The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge (10 Mar. 1991)
"Agatha Christie's Poirot" The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge (original title)

Poirot is taken ill during a weekend shooting party, which ends when the unpopular host is found murdered in his study.

Director:

Renny Rye

Writer:

T.R. Bowen (dramatized by)

Stars:

David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
David Suchet	...	Hercule Poirot
Hugh Fraser	...	Captain Hastings
Philip Jackson	...	Chief Inspector Japp
Diana Kent	...	Zoe Havering
Jim Norton	...	Roger Havering
Shaughan Seymour	...	Archie Havering
Roy Boyd	...	Jack Stoddard
Bernard Horsfall	...	Harrington Pace
Victoria Alcock	...	Ellie
Clare Travers-Deacon	...	Joan
Christopher Scoular	...	Sergeant Forgan
Raymond Trickitt	...	Constable Cooke
Arthur Whybrow	...	Mr Anstruther
Denyse Alexander	...	Mrs Middleton

Storyline

Hercule Poirot accompanies his friend Captain Hastings on a weekend shooting party at the home of Harrington Pace, but he isn't having a very good time. He comes down with the flu and takes to his bed but when Pace is shot dead in his study, he rises to the occasion to assist Inspector Japp in solving the case. Pace was not very likable and treated those around him badly. He refused to acknowledge his illegitimate half brother, who worked on the family estate as the gamekeeper, refusing him even a small loan that would allow him to marry. His two nephews did not benefit from the family wealth having been told they may inherit something on this death. The solution to the case lies in correctly identifying the mysterious housekeeper, Mrs. Middleton, whom Pace had hired for a month and determining her exact role in this mysterious affair.

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Plot Keywords:

damaged bicycle | murder mystery

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Crime | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 1991 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Twickenham Studios, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada, ITV Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min 50 min (36 episodes)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

London-bound trains are running to "King's Cross", yet they are marked LMS (London, Midland & Scottish Railway) and are decked in the LMS crimson lake corporate livery. Kings Cross was the London terminal for the London & North Eastern Railway, not LMS. Instead, London-bound LMS trains ran to St Pancras, their own terminus, ironically on the other side of the street from King's Cross.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Archie Havering: Billy-old morning, Uncle Harry.
Harrington Pace: They'll sort you out a loader.

User Reviews

Very complicated mystery

Hercule Poirot has to solve the murder of an unsympathetic rich patriarch at a remote hunter's lodge; the nephew of the victim is a friend of Captain Hastings and is the one who had invited them there. In addition to the baffling case, Poirot has one more problem: he has caught a bad cold.

The problem with "The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge" is that it immediately drops you into the story, without properly introducing the half-dozen or so characters that play an important part in it. So the story seems a bit too cluttered, especially in the 50-minute format. However, the snowy locations and the wintry cold are atmospheric, and there is also a very well-trained little dog that helps a lot in solving the mystery. (**1/2)