The Dream

Benedict Farley is the wealthy owner of a pie factory, a man with a Victorian attitude. He makes lots of pies, keeps a tight grip on his family and expects his low paid staff to be grateful to him for providing employment to them.

Farley calls in Poirot because he has been having a recurring dream that he will kill himself at a certain time of the day. Indeed his body is found by an employee the following day.

Poirot is called in because he seems to be the only one Farley confided to about this dream.

I thought behind Farley and his bushy eyebrows and thick spectacles was the actor Bob Peck as he sounded like him. The episode does feature descendants of the great and the good. Joely Richardson (daughter of Vanessa Redgrave) and Alan Howard (nephew of Leslie Howard.)

The iconic art deco Hoover Building stands in for the pie factory. It is now a Tesco supermarket and an Indian restaurant. My wife immediately remarked that it looked familiar to her as we have visited the building.

The mystery does share a theme to an earlier episode from the first series but it is enjoyable enough but not really a deep mystery.

By and large I liked the first series even if some of the mysteries were not too strong. The hour length episodes were tight, ITV had lavished money on the series with the art deco art direction being outstanding. Suchet hit the right note with his portrayal, smart, wily and humorous.

It was a shame that the later feature length film versions became flabby, the art and set directions were not as exquisite and Poirot became rather a bad tempered bore.

I have seen many episodes from this very exciting TV series but I decided not to write about them, there are too many. I make an exception for this one because I consider it the best of all that I have seen, from all points of view, subject, actors, director, everything. Very intelligent. Just watch it!

Hercule Poirot is invited by wealthy industrialist / pork pie king, Benedict Farley, to take on his case. When they meet at Mr Farley's factory, Mr Farley tells Poirot that he believes someone is trying to hypnotise him into committing suicide. Mr Poirot is quite dismissive of Mr Farley's suggestion and the meeting ends. The next day, Mr Farley is found dead in his office, shot through the head, apparently at his own hand. Chief Inspector Japp would normally write it up as suicide and close the case, but the fact that Poirot was previously contacted by Mr Farley makes him think it could be murder, and that Poirot's assistance is needed.

Reasonably intriguing, especially as regards the murder method. Motives are quite basic. Quite a few dead giveaways right at the beginning to some of the machinations involved in the plot.

A nice sub-plot involving Miss Lemon and her typewriter. Supporting cast includes Joely Richardson.

This plot is similar to another in the Poirot series and actually, it's fairly easy to figure out. However, it's still well done and very entertaining.

Things aren't happy in Poirot's office. Miss Lemon has had it with her ancient typewriter and wants a new one. Though this is news to Poirot, both she and Hastings insist it has been mentioned several times before.

Now he can really forget about it, as he is summoned to meet a man named Farley, the King of Pies, at his manufacturing company. Farley is disturbed about a dream he has had repeatedly. In the dream, at an exact time, he removes a gun from his desk, walks to his window, and kills himself.

Poirot isn't much help and is dismissed by Farley. The next day, Farley is found dead under the circumstances he described. Poirot and Hastings then help Inspector Japp figure out what happened. In the end, the typewriter-seeking Miss Lemon gives Poirot the clue to the case.

A delightful episode that shows activity in Poirot's office with the wonderful Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran) and Hastings (Hugh Fraser), with Poirot at his absent-minded genius best.

Recommended, though not the best story.

This episode is the one where Suchet absolutely nails the character. There are bits and pieces in the previous episodes but this is the one where you can see it all really come together for him. Not the most exciting of stories but watching Suchet's masterclass is more than enough to satisfy.