The Veiled Lady (14 Jan. 1990)
"Agatha Christie's Poirot" The Veiled Lady (original title)

Poirot becomes a criminal himself when he agrees to help a beautiful woman recover a letter written in her youth that is being used to blackmail her.

Director:

Edward Bennett

Writer:

Clive Exton (dramatized by)

Stars:

David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson

Cast

Episode cast overview:
David Suchet	...	Hercule Poirot
Hugh Fraser	...	Captain Hastings
Philip Jackson	...	Chief Inspector Japp
Pauline Moran	...	Miss Lemon
Frances Barber	...	Lady Millicent
Terence Harvey	...	Lavington
Carole Hayman	...	Mrs Godber
Tony Stephens	...	Sergeant
Don Williams	...	Constable
Lloyd McGuire	...	Museum Guard
Peter Geddis	...	Museum Guard

Storyline

Poirot despairs at the lack of crime - and work - concluding that he, Hercule Poirot, has scared off the criminal classes. His mood brightened when Lady Millicent Castle-Vaughn - the veiled Lady of the title - asks him to recover from her blackmailer some indiscreet letters written in her youth. Unable to convince the man to reduce the amount asked for, Poirot decides to take matters into his own hands and steal them. As Poirot and Hastings learn however, not all is as it seems, starting with Lady Millicent.

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Plot Keywords:

puzzle box | murder mystery

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Crime | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 January 1990 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Twickenham Studios, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

49 min 50 min (36 episodes)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Jewellery Store Owner: Stop, thief!

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Soundtracks

"Morgenblätter"
(uncredited)
Written by Johann Strauß

User Reviews

Poirot the burglar

A high society lady turns to Hercule Poirot for help: a secret love letter she had written in the past has fallen into the hands of a blackmailer, who now wants 20 thousand pounds to give it back to her. When that man goes to Paris for a few days, Poirot and Hastings decide on a bold course of action: they will break into his apartment and look for the letter themselves!

This is a somewhat atypical entry in the Poirot series: for the most part it appears to be a straightforward blackmail story, and Poirot does more snooping around than sleuthing. But of course there is a twist in the tale - and a quite clever one at that. There are also some pretty funny moments in this episode - when Inspector Japp finds Poirot locked in a cell, he says to a younger officer: "Nobody knows his real name, but they call him "Mad Dog"". The climax takes place inside London's Natural History Museum. (***)