Lord Edgware Dies 

A beautiful actress becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her tyrannical husband - except that she has a cast-iron alibi for the night of the crime.

Director:

Brian Farnham

Writers:

Agatha Christie (based on the novel by), Anthony Horowitz (dramatized by)

Stars:

David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
David Suchet	...	Hercule Poirot
Hugh Fraser	...	Hastings
Philip Jackson	...	Chief Inspector Japp
Pauline Moran	...	Miss Lemon
Helen Grace	...	Jane Wilkinson
John Castle	...	Lord Edgware
Fiona Allen	...	Carlotta Adams
Dominic Guard	...	Bryan Martin
Deborah Cornelius	...	Penny Driver
Hannah Yelland	...	Geraldine Marsh
Tim Steed	...	Ronald Marsh
Lesley Nightingale	...	Miss Carroll
Christopher Guard	...	Alton
Iain Fraser	...	Donald Ross
Tom Beard	...	Duke of Merton

Storyline

Lady Edgware, the well-known stage actress Jane Wilkinson, has a dilemma in that her husband has consistently refused to give her a divorce. She asks Hercule Poirot to visit the man to see if there is any possibility of convincing him. Lord Edgware is nothing short of nasty, treating all those around him very badly. When he is found dead, there is no great surprise, but there certainly are a good number of suspects. The police believe Lady Edgware to be the culprit, but she has a cast-iron alibi, having attended a private dinner over the time her husband was killed. There is also the man's nephew, who would inherit his fortune, and his personal assistant, whom he treated very badly; and then there is the family butler, who clearly has his own interests at heart.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | doppelganger | woman wearing a fake moustache | reference to adolf hitler | murder mystery | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 2000 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Shoreham Airport, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carnival Film & Television, A&E Television Networks, Agatha Christie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 100 min (14 episodes)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Thirteen at Dinner (1985), starring Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, was also based on the book "Lord Edgware Dies." In that film David Suchet appears as Inspector Japp.

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Goofs

Miss Lemon places a Picquotware kettle on the stove to boil water for tea. This kettle was designed in 1938, but did not go into production until after the war, so it would not have been available in 1936, when the story takes place.

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Quotes

Poirot: Do not be anxious, madam. All will be arranged. You have my word.

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Connections

Version of Thirteen at Dinner (1985)

User Reviews

An unforgivable cheat

Going into a plot summary is a bit tricky with one of these Poirot mysteries. It's difficult to do so without giving away too much. It's hard to know where to stop. I'll just say that in typical Agatha Christie style, there is no shortage of suspects, everyone has a motive, and the victim was so nasty that he almost deserved what he got. Sound familiar?

If it weren't for one key incident in the movie, I would be happy extolling all of the positive aspects of Lord Edwige Dies. I'm sure I would mention the authentic looking sets (at least, authentic to my untrained eye), the attention to detail, the acting, the score, and all of the other aspects that make each and every Poirot installment I've seen special. I'm also sure that I would go out of my way to mention Helen Grace who affected me much in the same manner she did Poirot. And, I'm sure there are other positives I would not doubt list. But, because of an unforgivable flaw, I cannot be positive while writing this. If you don't want to read possible SPOILERS, please skip the rest of this review.

* SPOILER WARNING * Lord Edwige Dies contains one of the biggest cheats I've ever seen. The whole solution to the mystery revolves around Jane Wilkinson being in two places at the same time. It's not physically possible. So, in the solution to the mystery, we see that Jane asked a friend gifted in impersonations to "play" her at a dinner party as part of a joke. The other guests hardly know her so the actress should be able to pull it off. I'm okay with this, but the director commits an unforgivable cheat with the dinner party scene. The Jane Wilkinson we see as an audience at the dinner part is the real Jane Wilkinson. It's not the impostor. Trust me, I went back just to make sure. I cannot believe any director would have thought he could get away with something like this. * END SPOILER *