34. The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb

Air date: 17/01/1993
Published: Sixth story in "Poirot Investigates" (1924)

The fifth series of Agatha Christie's Poirot returned to the format of one-hour adaptations of short stories.

The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb is one of several Poirot stories that reflect the author's personal interest in archaeology.

In the original Hastings is narrating. He records how, following the opening of the tomb of King Men-her-Ra in the Egyptian desert, expedition leader Sir John Willard died of a heart attack. Two weeks later Mr Bleibner, from New York, died of blood poisoning. A few days later his nephew Rupert had shot himself in New York. Reference is made early on to superstitions surrounding the tomb. Other members of the party include Dr Tosswill from the British Museum, Mr Schneider from the Metropolitan Museum in New York, Dr Ames, a medical doctor, also from the states, and a secretary Harper.

At that point Lady Willard, widow of Sir John, calls in Poirot, concerned for her son, who has taken over at the dig. Poirot cables New York to find some background on Rupert Bleibner before he and Hastings head for the desert. On arrival there is lovely description of Poirot waging an unceasing war on dust with a small clothes-brush. However, before their arrival Schneider has also died - of tetanus.

Poirot plays along with the whole superstition-curse idea, before faking his own poisoning to expose the murderer, Dr Ames. Years earlier Rupert Bleibner, "in a fit of drunken merriment" had written a will leaving everything to the doctor. Taking advantage of Sir John's natural death, he had infected Bleibner and had convinced young Bleibner (who stood to inherit his uncle's fortune) that a minor skin ailment was leprosy. Schneider had been killed just to perpetuate the curse myth.

The adaptation is very faithful to many of the details, although Lady Willard calls Poirot in much earlier (after the death of her husband). The other deaths all happen as the plot then unfolds. Hastings, who is returning to the UK from a trip to the US, is in New York when Rupert Bleibner takes his own life. In the original Ames - on being exposed - kills himself. For TV he attempts to escape before being caught by Sir John's faithful servant Hassan.

I have commented previously on the stylistic device of picking up a plot characteristic and making it a light-hearted background issue. Here, with all the fears of superstition hanging around, we see Miss Lemon back at the office foolishly dabbling in the occult.