35. The Underdog

Air date: 24/01/1993
Published: Third story in "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" (1960)

The Underdog is a tale that struck me - both in the original and in the adaptation - as being curious and complex in its build-up - but then weak in its conclusion.

In the original Poirot is sought by Lily Margrave, on behalf of Lady Ashwell, following the murder of the latter's husband, Sir Reuben. The police have arrested his nephew Charles Leverson, who had been overheard arguing with his uncle late on the evening of the murder.

Lady Ashwell is convinced her late husband's secretary, Owen Trefusis, is the culprit. Sir Reuben's estate will be divided between Lady Ashwell and young Charles. The plot thickens when it is later revealed that Lady Ashwell had argued with her husband on the evening of his murder, and that Sir Reuben's brother Victor had also been speaking to his brother in his study shortly before the murder would have taken place.

Lily Margrave, companion to Lady Ashwell, also comes under suspicion, having been asking Sir Reuben questions about his mining enterprises in Africa. Poirot later uncovers that she is really Lily Naylor and that she was investigating Ashwell's mining activities on behalf of her brother Humphrey, who had been cheated out of a gold mine.

As it turns out, the murderer was Trefusis. He had gone to collect something from the bedroom that adjoined Sir Reuben's study when the argument between Ashwell and his wife began. Trefusis had stayed hidden. When later spotted trying to leave he had killed Ashwell on impulse - having been bullied and brow beaten for years.

Quite a few changes are made for the adaptation. Sir Reuben is now into chemical manufacture and Trefusis is his head scientist, working on a new synthetic rubber. Naylor is a scientist at Imperial College, whose work has been highjacked. Sir Reuben's estate is to be divided between his wife and Victor (not nephew Charles). The violent temper that made Victor an obvious suspect in the original is absent, as is his engagement to Lily.

Hastings and Miss Lemon are present (neither appear in the original). Japp is absent from both.

In the original Poirot enlists the help of a Harley Street specialist to hypnotize Lady Ashwell, in the hope of eliciting any memories from her of what happened earlier on the evening of the murder. In the adaptation Miss Lemon somehow has the knowledge and know-how to perform this task. George, Poirot's valet, appears in the original, having several tasks to perform. He would not appear in any of the television adaptations for a number of years.