Search - Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Classic Collection - Set 1 on DVD

But of course, Hastings

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 10/15/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hercule Poirot is a fussy, brainy little Belgian with a mild case of OCD and a highly waxed mustache. He seems like an unlikely detective.

But "Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Classic Collection - Set 1" brings together nine episodes of the classic Poirot TV series from "Mystery!", and demonstrates why he's Agatha Christie's most endearingly eccentric detective. These are solidly written, self-contained little mysteries that are truly and deeply baffling -- and the cherub-faced David Suchet is absolutely perfect as the fussy little man with a steel-trap brain.

"The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim" becomes the source of a bet between Poirot and Chief Inspector Japp, when a wealthy banker goes missing -- Poirot bets five pounds that he can figure out the case without leaving his apartment. An aristocratic "Veiled Lady" hires Poirot to recover an incriminating love letter from a blackmailer, and "The Lost Mine" becomes a matter of concern when a Chinese man is cruelly murdered in Chinatown, and an opiate-addicted stockbroker seems the best suspect.

Then Poirot is confronted by a "Cornish Mystery" when a woman asks him to see if her hubby is poisoning her... and sure enough, she turns up dead. He considers retiring until "Double Sin" comes into play -- a young woman with a valuable collection of miniatures, which are stolen en route. And when a young couple gets a luxurious but inexpensive apartment in "The Adventure of the Cheap Flat," Poirot is intrigued -- and uncovers a gruesome mess of Mafia plans, FBI stakeouts, and a treacherous American sailor.

Then there's the "Kidnapped Prime Minister" -- guess what it's about. The Prime Minister and his secretary have been kidnapped and Poirot has only a matter of hours to avert war. "The Adventure of the Western Star" causes trouble when Poirot meets Belgian movie star Marie Marvelle, who is being haunted by bizarre letters about a giant, allegedly cursed diamond. And "How Does Your Garden Grow" has Poirot investigating in a London flower show, one of whose patrons ends up dead...

"Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Classic Collection - Set 1" is an enjoyable mystery series -- it has the classic flavour of a cosmopolitan, early-twentieth-century England. Poirot's cases take us into sleek deco apartments, smoky nightclubs, lush rural settings, mossy citadels, opium dens and murky seedy streets, and somehow seeing the dapper little detective glide through his cases makes them seem both difficult and easily unraveled.

And the writers do an excellent job of translating Agatha Christie's stories -- jewels, murders, thefts, kidnappings and blackmail, tangled together with clues and the odd action scene (which Poirot doesn't really take part in), and even one story where the FBI starts horning in on the case. But while most of these stories have a grim undertone, there's also some wonderfully witty dialogue ("Please, do not fraternize with that creature. I am still training him." "It's only a parrot." "I was talking to the parrot").

Suchet is pitch-perfect as Poirot -- short, twinkly-eyed, a bit chubby and with a neatly waxed and perfectly trimmed mustache. He really makes you believe that this guy's innocuous, tidy appearance masks the steely brain of a truly brilliant detective. Hugh Fraser is a wonderfully mellow, somewhat naive sidekick for Poirot, and Philip Jackson is equally charismatic as a down-to-earth Scotland Yard cop who often finds himself working parallel to (or with) Poirot.

"Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Classic Collection - Set 1" is a solid and enjoyable string of classic Agatha Christie mysteries, like gleaming beads on a very strong, knotted string. Definitely worthwhile!"