The Veiled Lady

I'm surprised to see this episode languishing at the foot of the table (Poirot rankings IMDb,) for me this is one of the best short story adaptations, mainly because this is where for me (and i'm sure many others) the Frances Barber idolising started, when she meets Poirot and drops that veil she is so beautiful, and gives a wonderful performance in this episode, bouncing brilliantly off all the cast. There's a good amount of humour in this one, Poirot, Japp and the housekeeper deliver some great lines. It's not the most in depth episode I guess, but it is all perfectly delivered, how nice it would have been for it to be longer, I can't resist watching this one over and over, it is brilliant!!

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

This was quite different to most Poirot stories as he resorts to burglary to help the damsel in distress and his little grey cells don't really whir into action until late in the episode.

I found it quite funny with Poirot and Hastings running down the street in camouflage to get to the house, reminded me of an episode of Only Fools and Horses when Del and Rodney run along the road dressed up as Batman and Robin, both had tall and thin and short slightly dumpy characters.

Lots of other comedic situations and Poirot for once being mistaken as a foreigner from a country other than France.

I think Suchet must have had fun making this as well.

So much more fun than the later series, which became quite sombre. Maybe a little too frivolous for some.

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 🙃