The Veiled Lady

This delightful episode is a delicate tribute a Sherlock Holmes Story, Charles Augustus Milverton?

Holmes has to rescue love letters written by a young lady before her wedding, in her youth. " Sprightly Watson, nothing more ." Pleading with the blackmailer does not work, so Holmes infiltrates himself into the household, as " Escott, a rising plumber ,by trade" .He becomes engaged to the housemaid, "Lawd, Watson , those talks" .Later Hoolmes ans Watson in Opera clothes + black silk scarves( a hat tip to Raffles? ) Written by E W Hornung,whom Conan Doyle knew well, break in,retrieve the letters + Milverton is murdered in front of them. Pursued by the Polis they escape Hampsted Heath.

Holmes had frequently commentated , that he would have been a Great Criminal.

The next day Inspector Lestrade asks Holmes to help solve the murder,which he refuses to do. They laugh at the description of the escaping 2 men, one with a limp, and a comment is made that it could easily be a description of Holmes and Watson.

Conan Doyle was still writing Holmes stories until 1922, his last bow, and a small piece , "How Watson learned the Trick" for the Queen's Doll House in 1924.

Christie 's writing career over with Doyle 's and it is a joy to see how she reflects ans complements fellow authors in the Golden Age of Dectection, as well as weaving real life events into her novels.

This episode is a perfect continuation to that tradition, and it was made not long after the Granada Production of the Sherlock Holmes Stories and novels had been broadcast, for many ,the definitive Television series in its contemporaneous form.

The BBC Sherlock had to be a modern version,to Make the stories come alive again , rather than being overwhelmed by Jeremy Brett's towering traditional performance.

I would love to know, where was that gorgeous suburban house ?

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Hercule Poirot is surrounded by his usual coterie in this second season mystery film of the British series of Agatha Christie's Belgian detective that stars David Suchet. Jewelry theft and blackmail are the subjects of this film that is set in and around London.

"The Veiled Lady" has a couple of unique aspects which are not secret in the promotion of the film. The first is that Poirot considers how much more exciting it might be had he been the world's greatest criminal instead of the world's greatest detective. So, to handle the next case he gets, he uses a disguise as a locksmith to gain entry to a home. And, for another, he spends a night in jail after being caught breaking into that home later that night - as a burglar.

True to Christie form and cleverness, this film has some excellent twists that one doesn't recognize for what they are until the end when Poirot makes everything clear. I did note though, some points toward the end that referred back to early clues that immediately came to mind. But not that they were clues at all for this case. And that may be one of the very clever techniques that Christie uses. Some critics have said that she doesn't divulge all the clues in her stories to the readers and viewers - that Poirot springs them on audiences after he has solved the case.

This film has a couple of very clear examples that disprove that criticism and also alert one to the Christie technique. So, from now on, I will watch more assiduously for clues in anything and everything that takes place and is shown even before there is a case and that just seems to be filler in the story without anything to do with the case.

Those who haven't yet watched this film may want to watch for early things that have nothing to do with a case that Poirot has not yet taken on. And, those who have seen this film already, may want to pay special attention on the next viewing for the same things. They really do jump out when one knows the final conclusion.

This film is a fascinating one with some very good and different characters. And it is peppered with some short shots of humor, including some of Poirot's tongue-in-cheek with Hastings that had me laughing heartily.

My favorite line in the film comes from Captain Hastings. When he and Poirot were caught as burglars, Hastings got away by jumping through a glass door. The next morning, after his release from jail, a haggard looking Poirot comes into his flat where Hastings is reading a newspaper. Poirot is irate and says "Good morning" to Hastings, who is unflappable at Poirot's scorn for his getting away. Hastings says, "If I hadn't managed to escape and got Japp to bail you out, you would've been up before the Wimbledon beat this morning - house-breaking at the very least"

Here are some more favorite lines.

Hercule Poirot, "Hastings, what a cracksman was lost when Hercule Poirot decided to become the world's greatest detective."

Captain Hastings, "Dirty swine! I beg your pardon."

Captain Hastings, "What a stunning girl, though." Hercule Poirot, "I sometimes think, mon ami, that you are too easily stunned."

