I would like to see a version of the Mr. Quinn stories, maybe with 3 of them grouped together with the theme of Mr. Saitherwaite's wish to be part of a drama (and then realising how scary that can be) being the unifying element.
The most recent adaptation of the Mr. Quinn stories was in 1928 and was basically a mash of some stories into one plot. I've never seen it but I don't think it went over well. But I agree, Mr. Quinn needs a good series.
Nice list! I would watch an anthology series of The Thirteen Problems. 13 episodes of course, with Marple and co as a framing device and the drama provided by a rotating cast of guests.
Oh yeah that's definitely in need of an adaptation. I don't know ITV used non-Marple stories when those and other short stories were still there and remain unadapted.
I agree with you about Kenneth Branagh. He’s butchered every Poirot novel he’s got his hands on and doesn’t seem to have any understanding of the character of Poirot.
@@summationgathering It's tricky, to your point one is way over dramatic and maybe a bit frenetic and the other a bit lagging with (imo) lazy production design. Please eep making great vids on this material!! :-D
@@Kcoste08 Thanks! The one thing I remember from the Ustinov version is that cheesy segment where the family goes on tour and we get a montage in photographs or something. It's been a while so I can't quite picture the entire film right now.
@@summationgathering Haha, I don't remember that, I was distracted by the glaring mixture of 1980s clothing and hair styles mixed in with the alleged late '30s styles.
I agree. I don't like the Cards on the Table adaptation either but I also felt it wasn't really the kind of book that translates well to the screen. I think this is easily one of those books that's just going to get changed quite a bit no matter who does it. I think the big problems are the limited suspects (filmmakers would want more than four) and the bridge game which is just isn't as familiar nowadays and you can't change it to another card game. It has to be bridge.
They Came to Baghdad has an episode from 1952 of the series called Studio One and Destination Unknown. Destination Unknown apparently does not have an adaptation. I could have sworn it did but I went to look it up for you and I can't find anything. In which case, it should have made the list in 9th place and I'd have taken out Taken at the Flood.
I've been wanting to see Greta Gerwig do a Christie adaptation for a while and I think she actually could be perfect for Taken at the Flood or After the Funeral
I’d love to see a “Cat Among the Pigeons”, “Murder in Mesopotamia” or even “Appointment with Death”, with Poirot removed and the detective being Julia Upjohn, Amy Leatheran and Dr King in their respective stories: the former two cracked most of the mystery before even Poirot was there and Dr King, I believe was the one to solve the murder in Appointment’s play adaptation.
I'm not sure if audiences would be that receptive to a Poirot without Poirot nowadays but if Poirot is going to be Kenneth Branagh might as well dump him.
Now I did adore the David Suchet version of POIROT'S CHRISTMAS. I also adore PERIL AT END HOUSE, and I would be excited to see who might play the roles in that. AFTER THE FUNERAL worked well enough, but I never found it gripping. Honestly I don't really like THE PALE HORSE as a novel. But different strokes... I rather liked the Suchet APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH, which has some very effective scenes that touched my heart. Interestingly, THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE TRAIN is now in public domain, which has only one adaptation as far as I know--which was not bad at all. A quick note--the Ancient Egyptians were ethnically diverse, although at a minimum some of them looked rather Arab and/or Middle Eastern in general, which some Egyptians were certainly darker, some probably as dark as sub-Saharan African.
I like parts of the Suchet Christmas episode, particularly the scenes about Poirot/Japp's friendship and buying presents for each other. I'm not a fan of what they did with the mystery though.
Excellent video. I agree with you about all of the execrable versions (Appointment with Death, Taken at the Flood, After the Funeral, The Sittaford Mystery, The Pale Horse etc). I would be very surprised if the delay re the adaptation of Death Comes at the End were not an issue relating to the actors' race. And re Passenger to Frankfurt and Postern of Fate: they're both such train wrecks that any aspiring adaptor will know that pretty much the only thing that can be retained from the original novels is the titles. Practically everything else would need to be reinvented from the ground up. The exercise could well produce some entertaining material. But as in exercise of homage to Christie, it would really just be a box-ticking exercise.
