Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Dame Agatha

Years ago I had the rather daunting good fortune to meet Sherlock Holmes.
Well actually, to be honest, it was the late British actor, Jeremy Brett, whose portrayal of Mr. Holmes is considered to be both brilliant and definitive. I recall being a bit shocked to discover that Mr. Brett was wearing a turtleneck sweater. What, no houndstooth coat? No deerstalker hat? So completely did he inhabit the great detective, it was a bit jarring to find him to be a regular 20th century person.


I have often wondered how I would feel if I ever had the equal luck of an encounter with David Suchet, the actor who currently defines Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot - he of the egg-shaped head, flamboyantly tended moustache and multitudes of razor sharp “little gray cells”. Would I expect him to be fussy and imperious, nattily attired, with a strong dislike for the country? Like Jeremy Brett before him as Holmes, Mr. Suchet is the quintessential Poirot, and never more so than in the two new versions just out on DVD. I have sorely missed Poirot in recent years and these new, just released interpretations are beautifully done , chock full of wonderful actors....Zoe Wanamaker as mystery writer Ariadne is especially divine....and photographed with painterly detail. Watching them in high definition is truly delicious eye candy. And David Suchet has never been better. His Poirot is never silly, never comic... he is ingenious and eccentric, just as he should be.



And happily, the Christie canon continues with a brand new Miss Marple. Like Brett and Suchet before her, Joan Hickson has always been considered the gold standard Miss Marple, but I always found her a bit chilly. I could never imagine giving up my secrets to someone with such a dour expression. However, Julia McKenzie, as the new Miss Marple, is quite another story altogether. Her Miss Marple is warm, pleasant, and empathetic, all the while maintaining that familiar cat-like focus on the clues others are overlooking. And yes, she knits, she drinks tea and she wears tweed suits.... just like she should.

There are four new Miss Marple stories just out and they are a sure recipe for a wonderfully cozy night in front of the television. Pocketful of Rye was especially enjoyable, in part because it adheres closer to the book, while the other three retain little more than the names of the original characters. While I enjoyed them as well, I had to wonder at the need for the wholesale alteration of their plot lines. For those Christie purists among us, this can be a bit disconcerting. Rather like having Ratty and Mole poking around Oz. Or perhaps, summoning Othello over to Denmark to advise Hamlet on his grand dilemma. While Dame Agatha may not look down on the literary world from as lofty a perch as Sir William, one still has to be amazed at the cheek it takes to cuisinart her plotlines so thoroughly. I had to chuckle when Mrs. Marple made her appearance in Why Didn’t They Ask Evans, a book from which she is totally absent, but then I thought, ah well, perhaps she just wandered over from her cottage in St. Mary Mead or from her holiday at Bertram’s Hotel. Rather like the characters in the paintings that hang on the wall at Hogwarts, perhaps the Christie characters visit each other occasionally. Although I must say, given that Mrs. Christie is the best selling mystery writer in history, one could reasonably assume the plots of her stories would be quite satisfactory on their own, so these indiscriminate changes seem unnecessary at best, hubristic at worst.

But a little Christie is better than no Christie at all, and these productions are ones I know I shall watch again and again, for they have all the essential elements for a perfect night.... old English country houses, murders in the conservatory, mysterious characters, deliciously lavish sets and copious amounts of tea and knitting.

27 comments:

  1. Yes Pamela, I agree with all your thoughts on the detectives - David Suchet was on "Who do you Think you Are" (a family history programme) not too long ago and he really was rather like Poirot in real life.
    Last year I went to The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate for coffee on morning when visiting an art gallery - that was the hotel where Agatha Christie "disappeared" - it was quite odd sitting there and thinking about it all. There are various mementos of her visit on show.

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  2. I've always admired David Suchet in the role of Hercule Poirot! He is exactly as my mind's eye had pictured the character as I read Christie's novels.
    I shall have to look for these new DVDs in Netflix! Thanks!

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  3. Can't wait to see Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple....did you see her in Cranford...hysterical..I loved that series..i'm sure she'll be just right for Miss Christies tales.

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  4. How strange that you - an American - are an afficionado of such an English author as Agatha Christie. I, on the other hand, am a devotee of 'The West Wing'!!!
    Many years ago, when on a drama course at Stratford-on-Avon, I worked with two very young actors - Zoe Wannamaker and Juliet Stevenson.They were just starting out in their careers and great fun! Happy days!

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  5. Oh, I love all the Agatha Christie books and movies! David Suchet was the perfect Poirot and my favorite Miss Marple has always been Margaret Rutherford. I am looking forward to checking out the new Miss Marple... :) Silke

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  6. I love these programs, too. What a great post full of wonderful info! How special to meet someone you admire!

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  7. So agree with you. Nice to have Murders back on Sundays if even ever so briefly.

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  8. I really admired Mr. Brett's work. I would've loved to have met him.

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  9. Lovely blog, Pamela. I am always amazed at how many Agatha Christie stories there are - did she really write all of them? I imagine it's a bit disconcerting to meet someone like Jeremy Brett in real life - I'm always slightly disappointed to discover things like turtleneck sweaters on someone who I think of as the quintessential Sherlock Holmes - whatever next? Leonard Nimmoy without pointy ears? Heaven forbid!

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  10. You do have a mysterious way about you and always a pocketful of something to entice. Love your stories and picturing you and Edward being total "Sleuths" sitting with a tray of tea and baskets of luxurious yarns and glorious trails of knitted stitches.
    Tell me what time to pop over and join you. I will bring some crumpets.
    pve

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  11. Hello P&E,

    Despite Mr Brett's acting skills, unfortunately, I always find the Holmes' plots a little too fantastical! But Poirot and Marples are fine and Suchet and Joan Hickson are the standard. It will be interesting to see Julia McKenzie's interpretation. I didn't like Geraldine McEwan very much!

