The Underdog (24 Jan. 1993)
"Agatha Christie's Poirot" The Underdog (original title)

Poirot investigates when the cruel CEO of a chemical company is bludgeoned to death in his home after the company's formula for a revolutionary new synthetic rubber is targeted by a thief.

Director:

John Bruce

Writers:

Agatha Christie (short story "The Under Dog"), Bill Craig (dramatisation)

Stars:

David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Pauline Moran

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
David Suchet	...	Hercule Poirot
Hugh Fraser	...	Captain Hastings
Pauline Moran	...	Miss Lemon
Ann Bell	...	Lady Astwell
Adie Allen	...	Lily
Denis Lill	...	Sir Reuben
Jonny Phillips	...	Charles (as Jonathan Phillips)
Bill Wallis	...	Horace Trefusis
Ian Gelder	...	Victor Astwell
Andrew Seear	...	Humphrey Naylor
Lucy Davidson	...	Gladys
John Evitts	...	Parsons
Michael Vaughan	...	Sergeant
Charles Armstrong	...	Receptionist

Storyline

Invited to the home of chemical company CEO Rueben Astwell for dinner and to view Mr. Astwell's collection of Belgian miniatures, Poirot finds Astwell universally disliked and shortly thereafter murdered. But the murder is only one piece of the puzzle when Poirot discovers Astwell's chemical company has developed synthetic rubber so precious that someone has broken into the company to try and steal the formula. Astwell himself is more than willing to sell it to the highest bidder, even the Nazi's.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to adolf hitler | murder mystery

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Crime | Thriller

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Details

Release Date:

24 January 1993 (UK)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min 50 min (36 episodes)

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Hans Meyer [letter]: [voiceover] My dear Horace; We were all disappointed not to see you at our conference in Berlin. England is in danger of becoming isolated, you know. Many interesting developments were discussed, in particular Sir Reuben Astwell's new Astoprene compound. It's rumoured that Farben's over here will manufacture it under license. But then, you know what gossips scientists can be.

User Reviews

Another well made, entertaining Poirot

I have been a fan of Agatha Christie and of the Poirot series for several years now. The Underdog is not one of my favourites, but it still has plenty that I love about the series on display. It is very well made, with some scenes having a nice autumnal feel to them, and the scenery, costumes and photography are splendid, complete with an evocative atmosphere. Right from the iconic theme tune to the haunting under-scoring, the music adds much to the mood of the episode without being over-bearing. The script still has its perfect blend of humour, thoughtfulness and tension, and the story is always interesting with the hypnosis parts a nice touch and the final solution satisfying if not entirely unexpected. The victim himself is such an obnoxious bully, perhaps the most unpleasant and most deserving victim of the series, that you are actually glad when he is done in and you feel sympathy for the murderer. The acting is its usual reliable itself, with the four leads outstanding especially David Suchet, who as far as I'm concerned hasn't given a single bad performance in this role. All in all, well made, entertaining and well acted. 8/10 Bethany Cox