"Agatha Christie: Poirot" The ABC Murders (1992)

Director:

Andrew Grieve

Writers:

Clive Exton (dramatisation) and
Agatha Christie (novel)

TV Series:

"Agatha Christie: Poirot" (1989)

Original Air Date:

5 January 1992 (Season 4, Episode 1)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

Poirot receives clues and taunting letters from a serial killer who appears to choose his random victims and crime scenes alphabetically.

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Murder | Letter | Hercule Poirot | Movie Theater

Cast

David Suchet	...	Hercule Poirot
Hugh Fraser	...	Captain Arthur Hastings
Philip Jackson	...	Chief Inspector James Japp
Donald Sumpter	...	Alexander Bonaparte Cust
Donald Douglas	...	Franklin Clarke
Nicholas Farrell	...	Donald Fraser
Pippa Guard	...	Megan Barnard
Cathryn Bradshaw	...	Mary Drower
Nina Marc	...	Thora Grey
David McAllister	...	Inspector Glen (as David McAlister)
Vivienne Burgess	...	Lady Clarke
Ann Windsor	...	Miss Merrion
Michael Mellinger	...	Franz Ascher
Miranda Forbes	...	Mrs. Turton
Peter Penry-Jones	...	Superintendent Carter

Runtime:

103 min | UK:120 min | 102 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Twickenham Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Granada Media

Trivia:

The credits showing on the Doncaster cinema screen must come from Number Seventeen (1932) as this is the only Alfred Hitchcock film with a cast including Barry Jones, Ann Casson, Henry Caine and Garry Marsh.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The programme features a number of excerpts from a supposedly contemporary "film" from 1936. The effect is strikingly well-done, except at the end of the film we can see the acting and technical credits - in a genuine 1936 film, these credits would have been shown at the beginning.

Quotes:

Hercule Poirot: Crime is revealing.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Alphabet Murders (1965)

A top notch and perfectly thrilling episode

I love episodes like Sad Cypress, Five Little Pigs and Peril At End House, but The ABC Murders deserves to be up there with the best of them. It was a near-perfect, top notch and thrilling episode. There are one or two slow moments, and before I realised that there was half an hour left I had the impression as I haven't read the book that I had been told too much, but these are the only problems I had with it. The plot is complicated with plenty of surprises, but is well constructed and well explained. The adaptation looks splendid, not in a sumptuous visual style like say Sad Cypress but in a dark haunting visual style like something like Hickory Dickory Dock. The music is enough to make the hairs stand up on your neck, it certainly did that to mine. The acting from all involved is exceptional, whilst David Suchet gives an impeccable performance as always as Poirot, it is Donald Sumpter who walks away with the acting honours in one of the best supporting performances in the history of the Poirot run. It is considered as one of Suchet's favourite Poirots, and you know what, it is easy to see why. It is superb. 9/10 Bethany Cox