Five Little Pigs (14 Dec. 2003)
"Agatha Christie's Poirot" Five Little Pigs (original title)

Lucy Crale enlists Poirot to investigate the fourteen-year-old murder case in which her mother was hanged for poisoning her philandering painter father.

Director:

Paul Unwin

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel), Kevin Elyot (screenplay)

Stars:

David Suchet, Rachael Stirling, Aidan Gillen

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
David Suchet	...	Hercule Poirot
Rachael Stirling	...	Caroline Crale
Aidan Gillen	...	Amyas Crale
Toby Stephens	...	Philip Blake
Marc Warren	...	Meredith Blake
Aimee Mullins	...	Lucy Crale
Julie Cox	...	Elsa Greer
Gemma Jones	...	Miss Williams
Sophie Winkleman	...	Angela Warren
Talulah Riley	...	Young Angela
Patrick Malahide	...	Depleach
Annette Badland	...	Mrs. Spriggs
Roger Brierley	...	Judge
Richard Teverson	...	Hollinghurst
Melissa Suffield	...	Young Lucy

Storyline

Fourteen years after her mother, Caroline Crale, was hanged for the murder of her artist father Amyas Crale, Lucy Crale asks Hercule Poirot to investigate her father's death. She is convinced that her mother was innocent but is prepared to accept the truth, whatever that may be. Poirot visits in turn all five persons present when the murder took place including Amyas' best friend, Philip Blake, who was visiting the Crales when Amyas was killed; Philip's brother Meredith from whom Caroline supposedly stole the poison used to kill her husband; Elsa Greer, who was sitting for a portrait and with whom Amyas was supposedly in love; Caroline's half sister Angela who despised Amyas but believed her sister to be innocent; and Miss Williams, the governess. Having heard the tale from five different perspectives, Poirot reunites them all to identify the murderer.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | hercule poirot | poison | artist | detective | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Crime | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

14 December 2003 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Benington Lordship Gardens, Benington, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Weekend Television (LWT), A&E Television Networks, Agatha Christie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 93 min (11 episodes)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Meredith Blake is also the name given to a character in The Parent Trap.

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Goofs

We see young Amyas painting with his left hand. As an adult, he uses his right hand.

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Quotes

Hercule Poirot: Hercule Poirot: You kill her, you kill yourself.

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Connections

Version of Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie: Cinq petits cochons (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Alice Blue Gown"
(uncredited)
from the musical "Irene"
Music by Harry Tierney
Lyrics by Joseph McCarthy
Heard on a recording, sung by Edith Day

User Reviews

Heart-breaking tragedy

This film is incredibly good. The cast is uniformly good. The direction is clever and thoughtful. The music is beautiful. The script has all the essentials of the plot and remarkably faithful to the book. I would be quite willing to say it's the best Christie adaptation so far. It's so good in fact that it could have been made for the silver screen. I even forgive the fact that it isn't set on a rocky battlement as it is in the book - the documentary on the DVD explains why - budgetary constraints - and the water garden does just as well. All the heart-breaking tragedy from the book - and it is a tragedy, even for the culprit - is there. It bodes well for the next lot of Poirot films, and so too for the upcoming Miss Marples. I thank the producers for having the courage, which has paid off handsomely. Well done.