Join Hercule Poirot at a Hallowe'en Party

I am and always have been a huge fan of Agatha Christie. My mother read a great deal and took  me to the library often as a child. I noticed that she often checked out Agatha Christie for herself. I became desirous of reading this author that my mother seemed to enjoy so much. My interest was further piqued when my mother took me to see Murder on the Orient Express when I was eight. I decided that I wanted to start reading Agatha Christie books too. My mom was a big help by selecting ones that I could comprehend. Today, at age 44, I still love to reread the tales spun by Dame Agatha.

Murder on the Orient Express made me not only a fan of Agatha Christie but of her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Poirot was eccentric yet brilliant. He used his "little grey cells" to separate the truths from the lies. He had an obsession with order and it served him well as crime solver. To me, Albert Finney was who I saw as I read the Poirot novels and short stories. I was very disappointed with Peter Ustinov's casting as Poirot in a number of theatrical releases and TV movies during the 1970's and 1980's. While Ustinov was an excellent actor and wonderful sleuth, he was NOT Poirot. His physical appearance was completely wrong and he failed to capture Poirot's essence. Finally, in 1989, Christie fans were presented with an actor who breathed new life into Poirot. That actor was David Suchet.

Obviously, the fact that Suchet looked the part was a wonderful change from Ustinov. In addition, Suchet seemed to channel Poirot's OCD perfectly. Poirot was very particular about his hygiene, clothing, and surroundings. Suchet is able to convey Poirot's quirks beautifully. Just look at the walk Suchet developed for Poirot, it is a work of genius. In addition, Suchet understands completely that we must laugh with not at Poirot. While Poirot has many eccentricities, Suchet makes us understand that these eccentricities are  necessary for Poirot to function. Therefore,we even embrace  Poirot's idiosyncrasies at times. This past July, a new set of Poirot movies was released on DVD. The Poirot Movie Collection Set 6 includes Three Act Tragedy, The Clocks, and Hallowe'en Party. Since it October, I decided  to write about Hallowe'en Party.

Hallowe'en Party is an excellent production which captures the eerie spirit of Halloween well. The story begins with Poirot's friend Ariadne Oliver (Zoe Wanamaker) helping her friend Judith Butler and Judith's friend Rowena Drake organize a Halloween Party for the children of  the village of Woodleigh Common. Mrs. Oliver has been asked to help because not only she is Judith's friend but a famous mystery novelist. Judith and Rowena believe Ariadne will provide some unique ideas for the party. Unfortunately, Judith's adolescent daughter Miranda is ill and can not attend the Halloween party at Mrs. Drake's home.

The Halloween party takes an odd turn when Miranda's friend Joyce Reynolds announces she once witnessed a murder. Joyce claims did not realize at the time that it was a murder but now she is sure it was. Since Joyce has a history of telling tall tales, no one believes her. Joyce's step mother and brother Leopold even think she is lying. The other adults at the party dismiss Joyce's story as well. However, a few hours later, Joyce is discovered in the library face down in the apple bobbing bucket. The girl has been drowned.

Mrs. Oliver contacts her good friend Hercule Poirot to come investigate the girl's murder. Poirot decides that he must first discover if there have been any suspicious deaths in the past five years. After all, Joyce claimed to have witnessed a murder. Since Joyce was only 13 years old, Poirot surmises that five years is a good time frame to explore. Poirot cleverly decides that the most likely person to know the skeletons in the closet of villagers is a charwoman. Charwomen have access to people's homes and businesses and they often overhear private conversations. Poirot goes to Mrs. Goodbody, the village charwoman, and asks her if there have been any murders or possible murders in the past five years. Mrs. Goodbody tells Poirot there were three such cases.

The first case was the death of  Mrs. Llewellyn-Smythe who many believe may have been poisoned by her companion Olga Seminoff. It was discovered that the codicil to Mrs. Llewellyn-Smythe's will leaving all her money to Olga was forged. The fact that the young woman disappeared after the forgery was discovered made this seem quite plausible. The second case was the stabbing death of Mr. Lesley Ferrier who worked for Mrs. Llewellyn-Smythe's lawyer. Ferrier was believed to be Olga's lover and the forger of the codicil. The third case involved the drowning death of a local teacher Beatrice White. Most believe this death was accidental although apparently Joyce's step-mother disliked Miss White so much she fought to have her fired from job at the local school.

As usual, Poirot must sift through numerous clues and interwoven connections between the guests at the Halloween party and the three cases. In the meantime, Joyce's brother Leopold is found drowned in the same location as Beatrice White. Poirot realizes he must act fast in order to prevent more deaths. Was there really a murder? If so, which case was actually murder? Did Joyce witness it? And where is Olga Seminoff who is a suspect in  two of murder cases? Watch Hallowe'en Party have these and several other questions answered brilliantly by Hercule Poirot.

I loved this adaption. It truly captured the spirit of the Halloween season as well as Christie's novel. In addition, Suchet has perfected Poirot. Rather than beimg stale after 20 years of portraying the same character, Suchet has added nuances over the years. Therefore, Poirot has evolved as person would. I also love Zoe Wanamaker's performance as Ariadne Oliver. She has the quirkiness necessary to be Poirot's friend and admirer. She is essentially Agatha's alter ego. I hope someday they see fit to give her own series as Araidne Oliver because she is a delight!