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  12. I adore David Suchet as Poirot. Did you happen to see the episode where he has disguised himself as a burgler and his mustache is down and droopy? Too funny, since he is always so impeccably well groomed!

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  13. I totally agree with Silke,David Suchet is the perfect Poirot and Margaret Rutherford was a wonderful Miss Marple. But quite frankly, aren't they all superb ! Great post!

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  14. Hello, Pamela-

    I've been following your wonderful blog--and have placed you on my favorites on my blog.Your evocation of summer in a hot clime was wonderful.

    SUCHET: I by chance saw a documentary that included Suchet being made up and prepared for the Poirot role--and it was fascinating to see that he wears lots of subtle 'body shapes' beneath the suit, which included fattening up and rounding his shoulders, filling out his body, then all the makeup, filling in and dyeing his hair, the moustache of course. He is perfection in every detail--meticulous, mincing, witty and droll and totally Belgian. The whole cast is superb--and the locations of Poirot are the best. One of the finest tv shows in production, including costuming, makeup, casting, photography.
    I like the new Miss Marple and find her a tiny bit 'nice' and sweet a tiny bit passive. Still, adore the show, the locations, the sense of period and village life.Any British mystery is always worthwhile.
    Cheers, www.thestylesaloniste.com

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  15. O marvelous a brand new Miss Marple..I am happy:))A pot of tea...my knitting and I am all set..

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  16. Pamela, love this look at some of my favorite British programming..Can't wait to settle in with some of these jewels on a crisp, cool, autumn evening yet to come....

    I'm also looking forward to the new Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr, and Jude Law as Watson...Hum...

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  17. I am a massive Agatha Christie fan.

    I absolutely adore the Suchet Poirots, he is a wonderful actor and just inhabits Poirot.

    I have to say I am in the camp that thinks Joan Hickson cannot be bettered as Miss Marple, she was definitive and did you know Agatha Christie herself asked her to play her 'dear Miss Marple' as she thought she was ideal?

    I think the thing about Agatha Christie is what can seem quite cosy actually isn't. Her characters are eccentrics and I think Miss Marple isn't the cosy old lady people sometimes see. She has a mind like a razor and is a woman of sharp intellect and perhaps sometimes sharp character where she thinks injustice has been done- the point is people misjudge her because of her old lady exterior and Joan Hickson was marvellous at showing how MM can play up to that image to get her way but that in fact MM is nothing like the old lady people want to see.

    She is a character of her time too which the BBC versions show brilliantly. This is a senior clergyman's daughter with a fierce intellect but as a woman born in the Victorian age she was not prepared for a career. Were this character a teenager in the 1950 onwards there is no doubt she would have gone to University and I'm sure have been able to do more career wise- perhaps choose a soulmate rather than have her mother do so, or perhaps she would still have chosen to be single.

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  18. I agree a perfect evening of watching a couple of these DVD would make a wonderful evening of staying cozy in by a fire, a glass of wine and the lights low. David and Christie add both mystery and charm to their adventures. xoxo

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  19. Don't forget to include Dame Margaret Rutherford in your list! A marvellous Miss Marple -- and her four films (which Agatha herself enjoyed!) are available on DVD in a boxed set. In B&W -- and the houses are wonderful!

    Jan at Rosemary Cottage (who always has a pot of tea at hand!)

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  20. How wonderful to have met the late Jeremy Brett - he was an amazing Sherlock Homes - as is David Suchet a wonderful Poirot. They both inhabit those characters so well that it is hard to imagine any other actor in the role. I liked Joan Hickson's Miss Marple and I loved the music that introduced that series - I think by Michael Nyman:)

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  21. Yes indeed - how incredible to meet Mr. Brett. I will be pulling my chair up to the tellie to be watching some Miss Marple no doubt! Great..great post!

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  22. I totally concur with your love of the casting and acting for each of these characters...especially that of David Suchet...I'm afraid to say that I would never be able to accept him out of his role:)...and I have been thrilled to watch all the new Mysteries this summer...the only good thing on TV this summer!
    I have to admit that my memory is poor enough that I don't remember the original plots...finally a good thing about a poor memory!

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  23. Agatha Christie is a great favorite of mine though considered 'light reading' in my youth.
    I thought her terribly clever.
    Buster sends his best to Edward.

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  24. I never forget how "short-changed" I felt on hearing an interview with David Suchet for the first time. No traces of Hercule Poirot whatsoever. And here I thought that was his normal accent ....

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  25. As a Belgian born and bred, I confess that David Suchet's Poirot always jarred. In fact much of the Poirot character rings false to me and and has led me to conclude that Dame Agatha's familiarity with Belgium and its inhabitants must have been very slight indeed. This said, I do like Holmes and dear Miss Marple just fine.
    And I always love your entries , Pamela!

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  26. I totally agreed that David Suchet is the quintessential Poirot Pamela. He must have been born to be the detective. He is quite perfect. Of course Jeremy Brett is also the perfect Holmes. I must take issue with Miss Marple though. Joan Hickson was the mould for this character for me. I agree she is a little chilly but I think there was a streak of something a little dark about Miss Marple. I will, however, watch the new Miss Marple with interest.

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  27. We love Poirot, and don't even mind watching one's we've seen before because they're so good to look at and we just love the characters.

    Zoe W is good, and almost makes up for the absence of Hastings and the wonderful Miss Lemon, though those late ones seem quite sad really...

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I love to read your comments! Each and every one! Though I'm always reading your comments, I may not respond in the comment section. If you want to write me directly, you may do so at pamela@pamelaterry.net. Thank you for reading!