The Kidnapped Prime Minister (25 Feb. 1990)
"Agatha Christie's Poirot" The Kidnapped Prime Minister (original title)

When the prime minister is kidnapped right before an important international arms summit, Poirot has just 32--and a quarter--hours to find the prime minister.

Director:

Andrew Grieve

Writer:

Clive Exton (dramatized by)

Stars:

David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
David Suchet	...	Hercule Poirot
Hugh Fraser	...	Captain Hastings
Philip Jackson	...	Chief Inspector Japp
Pauline Moran	...	Miss Lemon
Lisa Harrow	...	Mrs Daniels
David Horovitch	...	Commander Daniels
Ronald Hines	...	Sir Bernard Dodge
Patrick Godfrey	...	Lord Estair
Timothy Block	...	Major Norman
Jack Elliott	...	Egan
Kate Binchy	...	Landlady
Milo Sperber	...	Fingler
Henry Moxon	...	Prime Minister
Oliver Beamish	...	Sergeant Hopper
Anthony Chinn	...	Shi Mong

Storyline

En route to the train station to attend a disarmament conference in Paris, the Prime Minister's car is attacked by what the press describe as ruffians. The PM is slightly injured and does make it across the Channel to French soil, but never arrives in Paris. Poirot is called in by senior government officials as it appears the Prime Minister has been kidnapped. He soon comes to the conclusion however that the evidence from the first attack doesn't quite add up and all is not what it seems.

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Plot Keywords:

murder mystery

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Crime | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1990 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Twickenham Studios, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min 50 min (36 episodes)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Mrs Daniels leaves home followed by Hastings, both cars go over a speed bump, which weren't introduced to the UK before the 1970s.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Chief Inspector Japp: No sign of him yet.

User Reviews

Good, well-made mystery

As a fan of this series, I did like this episode. Some of the clues are on the obvious side and Commander Daniels is not as well-written as he is in the short story, in fact his wife was much more interesting than he was here. However, the story still manages to be engrossing right up to the nail-biting conclusion, and along with strong writing with a good balance of the tense and the humorous if leaning more on the former, an evocative in detail and suspenseful in tone atmosphere and a hauntingly beautiful music score, The Kidnapped Prime Minister is very well made with the details both gorgeous and authentic. The acting is very good, David Suchet always plays Hercule Poirot as if born to play him and here is no exception, and Hugh Fraser, Phillip Jackson and Pauline Moran are as solid and as amusing as ever. Of the supporting turns, I found Lisa Harrow's the most memorable, looking I agree 10 years younger than she actually was she is wonderfully conniving. Overall, a good mystery and well made, even there are less obviously written episodes in the series, all of which range from fairly decent to outstanding. 8/10 Bethany Cox