agatos Kristi kolekcija. Puaro The Clocks (1989–2013) Online

I am a big fan of the Poirot adaptations with David Suchet and of Agatha Christie's books, so of course I was going to see The Clocks. The series has had a few masterpieces(After the Funeral), a number of solid adaptations(Cat Among the Pigeons) and the odd disappointment(Taken at the Flood). I have to say I was very impressed with this adaptation of The Clocks, and put it between the masterpiece and solid categories.

My only real complaint of The Clocks was the spy subplot, which came across as rather old-fashioned and predictable. Other than that, it was very well done and highly entertaining right from the beautifully shot prologue to the intriguing final solution. The book wasn't my favourite of The Queen of Crime, but it was a very fun read with a good story and interesting characters.

I feel The Clocks is one of the better-directed recent episodes. There are times when the direction is taut when it needs to be, and there are other times when like in the prologue where it is quite elegant. The adaptation as is the case with all the Poirot episodes is very well made, the period recreation is sumptuous and the photography is consistently excellent. I feel often that music helps to enhance the mood in a film, TV adaptation or cartoon, and that's what the music does here. The music here is beautiful and haunting and never feels over-bearing or overly-grandiose.

The story is faithful and interesting and it is helped by the solid pacing and the wonderful array of characters, while the dialogue has the odd wry moment while maintaining its thoughtfulness. I was highly impressed by the atmosphere too, in some ways the adaptation is quite dark and suspenseful but there is always room for some humour without it jarring too much. The acting is excellent, David Suchet doesn't just play Poirot, he actually becomes Poirot. He is brilliantly supported by Phil Daniels, Anna Massey and especially Lesley Sharp, and it was nice to see the late John Thaw's daughter Abigail here too.

Overall, a solid adaptation and one of the better recent episodes. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I would go so far as to class The Clocks as superb, it's such a wonderfully clever and intricate mystery, loaded with great characters and red herrings, it's bound to have the viewer tied up in knots. It's the closest Poirot gets to investigating espionage, the mystery is first rate, and gives a broad range of opinions from people terrified by the threat of war. The opening is brilliant, it's so dramatic and intriguing, it really does set the tone.

It's a beautifully styled episode, it's so classy looking, the costumes, sets etc, all first rate. There's one scene where Poirot is stood by the coast, with the sea full of ships, I thought that looked fantastic.

Great performances, Anna Massey and Tom Burke both fantastic in particular, Frances Barber also makes a small role into something great, hugely charismatic.

The pacing on this story is excellent, it moves by very quickly, with no dull moments.

I really enjoy reading The Clocks, and think they did a fine job dramatising it, great episode, 9/10

"The Clocks" premiered in America on PBS' Masterpiece Mystery tonight, June 26, 2011, two years after its filming and release in the U.K. in 2009, and I must say that it was a thrill to watch.

David Suchet dons the role of famed Belgium detective Hercule Poirot once again, and we are treated to amazing revelations regarding spies, national stakes for England before WWII, and a classic murder mystery set in the English seaside town of Dover.

The adaptation by Stuart Harcourt, whom I previously berated for his foolish perversion of Hercule Poirot in "Murder on the Orient Express" (2010) into a devout Catholic, is much better two years earlier. The detours from the original Christie novel heighten the stakes of the story well, especially changing one of the main characters, Lt. Colin Cray, into the son of Colonel Race, a Poirot associate from "Cards on the Table" (2004) and the Christie novel "Death on the Nile".

Another logical change made by Harcourt was the inclusion of Poirot in the interviewing of the witnesses and visitation to the scene of the crime. In the novel, Lt. Colin Cray performs most of the investigation.

"The Clocks" novel may stand as one of Christie's greatest works for mixing facts with red herrings. The number and complexity of the clues are handled well in this adaptation.

David Suchet is again magnificent in the role of his career -- meticulous, eccentric and insightful.

These later editions of Poirot are void of humor and are filmed as dramatic thrillers, and have long lost the charm of the early episodes. However, watching Poirot is still as exciting to me as they were when it premiered in 1989.

