Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Movie Collection, Set 4

By: RegitAgatha Christie's Poirot, The Movie Collection, Set 4 consists of three discs. Two of the discs are each 93 minutes long and each contains a mystery staring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot. The mysteries are Cat Among the Pigeons and McGinty's Dead. A third disc, 47 minutes long, titled "Super Sleuths: Poirot", contains behind the scenes interviews with Christie's famous detective, Poirot, and the supporting cast, his secretary Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran), his side kick Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser), and his inside contact at Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Japp. These supporting characters do not appear in the two mysteries included in this set. In Cat Among the Pigeons Poirot mentions that his apartment is being remodeled and he asks his butler George to send him a suitcase of clothes. This is also a later period in the development of Poirot's personality. He is noticeably more aggressive, demanding and crritical. Ariadne Oliver, a best selling writer of mystery novels and Poirot's friend appears in Mrs. McGinty's Dead. The discs are in color, have stereo sound and are in the 16 to 9 wide screen format.Cat Among the Pigeons (1959). Ali Yusuf prince of Ramat a rich country in Middle East gave a fortune in rubies to his friend and pilot, Bob Rawlinson. Rawlinson concealed the jewels in the handle of a tennis racket in his sister's luggage. An uprising took place in Ramat. Both Yusuf and Rawlinson were killed when their sabotaged plane crashed. Back in England, Meadowbank, the top school for young ladies, was in the throws of reorganizing and asked Poirot to observe and give them some suggestions. Then Miss Springer was killed with a lance in the Sports Pavilion. Inspector Kelsey interviewed everyone, and secretly the British Secret Service took notice. The Tennis racket with its valuable hidden gems changed hands. The gems were discovered by one of the students, who showed them to Poirot. There was another murder, an attempted murder, and a kidnapping. The complex interaction between the students and the faculty became even more tense, scrambled and intriguing. Poirot gathered all of the principals in the lounge and recounted the high points. The perpetrator was identified. The management of the school resolved that they would rebuild their reputation and again become the top school for young ladies in England.Mrs. McGinty's Dead (1952). Mrs. McGinty was found dead with the back of her head smashed in. Her unemployed tenant, James Bentley, was suspected of the crime. He was arrested, charged, tried, convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. Chief Inspector Spence of the Kilchester Police, a close friend of Poirot, was on the Bentley case and went into all of the evidence very thoroughly. He had the feeling that Bentley was innocent, and told Poirot "I know a lot more about murders than the Jurors". Poirot agreed to dig into the murder and took up residence in Broadhinny, a slovenly run boarding house in the area. Poirot came across Ariadne Oliver, a writer of mystery novels and an old friend who provided some useful intuitive reasoning about the case. He found that several of Mrs. McGinty's employers had reasons to have the case settled without an in depth investigation. When an unknown assailant made an attempt on Poirot's life, the investigation became even more serious. Poirot uncovered the real culprit, a miss-carriage of justice was averted and James Bentley was freed. Poirot saw to it that a female admirer of Bentley was present when he was released from prison.

The numbers of reviews submitted for the various packages of David Suchet's portrayal of Agatha Christie's beloved Belgian detective Hercules Poirot is testament enough as to its popularity, with many going into considerable detail about each episode covered.I'm not about to clog up the reviews with more of the same. If you know who Poirot is there's no need, and if you don't, many of these other great reviews will fill you in nicely. I simply wish to say that each meticulously portrays the time period (1920s to 1940s before the series reaches its end) as only British productions can, and with actors who do not overplay their roles in sticking as closely as possible to Agatha Christie's books.As some have noted, the original episodes have more of an Art Deco and often brighter and less-brooding look to them with the semi-regular characters of his aide, Captain Arthur Hastings (Hugh Fraser), his secretary Miss Felicity Lemon (Pauline Moran), and Scotland Yard Chief Inspector James Harold Japp (Philip Jackson), each of whom more or less faded from Christie's books after entering the mid- to late-1930s.These later episodes, some of which were produced by the A&E Network but still stuck flawlessly to the period in appearance, began to take on a darker side in their storylines (as did her books), with the only recurring characters being George, his valet, and detective fiction writer Ariadne Oliver (played by the brilliant actress Zoë Wannamaker).The only episodes not yet available on DVD are those of the final season, which were filmed the past year - Elephants Can Remember, The Big Four, The Labours Of Hercules, Dead Man's Folly, and Curtain. The last, which brings our favourite detective, now wheelchair-ridden, back to Styles (now a retirement residence), but where it all began, also sees his death.I have them all to date, and can't wait for these to be broadcast and then finally made available on DVD.

I chose this 5 Star rating because it deserves every one of them! It contains 2 of my favorite movies of all of them!I love the ones that have Zoe Wanamaker in them. David Suchet and Zoe just have such chemistry in them as old friends, which makes them utterly believable! And in Mrs. McGinty's Dead, David Suchet is at his best and most keen and Zoe Wanamaker helps him along...sometimes to his chagrin! It's such fun to watch them together!The plot and storyline are well written and carried out and it leaves you guessing right along with them who did what and WHY! Some of the characters are so unlikeable that you find yourself wishing...well, that they get it next! You know what I mean?!! Some do, too! Is that bad of me to say that? I wonder! But at any rate, it's fun to watch and the more you watch it, you seem to glean something that you missed before! Agatha Christie was such a perfectionist at hiding clues...right in front if you, wasn't she?! Guess that's why she's the the top "Dame" of mystery writers!"Cat Among The Pigeons" is a great one, too! It has mystery and intrigue on foreign ground that ends up sailing onto the sovereign soil of good old England herself! But they're all in for a fight to death when they realize that the infamous Hercule Poirot is their rival and NOT their ally! The battle is on and only one will win out...and as far as Hercule is concerned...they were the losers before they even began the fight! They just can't outwit HIS little grey cells!..and that of one little smart schoolgirl, too! Foolish to try, yes??!I love the way the story weaves in and out with "red herrings," so to speak! I love a good mystery and the ending of this one is so satisfying, too! Makes it a complete package all wrapped up by Mister P. himself! I recommend it highly!You won't be disappointed!