The Third Floor Flat

Who killed the tenant in the flat below that of Patricia (Suzanne Burden) and Mildred Amanda Elwes) while the ladies were out at a play? If I were going to murder someone I wouldn't choose a building where Hercule Poirot resides.

"The Third Floor Flat" is a story that needed plumping out and this time the writers did a good job.

Suffering from sniffles, Poirot is dragged to a detective play by Hastings. Infuriated when new clues are turned up by the stage detective at the last moment, our Belgian detective has a miserable evening. Until his pretty neighbors and their dates discover a body.

Additional extraneous material includes some nonsense about Hastings' new car.

Hugh Fraser's Hastings (one of the delights of "Poirot") has a truly noble bit of work here.

Overall, despite the massive overhaul of the (too) short story, this is one of my favorite early "Poirot" episodes. Sometimes, change is necessary.

Poirot is not in high spirits, a combination of man flu and no cases. To raise his spirits Hastings takes Poirot to the Theatre to watch a murder mystery. Whilst at the Theatre a murder occurs at Whitehaven Mansions, it's new resident Ernestine Grant, who's body is accidentally discovered by fellow Theatre goers Jimmy and Donovan, friends of Poirot's neighbour Miss Matthews. Fortnunately Poirot's grey cells are on hand to clear up the mystery.

It's an excellent episode, one of the best of the early ones. It is an ultra smart looking episodes, the Theatre scenes look wonderfully authentic, clothes and costumes throughout look super smart, it boasts a wonderful attention to detail. It's a very different episode, Poirot deduces the killer's identity swiftly, it's more about how to physically catch the killer then the solving of the crime.

Lots of fun too, I love Poirot's grumblings about his cold, it's a lighthearted start to the episode.

The acting is up to the usual high standard. I did enjoy the appearance, albeit brief one from Josie Lawrence, nice to see her cast in a different kind of role for her.

8/10

I have been a fan of Agatha Christie and Poirot for nearly a decade now. The Third Floor Flat has everything I love about the series in the first place. It is classily made, with splendid photography and scenery, and the music as always is hauntingly beautiful. The script is both clever and witty, and the story is one of the more simpler, more suspenseful and more compelling story lines of the entire series with so much happening and solved in such a short running time. The acting is as great as ever, with the four leads superb especially the definitive Poirot of David Suchet.

All in all, one of the best Poirots as well one of the better short story adaptations(third only perhaps to Wasp's Nest and The Chocolate Box). 9/10 Bethany Cox

To take Poirot's mind off the fact that he has no case and his little grey cells are atrophying, Hastings takes him to the theater to see a mystery play. Poirot guesses the wrong murderer and then complains the audience wasn't given all the facts.

When they arrive home, they find out that there has been a murder two floors down, of a young woman who just moved in. The two women who lived in the same apartment line did not have their keys, and their dates go down the fire escape, but climb in the wrong window and find the body.

Strangely, the woman had left a note for one of the women in the other apartment wanting to speak with her.

Poirot works with Inspector Japp to attempt to figure out who killed this woman, and why.

Delightful mystery, with Poirot and Hastings in good form and interacting with people in the building, which one doesn't see much. Poirot also shows a lack of detachment when it comes to one of the neighbors -- he finds her lovely, and picks up that one of the men is in love with her, although she's engaged to someone else. Sweet as well as touching.

Very entertaining, and a good mystery.

Hercule is bored - no cases for the little grey cells. Furthermore he is sick with a cold, and this is making him cranky. He becomes even more cranky after watching a murder-mystery play, and finding the plot sub-par. On returning from the play, however, he discovers that his newly-arrived upstairs neighbour has been murdered. Poirot quickly sets to work in solving who did it.

Overly simple, making this one of the worst Poirot episodes. The murderer is revealed in double-quick time, leaving the remainder of the episode an action drama rather than a murder mystery. Very basic plot, and the murderer is fairly obvious.

There are one or two sub-plots which do add some colour to what would otherwise be a fairly dull affair: Hastings and his car, Poirot and his cold. Not enough to save the episode, however.