I find it hard to believe that Mr. Suchet has been playing Monsieur Poirot for over 20 years, but I hope he does it for as long as he can.

I own the British ITV Collection 8 (which is nothing else than the collection of episodes of Season 12 divided onto 4 DVDs and lasting 89 minutes each).

In "The Clocks", which has been excellently directed by Charles Palmer, we are being served with a double mystery, but this is only revealed toward the very end of the episode.

It is so well concocted that we are led to think that this is a normal Poirot's "whodunnit" with your usual murder, but wait... Not that easy this time.

The episode starts in 1938 at Dover Castle, in a Secret Base set up for MI6. It all starts there. At first one is convinced to be watching a normal Spy Thriller, but then something happens, that changes the facts completely and here come "The Clocks" to the foreground as the main subject of the Mystery.

I stop here, since it would really be a crime to reveal the plot. Suffice it to say that all the cast plays their relative roles at their best and seem very natural in this setting.

David Suchet cannot be judged anymore. Every time he slips into Poirot, he simply is Poirot.

It is a very dark tale, not as funny as many other previous ones, but because of this, it gains in suspense and grittiness. The pace is adequate for such a Mystery/Thriller, but make no mistake, you will have to keep your eyes and ears well open, because nothing is what it seems to be in this one.

Hercule Poirot is approached by a friend, Lieutenant Colin Race of the Royal Navy, to help investigate a murder. Lt Race works in a secret base under Dover Castle. His colleague and girlfriend died while investigating a German spy ring and in his investigations of the ring he stumbles across a murder. A body has been found in the house of a blind woman, Ms Pebmarsh, but nobody, including the blind woman, knows his identity. Lt Race is convinced the murder is linked to the spy ring. The chief suspect is a typist, Sheila Webb, who discovered the body. The more Poirot delves, the murkier things seem.

Interesting, intriguing story with some great twists and red herrings. Has the usual murder mystery element but adds a military and espionage angle, which makes things more interesting.

Not perfect though. The best Poirots are the ones where you have enough information to work out the murderer yourself, if you think hard enough. This is one of those where you don't know enough - the backstory that informs the plot is hidden until the very end. Still quite interesting though.

A very faithful adaptation of the Clocks,with brilliant interpretations by Anna Massey as a very menacing,if sweet blind woman,Phil Daniels as a cockney cop in the Philip Jackson mold and Lesley Sharp as a snobbish and haughty secretary,is as usual wonderfully directed and written.The story is rich of hilarious characters(the Cat lady,the middle-aged couple à la George & Mildred) ,and it adds to the novel a spy subplot not too surprising and perhaps a bit old-fashioned,as if a spy melodrama from the 40s (say,The Spy in Black) would have been sewed together with a very modern and highly original whodunit.But the prologue in the Dover Castle underground HQ is so beautifully shot that it saves the too predictable solution of this minor part of the mystery (the mole discovered in the second half of the movie is so suspicious and conspicuous that even Hastings would have guessed the truth on first glance !).Nothing to complain instead with the major mystery,adapted and explained with a deft touch.(The clocks scene with the discovery of the murdered man is a joy in itself,a real masterpiece).Not the best outing of the season(the laurels go to the marvelous Tragedy) and not diabolically clever as the Mark Gatiss adaptations,but a sound,highly amusing adaptation of one of Dame Agatha's minor works

I remember reading The Clocks many years ago and all I actually recalled about was that I didn't particularly care for it. In general, I think Christie's "espionage" stories including all of those with Col. (or Lt.) Race are inferior to the rest of her mysteries. The storyline for this one is pretty disjointed and unbelievable. What saves it are the wonderful production values, which are remarkable, and the cast. Suchet is the quintessential Poirot. I will endlessly remark that I much prefer the early Poroit shows with the Japp, Hastings and Lemon characters, as they were, for me considerably more engaging and charming. And more fun to watch. In this show, Phil Daniels was good as the Japp- like character and it was nice seeing Anna Massey. I first noticed Massey in a Midsummer Murders episode and later read Christopher Plummer's autobiography and he mentions Massey. This led me to her autobiography which is fascinating in the insights she shares on the acting profession (however, her father, Raymond Massey, was certainly an aloof and disinterested father). Massey was such a talent that she makes even a relatively small role memorable. For me, there are no "bad" shows in this long running series but this one is a lesser effort.

