Peril at End House 

While Poirot is staying at an exclusive Cornish resort, he meets a beautiful heiress whose life is in danger.

Director:

Renny Rye

Writer:

Clive Exton (dramatisation)

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
Polly Walker	...	Magdala 'Nick' Buckley
John Harding	...	Commander George Challenger
Jeremy Young	...	Bert Croft
Mary Cunningham	...	Ellen
Paul Geoffrey	...	Jim Lazarus
Alison Sterling	...	Freddie Rice
Christopher Baines	...	Charles Vyse
Carol MacReady	...	Milly Croft
Elizabeth Downes	...	Maggie Buckley
Godfrey James	...	Inspector
John Crocker	...	Dr Graham
Pauline Moran	...	Miss Lemon

Storyline

While enjoying a vacation at an exclusive resort on the Cornish coast, Poirot and Hastings meet beautiful young heiress Magdala Buckley. Known to her friends as Nick, she confides to them that she has recently survived several events that might have taken her life: a heavy-framed picture dropping on her head, a boulder falling off a cliff, and failed brakes. When Poirot notices a bullet hole in her hat, they put her under their protection and discover that her dead fiance, a noted aviator killed in a tragic accident, had named her as heir in his will. In the interim, his wealthy uncle is found to have died, making her the unexpected beneficiary of a great fortune. Poirot realizes this inheritance is the motive for continued attempts on her life, and in his quest for the the truth, he uncovers a tangled web of greed, forgery, drug addiction, fraud, poison, and murder.

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Plot Keywords:

detective working on vacation | resort | beneficiary | will | poison | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Alfred, the young boy helping his father bedding some plants, played by Joe Bates, has his voice dubbed by an unnamed woman. This is very obvious as he speaks about the pig having its throat cut.

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Goofs

Towards the beginning, Nick mentions that there is only one bedroom usable in the house and that visitors stay at the Hotel Majestic. However, when Maggie goes back into the house to fetch a coat on fireworks night, Freddie calls after her to ask if she could bring her coat which is in her room.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Captain Hastings: Looks just like a patchwork quilt, doesn't it?
Hercule Poirot: [eyes closed tight, clutching armrest] No!
Captain Hastings: Well, it does to me. Does to everybody else.
Hercule Poirot: Not to Poirot!
Captain Hastings: Oh, I suppose you don't think that looks like a great mass of cotton wool.
Hercule Poirot: No!
Captain Hastings: I don't think you've got *any* imagination at all, Poirot.
Hercule Poirot: [opens his eyes] That is true, mon ami. But fortunately you have enough for both of us; it is extremely valuable to me.

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Connections

Version of Endhauzo paslaptis (1981)

User Reviews

Highly Recommended with just a few criticisms

The first of Christie's full length novels to be adapted for ITVs long running Poirot, Peril at End House sets the mark (a high one). Without giving away too much, I'll say that, for me anyway, there was a definitive line between the aspects of the film that I class as "good" and "bad". To begin with the good - as usual the acting is of top quality; Polly Walker stood out particularly as young Nick Buckley, Alison Sterling portrayed Fredrica Rice perfectly, pale faced, a little aloof exactly as I'd envisaged her in the book; and of course David Suchet as the brilliant Hercule Poirot. Seeing Carol Macready (102 Dalmatians) was a pleasant surprise, not whom I'd have pictured as Mrs Croft - she seemed considerably younger and vivacious compared to the disabled Mrs Croft in the book, however brought a grin to my face on several occasions. Yet again, the music is beautiful, as are costumes (notably Polly Walker in her first scene). The time period has been captured and presented exceptionally well bringing a real authentic feel to the film, something that isn't as strong with some of the newer Poirot adaptations.

Peril at End House is almost entirely faithful to the novel which is in the middle of the road of the five Poirot stories I've read, the best being Death on The Nile. I love the story and the intricacy of some of the characters as they grow throughout. Despite identifying the murderer early on (I rarely do) there's always another twist or turn waiting round the corner to catch you out. Unfortunately, whether down to cutting or simple lack of planning a substantial amount of questions remain unanswered after the climax in which the murderer is revealed. The book does reveal the answers but I was disappointed to see that the film didn't; omissions include explanations as to Maggie Buckley's arrival, the bullet, the chocolates, the motive behind a hatred toward a certain person. Being one of the longer films, 100 minutes, this was probably a time issue, however with certain slow points in the middle, it would have been satisfying to have a more expressive conclusion. Brilliant, nonetheless. I highly recommend to all! Acting, scenery and music is immense but may need to read novel to clarify unanswered questions or theories.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 January 1990 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Kingswear, Devon, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Weekend Television (LWT), Picture Partnership Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 120 min

Color:

Color