Taken at the Flood (2006)
"Agatha Christie's Poirot" Taken at the Flood (original title)

A young widow is left in sole possession of her late husband's fortune, and her brother refuses to share it with her in-laws - so they enlist Poirot to try to prove that the widow's missing first husband might not be dead after all.

Director:

Andy Wilson

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel), Guy Andrews (screenplay)

Stars:

David Suchet, Jenny Agutter, Patrick Baladi

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
David Suchet	...	Hercule Poirot
Jenny Agutter	...	Adela Marchmont
Patrick Baladi	...	Rowley Cloade
Eva Birthistle	...	Rosaleen / Eileen
Elliot Cowan	...	David Hunter
Amanda Douge	...	Lynn Marchmont
Penny Downie	...	Frances Cloade
Richard Durden	...	Pebmarsh
Claire Hackett	...	Beatrice Lippincott
Richard Hope	...	Supt. Harold Spence
Celia Imrie	...	'Aunt' Kathy Cloade
Nicholas Le Prevost	...	Major James Porter
Tim Pigott-Smith	...	Dr. Lionel Woodward
Elizabeth Spriggs	...	Mrs Leadbetter
Pip Torrens	...	Jeremy Cloade

Storyline

Hercule Poirot finds himself trying to solve the mystery of the Cloade family. Rosaleen is the young widow of Gordon Cloade who was killed in a gas explosion in his London home. Rosaleen has inherited her late husband's substantial fortune and she and her brother David Hunter are refusing to share it with other members of Gordon Cloade's family. There have been persistent rumors that Rosaleen's first husband, an intrepid explorer, is still alive and as such would nullify her marriage to Gordon. What Poirot learns however is of a far greater deception that will alter everyone's perception of what they believe to their reality.

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Plot Keywords:

widow | hercule poirot | flashback | murder mystery | irishman | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Crime | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2006 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Chilworth Manor, Chilworth, Guildford, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Television, A&E Television Networks, Agatha Christie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 93 min (11 episodes)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title is from the words of Brutus in William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", which Poirot (in the novel) quotes: "There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to Fortune". (Poirot is explaining "it is very Shakespearian".)

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Goofs

When Poirot is at the inn examining the murder scene, the "dead" body can be seen breathing.

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Quotes

Hercule Poirot: There was no accident of gas in Munn Street. No no no. A letter received today from Scotland Yard contained the expert forensic evidence confirming my suspicions. There was only the premeditated explosion of a bomb! A device built and operated by you, David Hunter! Engineer and road builder! How depraved! God, how evil does a man have to be to cause the slaughter of so many innocent people? For the concealment of a single murder? If God should withhold his mercy from anyone on earth, Monsieur, ...

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Connections

Version of Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie: Le flux et le reflux (2011)

User Reviews

I agree with Nikolas Pontikos

I have just seen "Taken at the Flood" on DVD. I agree that those episodes produced after Japp, Hastings and Lemon were no longer in the story line are not near as entertaining. Poirot is portrayed as almost a different character. He is more harsh and sometimes rude. This is not the Poirot of old. One thing I have noticed about these last four is the transition from one scene to another, especially the scene changes at obvious "commercial breaks". It seems that the episode is so poorly edited that we are missing parts of the presentation. It is as though these DVD's contain copies of the same ones edited for television. If this true, we seem to be cheated. One more thing, The cast shown on IMDb for "Taken at the Flood" includes Hugh Fraser as Hastings and Philip Jackson as Japp. My wife and were excited to see this but alas, they were nowhere to be found in the episode.