The Clocks is one of my favorite Poirot mysteries, so I decided to watch this adaptation - despite the mixed opinions of the viewers.

Well, I liked it very much. Sheila, Colin, and of course the great detective himself are portrayed perfectly, the plot is generally faithful to the book.

Though, some story changes seemed pointless to me - for example, why change Edna Brent's name?

And I think that the additions on the spy subplot were completely unnecessary - they only confused everything and didn't play a big role in the solution. Casting suspicion on the Waterhouses (and making them German-born refugees), for example.

So, I give the movie 8 out of 10. Minus one for the useless plot alterations, and minus one for making Inspector Hardcastle way too dull - in my opinion, too dull even for the classical "stupid policeman" of the detective stories.

Adapted by Stewart Harcourt from a late Poirot novel (and not one of Christie's best) 'The Clocks' turned out to be unexpectedly good. Harcourt gives the whole thing a 'pre war spy thriller' twist and the whole thing moves at a brisk but never confusing pace. The seaside setting of Dover made a nice change and the casting was generally very good indeed.

Tom Burke is engaging as Poirot's sidekick Lt Race and I very much enjoyed Phil Daniels as Insp Hardcastle - a perfect counterpoint to Poirot. Anna Massey and Jaime Winstone are excellent in the largest supporting roles but I also loved Lesley Sharp as a glacial, ne'er do well Miss Martindale, Frances Barber (always terrific) as the strident Merlina Rival and (probably best of all) Beatie Edney as the eccentric 'catwoman' Mrs Hemmings.

I really enjoyed this production and hats off to Harcourt and his team for turning one of Christie's weaker plots into something really good!

This has to be the most disappointing of all the Agatha Christie stories brought to the TV screen by Masterpiece Theater and starring David SUCHET as the mastermind detective Hercule Poirot.

The story is so far-fetched in concept and cluttered with such a lot of nonsense about a spy plot and the sinister group of people involved, with every facet of the story straining credibility from the start. And this, despite a fine central performance by ANNA MASSEY as a blind receptionist who finds a murdered man behind her sofa and is unable to explain either his identity or the circumstances of his death.

As usual, the production values are excellent and the acting by all concerned is on a high level of expertise. But the story seems so absurd and is hard to follow once the various details come to light, making it appear that even Poirot will be unable to unwind the tangled mess of events.

Very disappointing and certainly not one of Agatha Christie's more credible mysteries.

Pursuit of a spy ring brings Lt. Colin Race comes to Wilbraham Crescent, where he happens upon a woman fleeing in terror from a house containing the blind owner, and a dead man. The house contains clocks all stopped at the wrong time – which the owner insists are not hers, and nobody seems to know who the dead man is. The police get involved in the shape of Inspector Hardcastle, but so too does Race's family friend of Hercule Poirot. The potential for witnesses to the crime in the small contained Crescent, means a door to door investigation, during which time the many odd characters are revealed – but what does it all mean? Does it link to the suspected spy ring? What do the clocks mean? And where did one of them go? And was it really Mr Tinkles who wee'd on the sofa? Poirot investigates.

The play that this film opens with is noted for containing many red herrings (or whatever it is called in Finnish); I thought this was maybe a reference to such a scene in Appointment with Death, but the author Ariadne Oliver was not in that story. Anyway, what this reference does link to is the rest of this film, because it is noteworthy for how convoluted it is, but yet how (comparatively) simple the actual solution is. Indeed my own experience with it rather fits with this since I spent most of the film trying to align the many, many moving parts and red herrings, but yet at the same time I always suspected Martindale on the simple basis that she was the gate- keeper to one of the key events that put Webb into the house at the right time (the supposed phone call requesting her services); so all at once I had one of the perps but yet nothing by fog as to how it all would work out.

