26. The Double Clue

Air date: 10/02/1991

Published: Fifth story in "Poirot's Early Cases" (1974)

The Double Clue, the next episode to be screened, has never been one of my favourites, if I'm honest.

It introduces the character of the Countess Vera Rossakoff, a Russian-born, high-society jewel thief, who, in the adaptation, Poirot becomes seriously smitten with. Large sections of the episode see Poirot, seemingly drunk in admiration, in the Countess' presence, with rather dreamy piano music accompanying every scene they have together.

This all amounts to considerable embellishment on the original story. Poirot and Hastings are called in to solve the theft of some emeralds from one Marcus Hardman. The crime took place, it seems, while Hardman was hosting a musical evening. Four people saw the jewels and so appear to be in the frame: the Countess, a Mr Johnson from South Africa, one Lady Runcorn, and Bernard Parker, a young man who secures private purchases of jewels on behalf of Hardman.

When a man's glove and a cigarette case, bearing the initials 'BP', are found at the scene (the "double clue" of the title), it appears Parker is the likely culprit. Poirot, however, works out that 'BP' in the Russian alphabet equals 'VR'. When he confronts the Countess she hands over the jewels before departing. Although he declares, "Quelle femme! A remarkable woman!" the attraction is much more subtle and subdued in the original.

In the adaptation the theft appears as one of a series of recent high society jewel robberies. Japp (not in the original) is worried that his job is on the line if he doesn't solve the case, and turns to Poirot for help.

When Poirot first meets the Countess he is immediately overcome. There are some rather strange scenes over the next couple of days where shots of Poirot and the Countess together alternate with Hastings and Miss Lemon (also not in the original, of course) perplexed by Poirot's behaviour, and wandering what the future holds. They decide to try and solve the case (without success, of course), in order to help Japp.

The Countess hands over the jewels while on a picnic, and Poirot, in his customary summing up, spins a tale about a tramp stealing them. Earlier, a tramp had been seen in the gardens by a policeman. A second appearance later (when he shoots at Hastings) turns out to be a private detective hired by Poirot, presumably to set up his false denouement and to allow the Countess to go free. In a parting scene, we learn that she is heading for America. Poirot declares they must both continue their respective work ... but not in the same country.

25. The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor

Air date: 03/02/1991
Published: Second story in "Poirot Investigates" (1924)

Several significant sub-plots were added to bring the next story, The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor, to the small screen.

The original begins with Poirot being called in by the Northern Union Insurance Company to investigate the recent death of one Mr Maltravers, at his country home in Essex.

Poirot is told by the local GP, Dr Bernard, that Maltravers almost certainly died of an internal haemorrhage, probably as a result of a gastric ulcer. He had not treated Mr Maltravers as the latter was a member of the Christian Science sect. He was found in his grounds, a rook rifle by his side.

Poirot and Hastings visit the grieving Mrs Maltravers and later meet a Captain Black, a traveller from East Africa. Through a word-association game Poirot discovers that at a recent dinner party Captain Black had recounted the amazing story of how a man in Africa had committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth with a rook rifle, and how it had initially confounded medics (as the lightweight bullet had lodged in the brain).

In the end Poirot deduces Mrs Maltravers had persuaded her husband to show her how a person would hold a rook rifle to shoot themselves - and had then pulled the trigger herself! Maltravers, who was in financial difficulties, had recently insured his life for a large sum. For reasons we are not told, Poirot, at the denouement, declares Mrs Maltravers to be "mediumistic" and plays on her emotions by having an actor friend suddenly appear in the hallway dressed as her dead husband, to force a confession out of her.

Once again, as we have noted before, flashback accounts of death don't work so well on television, so the adaptation opens with Poirot arriving in Marsdon Leigh on what he believes is a murder enquiry - only to find that the landlord who hired him, Samuel Naughton, actually wants his help in writing the conclusion to a murder mystery novel! Maltravers' death occurs as part of the story, with Poirot already in the locality.

The detail of the Christian Science link (which, of course, Mrs Maltravers had made up) is omitted. Perhaps it was considered too obscure for modern TV audiences to understand! Instead, Maltravers is recovering from an operation and is under the care of Dr Bernard.

A whole new sub-plot revolves around Mrs Maltravers' claim to see a ghost in the trees (some years ago, we are told, a young woman committed suicide by jumping from a tree in the garden). It transpires that she was trying to frighten her husband, hoping - in his fragile, post-op state - that it would "drive him to his grave".