Hercule Poirot, "They fear me, Hastings. The criminals - they fear Hercule Poirot so much that they have repented of their naughty ways and have become citizens of the most upright." Captain Hastings, 'Oh, rubbish, Poirot."

Hercule Poirot, "You know, Hastings, sometimes I wish that I was not of such a moral disposition." Captain Hastings, "Really?" Poirot, "Would not Hercule Poirot do better than any criminal? Hercule Poirot would use his grey cells, huh. Hercule Poirot would change his modus operandi for every crime. Scotland Yard would never be able to pin me down. Ah, Hastings, Hastings. To work against the law for a change. I think it would be quite pleasing. Imagine it -- every morning a new crime, huh. Every morning, Inspector Japp tearing his hair. And on every street corner, the cries of the newspaper sellers, 'Read all about it - Monsieur Big reveals everything.'"

Captain Hastings, "You swine!" Hercule Poirot, "Hastings, please." Lavington, "I say, what an excitable office boy you have."

Hercule Poirot, "Why did you wish to know where Monsieur Lavington lived, Hastings?" Captain Hastings, 'I don't know. He was so beastly, the way he talked about Lady Millicent. I wanted to kick him down the stairs." Poirot," You wanted to do it in the comfort of his own home, yes?"

The closing credits of this episode (The veiled lady S2 E2) are those of The kidnapped Prime Minister (S2 E8). The supporting actors' names aren't there 🙃

This is one of those episodes where the extra scenes written for television are genius. By far the best of them is a scene only alluded to in the original story. Poirot and Hastings meet with a lady who says that a blackmailer has gotten hold of an indiscreet letter that she wrote to a young man years ago, and is threatening to show it to her new fiancé. Poirot finds out that that the blackmailer is going to be out of town, so he finds his address and plans to break into his house to search for the letter. In preparation for the break in, he goes to the house during the day and talks with the housekeeper. Claiming to be a locksmith, he is permitted to "refit" one of the windows with a special burglar-proof lock. Carole Hayman does an excellent job as the suspicious housekeeper; when she asks Poirot about his accent, Poirot throws out a hint: "Madame, what is the country that is full of mountains and is divided into cantons?" The housekeeper considers for a moment and then says skeptically, "You're never Chinese?" Classic.

That night, Poirot and Hastings take advantage of the modified window to break into the house. They find the letter, but just as they are leaving, they discover that the housekeeper has heard movement and gone to fetch a policeman (Hayman has another great scene here accusing Poirot of burglary.) Hastings gets away but Poirot is arrested and put in jail overnight. Hastings calls Japp, who shows up at the jail in the morning to vouch for his friend. One of the greatest lines of the episode: Japp and a constable are peering at Poirot through a small opening of the cell door. The constable asks Japp what the prisoner's name is. Japp says dryly, "No one knows his real name, but everyone calls him Mad Dog." Genius.

Towards the end, there's a scene where Poirot has confronted the criminals with the crime and they're trying to make a getaway. Most of these escape scenes lack interest for me, because they're just a way of padding the original materials and making it a bit more exciting for the viewer, but this scene is rather above average, because it takes place at what appears to be the British Museum. The criminals find a room with a lot of stuffed animals covered in dropcloths, and take refuge under one of them. The sight of Japp pulling a series of cloths like a magician, only to meet the glassy eyed stare of a giraffe or an orangutan, is very well done. Overall, a clever and funny episode.

As a fan of the series, I have always considered The Veiled Lady one of the better short-story adaptations. It is a little too short, only by about three or four minutes, but so much compensates. Once again, it is wonderfully made with an evocative atmosphere and everything on screen looking splendid, and the music is hauntingly beautiful. The story is clever and always compelling, I did like that Poirot does a lot of snooping around in this one and the climax in the museum is both thrilling and tense. The writing again is intelligent and thought-provoking, alongside the funny moments(Japp's "Nobody knows his real name, but they call him "Mad Dog"" is another addition to the already long list of funny moments in the Poirot series). The acting I also can't fault, David Suchet is as ever impeccable, and Hugh Fraser, Phillip Jackson and Pauline Moran match him perfectly and their chemistry's a joy. Frances Barber has only been more lovely in the Inspector Morse episode Death of the Self in my opinion. Overall, a top-notch episode. 9/10 Bethany Cox