There is a certain amount of pleasure in this mess of clues and irrelevant detail, and it helps that the residents of the Crescent are colourful – it is nice to have some comedic touches back in the film after the rather more brooding Orient Express. However, at the same time it is difficult to fight your way through any of it since there is a lot going on. This limited how engaged I was in the mystery, even though I was still interested enough to keep up and keep fighting to put things into the right slots. The colourful characters are ell delivered by the colourful cast, with Sharp, Winstone, Massey, Wicks and others all do good work, with plenty of energy and intrigue; special mention to Edney's cat woman for comedy effect. The period delivery continues to work, although it does not feel as precise and focused on period detail as maybe it once did, but it is broader and more sweeping in scale than the original episodes. Suchet is on good form and, even though he lacks any of his usual companions, he works well with Daniels (even if personally I found Burke to be a bit dull).

The Clocks is a double-edged sword then; the convoluted and colorful nature of the mystery and characters manages to both engage by virtue of its complexity, but yet also make it harder to really be engaged since it is so deliberately filled with the famous red fish. So as a mystery I did not find it to be as rewarding or intriguing as the stronger films in the series, but as entertainment it still very much worked for me.

I really liked "The Clocks", I think it's because I got all emotional over that love story! I really felt sympathetic for Rosemary Sheila Webb, and that is a sign of good acting, right? (Also, I noticed to my amusement that Tom Burke looks a tiny bit like a less-girly, more-handsome Edward Cullen.) The music also created an atmosphere that was more dark and emotional than usual. Without Hastings, Japp, or Lemon, this movie is more "let's save this young girl from being wrongly convicted" than "let's make jokes and watch Poirot be whimsical", if that makes sense. Not only is this movie more serious than most in the series, but it is also more focused on the characters Colin and Sheila and less on Poirot himself.

I agree with other reviewers that it was strange how the spy plot and the murder plot actually turn out to be completely separate. I also thought the murderer became obvious pretty early on. Still, the full details of the resolution did surprise me in the end and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie despite, as some have pointed out, the extraordinary coincidences it would have taken to make it all possible.

There are two plots into one here, plenty of coincidences and a lot of red herrings offered here as well. At least there is enough plot to justify the longer running time which I felt was not always the case with the longer Poirot stories.

Lt Colin Race is investigating a spy ring when he finds a distraught young woman who has come across a stabbed man in the home of a blind lady, a home with lots of clocks showing the wrong time.

Lt Race's father was an acquaintance of Poirot and he asks for his help and Poirot comes down to Dover to investigate with Inspector Hardcastle who is a little out of his depth. The young woman worked for a company providing secretarial services. The Crescent where the dead body was found contains a host of colourful but slightly sinister characters.

It is nicely shot and for the later Poirot adaptations it contains more humour.

As with Jeremy Brett's "Sherlock Holmes"; Peter Davison's "Campion"; and Joan Hickson's "Miss Marple" stories, "Poirot" started out with a big budget and good intentions, to faithfully reproduce Agatha Christie's Poirot stories for a society too lazy to open a book.

Naturally, "Poirot" had to be altered in places in the change from one medium to another. Unfortunately, as the series moved into novels, it made unnecessary changes. For instance, "Peril at End House" from the early days did an admirable job (with slight alterations) and while it's one of my favorite Christie books it is also one of my favorite "Poirot" dramatizations.

Unfortunately, the series grew darker and even changed some of the endings, using different characters as the murderers! However, the producers of "Poirot" made one improvement over Christie. Dame Agatha's Poirot stories started in 1920 and ended in 1975, a span of 55 years where society changes but Poirot doesn't, even though he started out as a retired police detective! When his last mystery appeared he must have been more than 100! Wisely, the "Poirot" series remains set in the 1930s. "The Clocks"--set in 1963--is now given the more exciting setting of Dover on the verge of the second world war, with Hitler across the channel.