Captain Black appears rather more shady and is, we are told, madly in love with Mrs Maltravers. The rook rifle suicide story is not told by Black; rather, it appears on a newspaper he has used to wrap an African wooden statue he has brought with him as a present for Mrs Maltravers (presumably she read it while unwrapping the present and conceived the idea at that point).

At one point Mrs Maltravers fakes an attempt on her own life at a civil defence meeting (presumably to deflect attention). It is Japp who turns up with the insurance policy.

At the denouement Poirot uses Mr Naughton to do the 'ghostly' Mr Maltravers walk. In a further example of the way the one-hour episodes often open and close on the same light note, Naughton was wearing a wax cast of Maltravers' face: and early in the episode Poirot and Hastings had visited a local wax museum! Predictably there is a Hercule Poirot character there - which the ever-proud Poirot is keen for Hasting and Japp to see at the end!

24. Wasps' Nest

Air date: 27/01/1991
Published: Fifteenth story in "Poirot's Early Cases" (1974)

Wasps' Nest is a gentle story that demonstrates the breadth and variety in Agatha Christie's writing. It is also another very short short story, and needed considerable embellishment to bring it to the TV screen.

The original really only features two characters: Poirot and John Harrison, a friend he visits in the country. Two other people are referred to in conversation: Harrison's fiancee, Molly Deane, and Harrison's friend Claude Langton, who had previously been in a relationship with Molly. Poirot, apparently, had recently met all three at a dinner party. Upon entering his garden Poirot tells Harrison he is investigating a murder that has not yet taken place.

Harrison, we are told, has called in Langton to destroy a wasps' nest in his garden. Langton is apparently going to use petrol and a syringe. Poirot suggests cyanide of potassium, but Harrison says it is too dangerous. Poirot reports that earlier in the day he saw Langton buying some at a chemists. The conversation clearly suggests the possibility of Langton doing away with Harrison to regain Molly.

Poirot agrees to return at the time Langton was due to visit, but when he does so, Langton has already been. Harrison is sitting dozing on the terrace. However, Poirot has worked out that Harrison intended to commit suicide (he is suffering from a fatal disease) and implicate Langton, thus 'murdering' him by having him hanged. He had, in fact, asked Langton to buy some cyanide. At a crucial moment, however, Poirot had substituted cyanide crystals with washing soda! The story ends with Harrison thankful that Poirot has intervened.

To bring this 'murder that didn't happen' to the screen the TV producers added considerable detail. The episode begins with Poirot, Hastings and Japp off to a fete, of all things. Molly Deane is a fashion model, and so we have Hastings indulging in his latest hobby - photography. Deane, Harrison and Langton all appear at the fete, where Langton, an avant garde artist, is dressed as a clown, entertaining the children. Bizarrely, Japp is suffering from what seems to be an upset stomach, but turns out to be appendicitis (presumably so he can appear in the episode without having to do any detective work?).

A very sombre, but well dressed old man mysteriously appears on a couple of occasions. It later transpires he is a Harley Street doctor, who has diagnosed Harrison's condition and prognosis. At one point Harrison bumps into Miss Lemon in Harley Street and returns with her (justifying her appearance) to Poirot's flat.

Poirot's confrontation with Harrison in the garden - which occupied the entire original - takes up only the last few minutes of the episode, but involves a similar washing soda substitution.

23. The Plymouth Express

Air date: 20/01/1991
Published: Ninth story in "Poirot's Early Cases" (1974)

The next episode in Agatha Christie's Poirot is a classic example of the way the order of events sometimes had to be amended - in a story that was otherwise fairly faithful to the original - to bring it from the page to the screen.

The story concerns a Mrs Flossie Carrington, who is murdered for her jewels on board a train from Paddington to Bristol, the 'Plymouth Express' of the title.

The original opens with an officer of the Royal Navy finding her body under the seat of a compartment. Poirot is called in by her father, rich American businessman Ebenezer Halliday, to track the killer.

There seem to be two likely suspects: her husband Rupert, said to be an unscrupulous gambler, or an adventurer called the Count de la Rochefour, who is described as a bit of a "bad hat".

In the original Halliday recounts how Flossie had travelled on the train with her maid, Jane Mason, but had left her maid in Bristol, saying she was travelling further, and would rejoin her later.

Eventually Japp discovers the jewels have been pawned by a well-known jewel-thief Red Narky, who normally works with Gracie Kidd. Japp believes they still need to find Narky's accomplice, but Poirot has worked out that the maid Jane Mason is, in fact, Gracie Kidd, and that, after Flossie was killed, before the train reached Bristol, she wore duplicate clothes to look like Flossie, in order to convey the impression that Flossie was killed further down the train line.

