The Secret Adversary

An intro to Tommy and Tuppence, two of Agatha Christie's characters. Slow but the acting was good.

James Warwick and Francesca Annis make an adorable couple, two detectives perhaps not as prominent as Marple or Poirot but a delight nonetheless.

What I like especially is the stylish atmosphere, very '20s in the attitude of the actors as well. In this story, the two investigate a missing girl with political implications as she may have in her possession a missing treaty.

Tommy and Tuppence became part of the Partners in Crime series with different actors, now set in the '50s. Here, in The Secret Adversary, they are just friends. Later, they are married.

If you like the TV series Partners in crime you will like this movie as well. It was filmed after the series but is in fact the story of how Tommy meets Tuppence. It also shows how Alfred comes into their lives. In this story they become involved in a search for a girl who has some very important papers in her possession that could start up a revolution. A group of people , led by a Mister Brown, want to use those papers to overthrow the government. Who this Mister Brown is ,is a mystery up until the end. At one point you will suspect several people of being Mister Brown as is usual in a Christie story. There is a DVD box for sale containing this movie and all ten episodes of the Partners in crime TV series. I have it and love it.

It's a delicious adaptation, very much of its time, but also very faithful to the original text. It does surprise me that this came about after the series, but such are the performances you'd never know. Very much the origins story for Tommy and Tuppence, Warwick and Annis bring the characters to live beautifully, in a way The BBC failed to do with the attempted retelling.

Almost whimsical in tone, it's full of spies, disguises and intrigue, if you love a mystery, this is definitely for you. Great production values, wonderful sets and costumes, it looks great, the camera work suits it also.

I hadn't seen it for a while, I muddled up a few scenes from The Seven Dials Mystery, not surprising as Warwick appeared in multiple productions. I enjoy almost all of the performances, Honor Blackman in particular, she's great in the part, rather ruthless.

It's a very enjoyable watch. 8/10

First case for Tommy and Tuppence

Shortly after the end of the First World War, Tommy Beresford (James Warwick) accidentally meets his childhood friend Tuppence Cowley (Francesca Annis). Both are unemployed and are urgently looking for a job, which is a hopeless endeavor for the young people so soon after the war. Together they come up with a daring plan: They set up their own business and found a kind of private detective agency, an "adventurer GmbH". And indeed, they are soon hired by the British secret service and end up in a crazy adventure...

Tommy and Tuppence are Agatha Christie's investigative team, which are somewhat less well-known in German-speaking countries. After this first novel, which was published in 1922 as "The Secret Adversary", Tommy and Tuppence appeared again and again with new adventures in various novels and stories until around 1970. Just like their author, the two grew older and went through different phases of life. The two of them are also incredibly funny and very charming. The chemistry between the two characters is perfect, both in the novel and in the film adaptation. Sleight of hand! Francesca Annis and James Warwick were now so attuned to each other that they were simply perfect as Tommy and Tuppence.

After the success of "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" and "The Mystery of the Seven Dials", the production company London Weekend Television released this film adaptation for the private broadcaster ITV, which was supposed to become the pilot film for the series "Blunt Detective Agency" and is just as recommendable.

Oh yes, the James Bond lady Honor Blackman (1925-2020) from GOLDFINGER (1964) also plays in this film. And Wolf Kahler is there as a mysterious German.

Nostalgic fun for all Agatha Christie fans!

The Secret Adversary was Agatha Christie's novel which launched her Nick and Nora Charles characters of Tommy and Tuppence. This story shows how they met and the first case they got involved in.

It was back on the Lusitania in 1915 when both were passengers. Some other passengers on that ill-fated ship were involved in a lot of intrigue relating to the late World War. That's over now, but Toria Fuller during the chaos of those passengers abandoning the torpedoed ocean liner grabbed herself a piece of a secret treaty and has had it for lo these many years.

Now some Bolsheviks want it to stir up some revolution in the United Kingdom. There's a cell of them operating under the lead of the illusive Mr. Brown. British Intelligence knows about Brown, but no one knows who he is.

James Warwick and Francesca Annis as Tommy And Tuppence renew their acquaintance from the Lusitania and get themselves involved in the case as a pair of amateurs. They're needed because the Bolsheviks seem to know all the professionals. They prove to have a knack for solving mysteries.

A lot of this might seem melodramatic today, but Agatha Christie was a good observer of the times this was written in. The Russian Revolution had occurred and a lot of governments were pretty uneasy in their seats of power. Christie alludes to a General Strike and she turned out to be a prophet because one did happen in the UK in 1926 a few years after The Secret Adversary came out. It was real enough to the population in the United Kingdom back then.

The Secret Adversary is a good introduction to Tommy And Tuppence and proved to a pilot for a BBC series of their mysteries. Recommended for those who think Ms. Christie wrote about Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple exclusively.