Another improvement is this: in the original book, Poirot proves his adage that with all the facts one can find the solution without leaving one's chair. This leaves most of the foot slogging to an MI-5 agent (here, altered to be the son of Poirot's old pal Col. Race) and Poirot rarely showing any life. Here, Poirot is summoned from his chair in London and has to go to Dover and interview all the people himself.

Apart from these cosmetic changes, the story remains remarkably faithful for a later Poirot. Furthermore, it's beautifully shot in a way almost reminiscent of the earlier Poirots, when he bumbled around with Hastings and Japp. Also unlike some of the later Poirots, the gratuitous swearing is reduced to one "bitch." If there's anything more I didn't hear it.

It even has fascinating shots that are supposed to be the secret tunnels dug beneath Dover Castle. Whether they are or not, it's still interesting to think that existed during the war.

Poirot is approached by Lieutenant Colin Race for help with a case. Race has found himself mixed-up in an unusual murder mystery. The story goes like this: Walking down a street, Race is nearly knocked over by a hysterical young woman named Shelia Webb as she runs from the front door of a house. Inside the house are a dead body and the owner of the house, a blind woman who knows nothing of the girl or the dead man. The police cannot identify the body and no one can explain how Webb, a typist for hire, came to be in the house with the dead man. Added to the mystery are four clocks in the room where the dead man was found, all set to 4:13. The blind woman knows nothing of the clocks and no one can explain what they mean. Oh, there's also some missing military documents that Race has been investigating thrown into the mix. Poirot has is hands full with this one.

I've ranted recently about several of the newer Poirot episodes. Some are twisted and changed from Christie's original work to the point they are unrecognizable. Some are filmed in a modern style more suited for something like CSI than a classic detective story set in the 1930s. I'm happy to report that neither is true with The Clocks. The story, while it varies on some aspects of Christie's The Clocks, holds true on most of the main plot points. It's easily recognizable to anyone familiar with the book. And the movie is told is style more fitting Poriot and Christie. It looks more like the earlier episodes I enjoy so much.

The Clocks was always one of my favorite Christie books and this adaptation did not disappoint. I congratulate director Charlie Palmer and the screenwriters for taking a fairly complicated story with multiple characters and suspects and putting it together so well. There are plenty of red herrings that work perfectly. It has all the hallmarks of a classic, well made, and well told mystery. The acting is top notch. By now, my enjoyment of Suchet's work goes without saying. The supporting cast, including Tom Burke as Race and Jaime Winstone as Shelia Webb, is very strong. There's even some good comic relief provided by the frustrated Inspector Hardcastle, played brilliantly by Phil Daniels. The sets and locations are once again flawless. I'm amazed at all the varied locations the producers were able to find for filming. Just beautiful. Finally, the music is a real bonus. It fits nicely with the unfolding story. Overall, an easy 8/10 from me.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The adaptation is well done, the acting is excellent, but the solution to the murder is laughable. Without giving too much away, Christie would have us believe in the most absurd series of coincidences in history. The show does a good job of building up the suspense but the last half an hour is a massive let-down if you haven't read or do not remember the novel.

It's worth a watch if you enjoy the series as well as to see Anna Massey's last performance, but you will roll your eyes at the conclusion.

Some nice shots of Dover as Poirot investigates the case of a dead man found in a blind woman's home. A young lady enters the empty house, having been called for some temporary secretarial business, sees the legs of the corpse behind the setee, and rushes out hysterically into the arms of a handsome passing stranger who happens to be the son of the now-retired Colonel Race. Young Race acts as Poirot's sidekick in this episode and he also falls for the young secretary whose love in return is pure, though she herself has a slightly shady past.

I kept thinking I'd like to know more about that shady past. This dark young woman is attractive enough but has been "working" for one of her agency's clients twice a week for some months. It develops that she is no virgo intacta. I, frankly, don't think she's pristine enough for the son of the devoted and dull and respectable Colonel Race, although it might have been entertaining if the old Colonel himself had a fling with her.