For a TV adaptation there has to be more action and less recounting, so Poirot is initially called in by Halliday to investigate the unsavoury Count. More is made of Flossie's separation from her husband in the adaptation; it being only briefly referred to in the original. The murder of Flossie is played out as part of the story (rather than just being recounted) and a distraught Halliday asks Poirot to solve it.

Interestingly, for TV, American Ebenezer Halliday has become Australian Gordon Halliday, and Red Narky is known simply as McKenzie. Neither Rupert Carrington nor the Count de la Rochefour actually appear in the original (they are only referred to), but both are given significant roles in the adaptation. Carrington is desperate for money (at one point Hastings meets him in a pub and buys him a whisky) while the Count (now referred to by the French version of the word, 'Comte') meets Flossie and shows a clear interest in her, but is also doing some underhand share dealing in her father's mining business!

The adaptation ends on a poignant note - a rarity for Poirot short stories (which, more often that not, end with some light-hearted exchange between Poirot and either Hastings or Japp). Back at his office, with Hastings and Miss Lemon, Poirot refers to Halliday's generous cheque and the accompanying letter, announcing that Halliday is returning to his native Australia, to help him cope with the loss of his daughter.

22. The Million Dollar Bond Robbery

Air date: 13/01/1991
Published: Fifth story in "Poirot Investigates" (1924)

In contrast to the previous episode, I found the original of this episode to be a delightful short story, with some clever detail.

The London and Scotland bank plan to send £1 million worth of liberty bonds (which, in the TV production, we are told amount to 'blank cheques') to the US.

A Mr Philip Ridgeway takes the bonds to America on board the Olympia ship. They are in a locked portmanteau. The only keyholders are Ridgeway himself and two other senior bankers, Mr Vavasour and Mr Shaw.

The portmanteau is broken into, however, and, despite a search of the ship the bonds have disappeared.

In the original this part of the story is told to Poirot by Miss Esmee Farquhar, who is engaged to Ridgeway. It transpires that Shaw had ordered the lock for the portmanteau to be made specially. He was ill the day Ridgeway set sail for America.

Poirot claims the case is easy, which illicits from Hastings the accusation "You're so confoundedly conceited!" Poirot goes to Liverpool to meet the Olympia on its return and questions the crew about an elderly man who had the cabin next to Ridgeway. He works out that Shaw, who pretended to be ill, had, in fact, travelled on the ship in disguise. He had already substituted the bonds for forgeries before they left the UK and had thrown the forgeries overboard while on board the Olympia. The real bonds had been sent via a 'confederate' on another ship, the Gigantic, with instructions to sell them as soon as the Olympia arrived.

Several changes were made in the TV adaptation, which, on this occasion, I don't think necessarily made for a better story. First, Christie's tendency to have part of a story told in flashback to Poirot tends regularly to be ignored by the producers - understandably - and so it is here. Here, Poirot is called in by Mr Vavasour after Mr Shaw is nearly killed by a passing motorist. Shaw was to take the bonds to America. When he is apparently nearly poisoned it seems clear that something is afoot. Esmee Dalgleish (Farquhar was obviously considered too antiquated a name!) is not only Ridgeway's fiance but Vavasour's secretary. Ridgeway, who replaces Shaw on the trip, is also now something of a gambler, running up debts.

The detail about the portmanteau being broken into, the bonds disappearing, and something being thrown overboard is retained, but for TV this is carried out by a female accomplice of Shaw, who first appears as his doudy nurse, and then on board ship as the glamourous American, Miranda Brooks (who, needless to say, Hastings finds to be a real stunner!). The ship is now the Queen Mary, which made its maiden voyage to New York in 1934. Newsreel footage of the event is interspersed.

Police inspector McNeil becomes, for TV, McNeil, the rather unpleasant head of the bank's security, who resents Poirot's presence, and who has Vavasour arrested after his key is found to be missing (it transpired that Miss Dalgleish had stolen it to somehow deflect attention from Ridgeway). No second ship is involved.

21. How Does Your Garden Grow?

Air date: 06/01/1991
Published: Eighteenth story in "Poirot's Early Cases" (1974)

To be honest, some of Agatha Christie's short stories were, indeed, short, to the point of being rather spartan in detail. Such stories inevitably called for significant embellishment to bring them to the screen.