My absolute favourite character is Mr Quin but i do get that playing his partly magical character might be tricky. His stories are SO good though. I also hanker after Death Comes as the End. I love Ancient Egypt and would have thought an all black cast shouldn't be a problem nowadays.
Mr. Quin and Parker Pyne have never received the full "big budget" adaptations and I think it's about time they did. I don't think an all-black cast is a problem nowadays but I did wonder if that is why this book had not been adapted in the past.
On your "Endless Night" comment - the 1970s movie is quite good, but there is a shocking minute or two of nudity and violence at the end, which many people find off-putting. IMHO its earned by that point, but it is shocking. An excellent job is done with shall-we-say the narration and tone of the book.
I've gotten a few comments about this and I think a rewatch is deserved because I remember not liking it but it seems that is not the prevailing opinion.
I'd agree with that. I loved her And Then There Were None but her other works were, uh, questionable. I actually don't mind Branagh so much as Poirot in terms of his acting and portrayal. It's his other questionable choices that ruin it for me.
Ooooh, I LOVE the idea of bringing Francesca Annis and James Warwick back as older Tommy and Tuppence! The remake a few years ago was TERRIBLE ! The post- WWII time period didn't work, the actors had no chemistry, and it was all so dull.
I kinda regret not having N or M? on the list. For whatever reason, I initially thought Warwick and Annis had done N or M? but then I remembered that terrible miniseries which wasn't too bad. More of a disappointment.
Yes, it is a real shame they didn't get Francesca Annis and James Warwick to say they would continue to do all the books throughout their lifetime but their original The Secret Adversary and Partners in Crime are great n fingers crossed for The Postern of Fate
The seventies adaptation of Endless Night had a good cast, including Hywel Bennet and Hayley Mills. Otherwise it's pretty mid. Definitely needs a new adaptation, especially with a main character who doesn't look like he's up to no good. It's sad Death Comes As the End has not been adapted. It's probably because of race -- even if it were all Egyptian actors, there would be uninformed controversy about how dark or light they should be. But also because the story's setting is not glamourous enough. According to most filmmakers, everyone in ancient Egypt was either Cleopatra or the pharaoh, or slaves; whereas DCATE takes place in what I would call an upper middle class setting. It would be extremely interesting to see that version, if modern Egyptologists were advising the production.
One of the most fascinating things about DCATE is how Christie depicts the setting because you are correct that she really refrains from going all out in the typical Hollywood-esque Ancient Egypt. I fully expect an adaptation would go there, although I wouldn't mind it so much.
The Christie Trust is stooping very low for money (which it doesn’t need of course) by having anything to do with the bloated, talentless Branagh. Even his earliest pictures (Henry V) showed a tendency to fake grandeur and kitsch.
I would like to see a version of the Mr. Quinn stories, maybe with 3 of them grouped together with the theme of Mr. Saitherwaite's wish to be part of a drama (and then realising how scary that can be) being the unifying element.
The most recent adaptation of the Mr. Quinn stories was in 1928 and was basically a mash of some stories into one plot. I've never seen it but I don't think it went over well. But I agree, Mr. Quinn needs a good series.
Nice list! I would watch an anthology series of The Thirteen Problems. 13 episodes of course, with Marple and co as a framing device and the drama provided by a rotating cast of guests.
Oh yeah that's definitely in need of an adaptation. I don't know ITV used non-Marple stories when those and other short stories were still there and remain unadapted.
Good idea
Yeah they kept shoving her into other people's stories when the 13 Problems remained unadapted
Miss Marple doesn't really appear in most of the 13 Problem stories as they are tales told by others but she so easily could have been.
Another excellent analysis which is difficult to criticize in any substantive way.