There isn't too much to say about the plot, or rather plots. Christie often threw in some other subplot involving people who are particeps criminis. In this case, they don't simply divert the investigators, they confuse the viewers too. One of the plots is about the equal in importance of the other and they have nothing to do with one another. An opening scene, in which two women chase one another and are both run down and killed, hangs irrelevantly in the air until the final few minutes.

I won't give away too much, I don't think, if I say that it all has to do with the approaching war with Hitler's Germany and with the inheritance of a great deal of money.

"The Clocks" will not go down as one of the classic Poirot mysteries: it does not reach either the emotional or the cerebral heights of other entries in the series. It might also have benefited from the inclusion of Ariadne Oliver - after all, Poirot attends one of her plays near the beginning and a part of it helps him get to the bottom of the case he's investigating. But it's still enjoyable, well-produced, and sometimes delightfully cryptic ("It's not important WHO he is, but who he IS!"), although if you are one of those people who like to pick out the guilty party (or parties) in a whodunit you have a better than usual chance of getting it right this time, since about half-a-dozen of the characters are guilty of....something! One very funny moment: Poirot's allergic reaction to cats. *** out of 4.

I gave this an 8 because it does keep you guessing.

While investigating a spy ring for MI6, Lieutenant Colin Race is walking on a street when a young woman races out of house and starts screaming that there is a dead man in the house. Race enters to investigate.

The typist is Sheila Webb. She was asked by her boss to go to this particular home and assist the woman living there. She lets herself in as instructed, and finds a dead man on the floor. There are four clocks in the room, all of which say 4:13. When the owner of the home, a Miss Pebmarsh, comes home, she says she doesn't know the man and never asked for a typist. Sheila becomes a suspect.

Poirot, working with the local investigators and a friend of Colin's, comes in to investigate. He thinks one of the neighbors had a secret worth a murder, and that Miss Webb was set up.

I thought this was good episode if filled with some bizarre coincidences. Poirot as played by David Suchet is perfection, and Poirot himself was very funny as he annoyed the chief inspector with what the inspector considered really dumb questions. Of course, they weren't at all.

Enjoyable, set in a time when England was on the brink of war with Germany.

I did this with the movie Se7en with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman.

The understanding of a killer is really very simplistic to say the least, and Se7en didn't fit, using the Deadly Sins as a reason to commit the crimes, but it relied too much on outside sources to progress his deeds, similar to BTK, but that one did a lot of meaningless fluff.

So what do we have here with Clocks. First, remove the entire spy plot, as it is only connected in the corpse was put in the spy's apartment as obviously no one would think a blind woman committed the crime.

So now, we want to get rid of the man who can identify the woman as not being the wife receiving the inheritance. In truth, wouldn't it have been easier to simply club him over the head and dump him in the river? Or at best, pay him off, as they ended up having to do with the actress anyway.

The availability of the blind woman's apartment, I can follow, but with nosy neighbors (which was really kind of intended to be the focus of this story), a lot of the disguise (the laundry truck) now becomes obvious.

So the boss lady disliked the young woman, so she decided to frame her for the crime by getting her to the apartment she has never been to before.

Yes, this all unraveled once more, but it seems like once the old blind woman said she called no one to do dictation, that should have made the police suspicious as well.

The criminals seemed to think, we'll just say I received the phone call, the old woman will say she called for no one and no one will believe the young girl.

In truth, the clocks were a rather bad addition. They were found in the apartment and the old woman knew nothing about them. So why would the young girl take the silly clocks there if she intended on killing the man? What we are then left with is really clumsy killers, hardly worthy of Poirot's attention. it seemed more like the spy plot was added or included (by Christie, not by any filmmaker here, tho i've never read the books) to justify international detective Poirot's presence.

There have been more fun mysteries with 'not seeming like it is' and 'not being told what we are seeing' and again, in truth, this one had that, with who the murdered man actually was.