Such is the case with this tale, which opened the third series of Agatha Christie's Poirot. The original story begins with Poirot receiving a letter from the elderly Miss Amelia Barrowby, asking to meet with him to discuss a delicate matter. Before he can meet her, however, Miss Barrowby dies. On the advice of her doctor the police are called in and a post mortem reveals death to be by a large dose of strychnine poisoning.

When Poirot visits he notes the pristine garden - with the exception of an unfinished border of seashells (yes, obvious clue there!). The only real suspects are her niece, Mary Delafontaine and her husband, Henry - who live with her - and her Russian aid and companion, Katrina.

Strychnine, as Christie points out on more than one occasion in her stories, is very fast acting. The problem was that Miss Barrowby and the Delafontaines ate the same meal the evening before she died. She didn't take coffee (which would have masked the unpleasant taste of the poison). The only other possibility is the digestion powders she took, administered by Katrina. When it later transpires that most of her estate has been left to Katrina she seems the obvious suspect.

As it turns out, Poirot deduces that, unbeknown to the family cook or Katrina, the Delafontaines had purchased some of Miss Barrowby's favourite oysters, which - because they are swallowed whole - could be doctored with strychnine without the taste being noticed. The shells were hidden - you've guessed it - in the flower bed.

So much for the somewhat meagre plot. Now, the embellishments. First, the adaptation opens at the Chelsea Flower Show, where Poirot had had has a new variant of rose named after him. Miss Barrowby (who does not realise he has not yet received her letter) bumps into him and gives him a packet of "stocks" seeds (a clue to how the Delafontaines have been frittering her money away). It is quite some time before we reach the point where Poirot receives her letter at his flat.

Second, Katrina is having a romantic relationship with a Russian who works at his country's embassy. He denies all knowledge of her existence. Third, she is seen to be a devout Russian Orthodox believer, which probably makes her unpopular with her country's Communist overlords, hence the secrecy.

Hastings, who is not in the original, is suffering from what appears to be hay-fever. In the usual amusing end-piece this is discovered, in fact, to be an allergy to the "discreet manly cologne" Poirot is wearing!

Japp is not in the original; the investigating officer being one Inspector Rice. Curiously, his name is transferred in the adaptation to the doctor (not named in the original). Dr Rice looks shifty once or twice and appears at the denouement for no obvious reason other than to add to the suspense by being, presumably,  a possible surprise culprit!

One other point of note: After twenty episodes, over two series, we finally arrive at a story where Miss Lemon does appear in the original! I said at the outset of this project that part of the early success of Poirot was down to the development of the 'team'. In their own different ways, Hastings, Japp and Miss Lemon all act as foils, to enable David Suchet to develop the character of Poirot.

All of them, therefore, are given larger roles on TV than in Christie's books. But this is especially the case with Miss Lemon. Apart from this story, she only appears in a couple of the short stories in "The Labours of Hercules" collection, and in "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest". She appears in just four novels: "Hickory Dickory Dock", "Dead Man's Folly", "Third Girl" and "Elephants Can Remember". Irony of ironies: By the time the TV producers came to film the last three of those novels, the 'team' had long disappeared from the scene!

In the original of this story (first published in The Strand in 1935) she is described as being 48, and of "unprepossessing appearance", with a passion for order that almost rivals that of Poirot himself. Her only passion in life is the creation of the perfect filing system. On TV this was utilised in earlier episodes.

Interlude: "Poirot and Me"

Two more chapters in David Suchet's book cover the filming of series two. The same schedule was followed, filming beginning in the summer for a series that would be broadcast from early January.

Suchet points out that the producers wanted to introduce a little more humour in the series, and both Hastings and Japp were made to appear "a little less stiff".

There is a touching admiration in Suchet's description of the character of Poirot. "I believe that if you listen well, you are a sympathetic person", he writes - which would be a good maxim for all of us to adopt! This, he argues, is something Agatha Christie wrote into the character of Poirot. "He is not Sherlock Holmes, dismissively lecturing a policeman or a wealthy landowner about their foolishness. Poirot cares about people too much for that. He sympathises with them, and shows that he does so, in story after story."

He shares his disappointment that three of the episodes in series two, Double Sin, The Adventure of the Cheap Flat, and The Adventure of the Western Star, appeared to him "a little flat".

Chapter seven is given over entirely to The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which brought series two to an end. The broadcasting of the episode was deliberately delayed by six months so that it could coincide with the centenary of Agatha Christie's birth in the September of that year (1990). We hear something of Agatha Christie's own background, including her wartime work in a dispensary, which gave her valuable insight into poisons - a knowledge she makes frequent use of in her books.