I particularly enjoyed some of the 'damning with faint praise' that occurs in this video...
My specialty
I agree with you about Kenneth Branagh. He’s butchered every Poirot novel he’s got his hands on and doesn’t seem to have any understanding of the character of Poirot.
Appointment with Death is so good, it has that cinematic quality and scope that I feel Death on the Nile has.
The Ustinov Appointment with Death is definitely better but I did feel by that point the productions were starting to lag a bit.
@@summationgathering It's tricky, to your point one is way over dramatic and maybe a bit frenetic and the other a bit lagging with (imo) lazy production design. Please eep making great vids on this material!! :-D
@@Kcoste08 Thanks! The one thing I remember from the Ustinov version is that cheesy segment where the family goes on tour and we get a montage in photographs or something. It's been a while so I can't quite picture the entire film right now.
@@summationgathering Haha, I don't remember that, I was distracted by the glaring mixture of 1980s clothing and hair styles mixed in with the alleged late '30s styles.
The moodiness of the opening of the Sittaford M is in a long tradition of dark, snowy mysteries. The tv Marple was a horrifying, crude gumbo.
I love the expression a horrifying crude gumbo.
Simply great! Thank you!
Thanks!
I would LOVE a proper adaptation of «Cards on the Table». The abominations we have is, well, an abomination.
I agree. I don't like the Cards on the Table adaptation either but I also felt it wasn't really the kind of book that translates well to the screen. I think this is easily one of those books that's just going to get changed quite a bit no matter who does it. I think the big problems are the limited suspects (filmmakers would want more than four) and the bridge game which is just isn't as familiar nowadays and you can't change it to another card game. It has to be bridge.
The BBC Radio adaptation of The Pale Horse is pretty good.
I wasn't considering the radio adaptations when I was thinking of past adaptations but I agree, I love the radio stories.
I’d love to see a ranking or review of foreign adaptations!
Yes, I've been hoping to do some reviews of foreign adaptations. I just haven't figured out how I want to do that.
I dream of an adaptation of Destination Unknown and They Came To Baghdad.
They Came to Baghdad has an episode from 1952 of the series called Studio One and Destination Unknown. Destination Unknown apparently does not have an adaptation. I could have sworn it did but I went to look it up for you and I can't find anything. In which case, it should have made the list in 9th place and I'd have taken out Taken at the Flood.
I've been wanting to see Greta Gerwig do a Christie adaptation for a while and I think she actually could be perfect for Taken at the Flood or After the Funeral
She would would be an excellent pick! I could see her doing a good job with Peril at End House.
I’d love to see a “Cat Among the Pigeons”, “Murder in Mesopotamia” or even “Appointment with Death”, with Poirot removed and the detective being Julia Upjohn, Amy Leatheran and Dr King in their respective stories: the former two cracked most of the mystery before even Poirot was there and Dr King, I believe was the one to solve the murder in Appointment’s play adaptation.
I'm not sure if audiences would be that receptive to a Poirot without Poirot nowadays but if Poirot is going to be Kenneth Branagh might as well dump him.
Now I did adore the David Suchet version of POIROT'S CHRISTMAS.
I also adore PERIL AT END HOUSE, and I would be excited to see who might play the roles in that.
AFTER THE FUNERAL worked well enough, but I never found it gripping.
Honestly I don't really like THE PALE HORSE as a novel. But different strokes...
I rather liked the Suchet APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH, which has some very effective scenes that touched my heart.
Interestingly, THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE TRAIN is now in public domain, which has only one adaptation as far as I know--which was not bad at all.
A quick note--the Ancient Egyptians were ethnically diverse, although at a minimum some of them looked rather Arab and/or Middle Eastern in general, which some Egyptians were certainly darker, some probably as dark as sub-Saharan African.
I like parts of the Suchet Christmas episode, particularly the scenes about Poirot/Japp's friendship and buying presents for each other. I'm not a fan of what they did with the mystery though.
