Peril at End House

Usually you get a few noticeable clues in each Poirot episode which enables you to solve some (if not most or all) of the puzzle before Poirot reveals all.

Not so in this exciting tale (the clues are extremely subtle) but "Peril At End House" is still great fun. There are several twists which will leave you guessing till the end.

It is also worth mentioning the scenery in this episode, which is simply marvellous! Fans of Hastings, Japp and Miss Lemon certainly won't be disappointed as they all have significant roles in "End House".

Well done Poirot mystery has all the elements that make an Agatha Christie story an intriguing puzzle to solve. Even the famous detective cannot make any sense of the events surrounding a beautiful heiress whom he suspects is being systematically targeted for murder so someone else can inherit her fortune.

I have to confess that I suspected who the culprit was long before the revelation is made, although along the way there were a few surprise twists that I hadn't counted on.

As the young heiress, POLLY WALKER is excellent and all the others in the British cast give her fine support. HUGH FRASER is again on hand as Hastings, as is PHILIP JACKSON as Inspector Jaff. PAULINE MORAN is a breath of fresh air as Miss Lemon.

The plotting is typically full of red herrings but manages to hold up to inspection when the tale is ended. The clues are few and far between and the ending will no doubt come as a surprise to most viewers.

Well worth watching.

An interesting thing: despite the fact that "PERIL AT END HOUSE" is a two-hour episode, it was shown as two one-hour episodes. This being an "old" episode, it is very faithful to the original novel. I loved it! Nick Buckley's role was played to perfection, and David Suchet once more displays his perfection at playing Poirot. The novel also included Chief Inspector Japp and Captain Hastings, main characters in the series (who at times were inserted pointlessly in stories that didn't feature them in the first place), and their roles are played to perfection. There was only one major change: the attempted assassination in front of Poirot did not take place in a lonely garden in the back of the hotel: it took place in a crowded spot near the swimming pool. Overall: a well-done episode!

It's been ages since I read Peril at End House, but apparently, this filmed adaptation has been changed only slightly from the actual story.

While staying at a Cornish resort, Poirot and Hastings meet a beautiful young woman, Magdala "Nick" Buckley (Polly Walker). She tells them that she's had a series of strange accidents lately. Poirot has reason to believe that someone is trying to kill her. When she leaves, she forgets her hat, and Poirot notices a bullet hole in it -- while sitting with them, she had been annoyed by a bee. Poirot points out to Hastings that it was a bullet, and actually finds it.

Concerned, Poirot becomes concerned with protecting Nick. One night, when she returns to her home to get something, her cousin, who was wearing Nick's coat, is killed. Nick tells Poirot that she doesn't care if she lives or dies, which Poirot finds a strange statement. She is put in a nursing home for her own protection.

Poirot then realizes that an aviator, whose trip has been followed by the media, is lost at sea, and that Nick was engaged to him. In the interim, his uncle has died -- meaning that Nick has probably come into a huge fortune. With the motive for the attempts on her life, Poirot sets out to find the will and the killer. He uncovers a lot more than that.

Really excellent, entertaining story, lushly produced, with Suchet perfection as Poirot. Hastings is pretty dumb in this one. Miss Lemon, as played by Pauline Moran, is a delight.

I figured this story out for the most part, but it's because my subconscious remembered it. It is a very intriguing mystery and you will be entertained by it.

I really liked this adaptation of Peril At End House, actually it's one of my favourites. In fact, my only complaints are some slow moments, and they seemed to have left out the character of Frederica Rice's husband. Although the latter is forgivable, seeming as in the book Frederica's husband is only treated as a suspect, and you don't meet him properly until the denouncement. That said, this is one of the more faithful adaptations of the Queen of Crime's brilliant books. Visually it is a marvel to look at, the Cornish coast was like looking at a work of art, and the music is absolutely beautiful. The script and plot are both solid and complex in construction, and so is the acting, with David Suchet impeccable as Poirot and Hugh Fraser and Phillip Jackson sterling as Hastings and Japp. Everyone else was fine as well, but I have to mention the debut of Polly Walker. What a debut it was! Polly looked stunning beyond words, and was a revelation as Mademoiselle Nick Buckley. The part when Nick "comes back from the dead" was one of the most dramatic scenes in the entire adaptation, perhaps even the most dramatic, and it was such an effective scene. Here, there are plenty of poignant moments and some laugh out loud ones too, making this along with Five Little Pigs and Sad Cypress one of the better Poirot adaptations. 9/10 Bethany Cox