But then to strangle a girl in a phone booth and club the actress, again, wouldn't it have just been easier to pay off the guy, or club him over the head and throw him in the river? Criminals really don't put this much effort into framing someone into the crime. Just dump the body in the old lady's room and send no one there. Let the old girl explain who he is and how he got there, instead of putting a young girl who works for your business all into the mix.

Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) agrees to help a friend, Lt. Col Race (Tom Burke) who is stationed with MI6 at the navy base at Dover Castle where he has been tracking down a German spy ring said to be operating there. As it happens, he discovered the identity of a double agent, Annabelle Larkin (Olivia Grant) who was seen smuggling top secret documents detailing the British minefield plans between Dover and France by Race's girlfriend, Fiona Hanbury, who followed her to the drop off point. But, both women were killed before they could find out who the contact was. Following a lead, Race found himself at 19 Wilbraham Crescent, a quiet street in Dover, where a young woman called Sheila Webb (Jaime Winstone) ran out from the house screaming having found a man stabbed to death inside. Sheila, an employee of the Cavendish Secretarial Bureau, had been hired by No. 19's tenant, Ms Pebmarsh (Anna Massey), but arrived to find the house empty apart from the corpse and four clocks left there all set at the time 4:13. When Ms Pebmarsh got back she denied hiring Sheila and there is no clue to the man's identity apart from a business card saying that he was an insurance man but this turned out to be phony. Naturally, Sheila is Inspector Hardcastle's (Phil Daniels) prime suspect but Race is in love with her and, to his delight, Poirot agrees to help clear her name believing that in all probability the death has something to do with the spy ring.

One of the best latter day ITV Poirot adaptations which marks a welcome return to the style and class of the 1990's films. Even though the original novel was not set in the 1930's period leading up to WW2, the addition of a subplot involving double agents betraying secrets adds to the intrigue and is carefully worked in to the basic murder mystery story that remains pretty close to the source novel. Here, the series has regained its feel for period detail that was sadly lost in several of the episodes in this era. Peter Greenhalgh's camera-work is suitably subdued and adds to the sense of the mysteriousness lending it much production value. In fact, this one would have been great if it had been kept back from the TV schedules and released theatrically. I'm surprised David Suchet never played Poirot on the big screen, he would have had a box office hit on his hands.

The cast are uniformly excellent with veterans Anna Massey and Geoffrey Palmer - here playing Lt Col Race's commanding officer with great authority and presence - and Suchet is still the definitive Poirot, which he was even in the most lacklustre episodes. Special praise must be reserved for Tom Burke and Jaime Winstone who are superb as the film's love interest and stir our emotions - the way in which their two characters are brought together quite by chance as a result of a murder inquiry is like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock film.

This episode, while extremely well made technically (art direction, camera work, sound, etc.) and well acted, leaves a very bad taste in the mouth on several counts.

Criminal mystery, or rather mysteries, are depended on coincidences to carry out, and are solved through coincidence.

Poirot basically gets two girls to find the crucial evidence that unwittingly incriminates their father and only parent. That they can be made to search for evidence, and then can find it, are all by chance. In other words, it is solved quite by chance, in rather shoddy fashion, and not by "grey cells". But in spite of this evidence and its finding being key to solving the cases, all of this is barely on screen, compared to less important things and characters. Girls are not heard of again, after Poirot makes use of them.

On top of that, Poirot and his friends, engage in simplistic moral posturing, that include actual speeches. Story and characters are morally complicated and they could have made a better episode wherein all the moral complexity is highlighted, if not explored. Noticeably camera do not focus on Poirot's reaction when blind lady points out, in reply to his speech about results of an occupied country, that Poirot will not be fighting the war to prevent occupation of a country. Remember, according to this series, he ran from his country to England in during WW1, while her sons died and she got blinded, while going out of England to fight in a war that started to protect his country. A thinking viewer, even with obvious desire of adapters not to focus on any of that, cannot but feel contempt for Poirot's moral blindness. To make major character coldly blind and hypocritical is a great idea, but then to ignore these characteristics is not.