Excellent video. I agree with you about all of the execrable versions (Appointment with Death, Taken at the Flood, After the Funeral, The Sittaford Mystery, The Pale Horse etc).
I would be very surprised if the delay re the adaptation of Death Comes at the End were not an issue relating to the actors' race.
And re Passenger to Frankfurt and Postern of Fate: they're both such train wrecks that any aspiring adaptor will know that pretty much the only thing that can be retained from the original novels is the titles. Practically everything else would need to be reinvented from the ground up. The exercise could well produce some entertaining material. But as in exercise of homage to Christie, it would really just be a box-ticking exercise.
I mean if someone likes to insert their own original story into a Christie novel, those two are the ones to do it with. And no one would mind.
My absolute favourite character is Mr Quin but i do get that playing his partly magical character might be tricky. His stories are SO good though. I also hanker after Death Comes as the End. I love Ancient Egypt and would have thought an all black cast shouldn't be a problem nowadays.
Mr. Quin and Parker Pyne have never received the full "big budget" adaptations and I think it's about time they did. I don't think an all-black cast is a problem nowadays but I did wonder if that is why this book had not been adapted in the past.
Why black? Mediterraneans aren't black.
I like the film adaptation of ENDLESS NIGHT. I thought it was better than the Marple one. I would love a new adaptation, maybe a three episode series.
Endless Night would be a good one to adapt in a three-episode miniseries.
On your "Endless Night" comment - the 1970s movie is quite good, but there is a shocking minute or two of nudity and violence at the end, which many people find off-putting. IMHO its earned by that point, but it is shocking. An excellent job is done with shall-we-say the narration and tone of the book.
I've gotten a few comments about this and I think a rewatch is deserved because I remember not liking it but it seems that is not the prevailing opinion.
Branagh is IMO a big improvement over Sarah Phelps (except her And then there Were None).
I'd agree with that. I loved her And Then There Were None but her other works were, uh, questionable. I actually don't mind Branagh so much as Poirot in terms of his acting and portrayal. It's his other questionable choices that ruin it for me.
Ooooh, I LOVE the idea of bringing Francesca Annis and James Warwick back as older Tommy and Tuppence!
The remake a few years ago was TERRIBLE ! The post- WWII time period didn't work, the actors had no chemistry, and it was all so dull.
I kinda regret not having N or M? on the list. For whatever reason, I initially thought Warwick and Annis had done N or M? but then I remembered that terrible miniseries which wasn't too bad. More of a disappointment.
Yes, it is a real shame they didn't get Francesca Annis and James Warwick to say they would continue to do all the books throughout their lifetime but their original The Secret Adversary and Partners in Crime are great n fingers crossed for The Postern of Fate
The seventies adaptation of Endless Night had a good cast, including Hywel Bennet and Hayley Mills. Otherwise it's pretty mid. Definitely needs a new adaptation, especially with a main character who doesn't look like he's up to no good.
It's sad Death Comes As the End has not been adapted. It's probably because of race -- even if it were all Egyptian actors, there would be uninformed controversy about how dark or light they should be. But also because the story's setting is not glamourous enough. According to most filmmakers, everyone in ancient Egypt was either Cleopatra or the pharaoh, or slaves; whereas DCATE takes place in what I would call an upper middle class setting. It would be extremely interesting to see that version, if modern Egyptologists were advising the production.
One of the most fascinating things about DCATE is how Christie depicts the setting because you are correct that she really refrains from going all out in the typical Hollywood-esque Ancient Egypt. I fully expect an adaptation would go there, although I wouldn't mind it so much.
The Christie Trust is stooping very low for money (which it doesn’t need of course) by having anything to do with the bloated, talentless Branagh.
Even his earliest pictures (Henry V) showed a tendency to fake grandeur and kitsch.
It's disappointing because Branagh proclaims to be a massive Christie fan and then he goes and does these films.