Four and Twenty Blackbirds

I have always been a huge fan of Poirot and of Agatha Christie, and alongside The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman, Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb, Wasp's Nest and The Chocolate Box, Four and Twenty Blackbirds is one of the better short story adaptations. It is a simple story, but still very clever and elegant in its simplicity. The writing still has humour, intelligence and suspense, the music is hauntingly beautiful and the adaptation with the evocative atmosphere, beautiful locations and sets and elegant costumes is very well made as usual. David Suchet is impeccable, and he as always is well supported by Hugh Fraser, Phillip Jackson and Pauline Moran. The support cast are solid, with nobody weak but nobody quite up the standard of acting set by the four leads. EastEnders fans look out for John Bardon(aka Jim Branning) as a Lavatory man. All in all, a great episode and one of my favourites of not just the short story adaptations but also of the series. 9/10 Bethany Cox

All episodes of Hercule Poirot are interesting and most enjoyable viewing. This entry of Agatha Christie's super sleuth is among the easier to solve.

The audience early on sees two separate segments and knows that this is about two estranged brothers. When Poirot learns of that in the film, he is quick to solve the murder mystery.

Poirot's usual retinue of Captain Hastings, Chief Inspector Japp and Miss Lemon are with him in this mystery. The film has some funny lines. Here are my favorites.

Hercule Poirot, "I have a dinner engagement with my dentist." Captain Hastings, "Your dentist? Positively morbid." Miss Lemon, "But you're always trying to avoid him." Poirot, "Not at all. Off duty, he's quite charming. Besides, he likes to see the end product at work."

Dentist (Bonnington), "To my good friend, Hercule Poirot, for whom life without a mystery would be like... roast beef without the mustard."

Bonnington, "Ah, I can see that bicuspid is still sensitive, Poirot. We must take a look at that. "

Captain Hastings, "Oh, but you would have noticed if his behavior had been in any way unusual?" Dulcie Lang, "I doubt it. Painters' behaviors are always unusual. They can never make up their mind whether to commit suicide or give a party."

Captain Hastings, "With both of the brothers dead, there aren't many Gascoynes left to pay their respects." Poirot, "Not too many suspects left either, huh?"

For the first episodes of the then new TV series "Agatha Christie's Poirot", which was still in its 'experimental' phase - and nobody would have dreamed back then that it was to last TWENTY-FIVE seasons! - the producers picked some of Agatha Christie's short stories featuring the great detective; and they certainly made VERY good picks. Like in this case, with the fascinating case of the mysterious 'coincidence' of two brothers dying within just a few days, and the seemingly small, but Immensely important details of the meal one of them ate at his restaurant shortly before his death...

This was only the fourth episode of the first season of the series - and yet, everything's already there: David Suchet has practically 'become' Hercule Poirot (not without some additional humor for the delectation of the TV audience, but that only adds to his lovable eccentricity), the supporting cast also is formidable, and set design, costumes, hairstyles and everything else visible (or audible) are GENUINELY 20s' style in every little detail. It was already more than clear that this series would turn into something big! But this episode has also got a VERY interesting additional attraction: it takes us into both the painters' and the theatrical world of the time, AND, as the biggest contrast imaginable, in the very next scene we get an insight into a forensic laboratory of the 1920s... All in all: it's really unbelievable what a great artistic and entertainment value a 50-minute TV series episode can achieve!

This was one of the Poirot episodes that required a lot of padding by the screenwriters. The original story itself was quite basic: at dinner one evening, Poirot hears a waitress make a chance remark that a regular customer had ordered a meal that was very different from his usual tastes. A few days later he hears from his dinner companion that that same habitual customer from the restaurant had happened to die that very evening, apparently by accident. Poirot's curiosity is aroused, and by talking with a series of acquaintances of the dead man, and calling on his knowledge of human nature, he is able to determine that the man's death was not all it appeared to be.

A simple enough story, and lacking some of the detail that would make it appealing to television viewers. So, the writers added in some considerable amount of background of the dead man's artistic career and family, along with a series of references to contemporary forensic science (faint traces of CSI!), cricket, and even a passing reference to Raffles, a fictional mystery-solving character from the 1930's. Nothing wrong with any of that. Didn't really add to the essential story, but didn't take away from it either. All in all, an episode that was enjoyable but not very memorable.

Poirot and Hastings are dining with Poirot's dentist one evening when the waitress points out an eccentric-looking man in the corner. He is Henry Gascoigne, an artist and a man of set routines. Yet he has been varying his habits of late. A few days later Poirot is at his dentist when he is informed that Mr Gascoigne died, apparently by falling down a flight of stairs at his house. For Poirot, the change of habits and sudden death seem too coincidental and he starts looking into Gascoigne's death, suspecting it was murder.

Quite intriguing. The murderer is not obvious until the end (though a process of elimination sort of gets there before then). A few good red herrings and twists too.

Some good by-play between Hastings and Poirot involving cricket (Hastings was due to move on from cars...) and the usual English vs continental food banter.