Five Little Pigs 

Lucy Crale enlists Poirot to investigate the 14-year-old murder in which her mother was hanged for poisoning her artist father.

Director:

Paul Unwin

Writers:

Agatha Christie (based on the novel by), Kevin Elyot (screenplay)

Stars:

David Suchet, Rachael Stirling, Aidan Gillen

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
David Suchet	...	Hercule Poirot
Rachael Stirling	...	Caroline Crale
Aidan Gillen	...	Amyas Crale
Toby Stephens	...	Philip Blake
Marc Warren	...	Meredith Blake
Aimee Mullins	...	Lucy Crale
Julie Cox	...	Elsa Greer
Gemma Jones	...	Miss Williams
Sophie Winkleman	...	Angela Warren
Talulah Riley	...	Young Angela
Patrick Malahide	...	Depleach
Annette Badland	...	Mrs. Spriggs
Roger Brierley	...	Judge
Richard Teverson	...	Hollinghurst
Melissa Suffield	...	Young Lucy

Storyline

Fourteen years after her mother, Caroline Crale, was hanged for the murder of her artist father Amyas Crale, Lucy Crale asks Hercule Poirot to investigate her father's death. She is convinced that her mother was innocent but is prepared to accept the truth, whatever that may be. Poirot visits in turn all five persons present when the murder took place including Amyas' best friend, Philip Blake, who was visiting the Crales when Amyas was killed; Philip's brother Meredith from whom Caroline supposedly stole the poison used to kill her husband; Elsa Greer, who was sitting for a portrait and with whom Amyas was supposedly in love; Caroline's half sister Angela who despised Amyas but believed her sister to be innocent; and Miss Williams, the governess. Having heard the tale from five different perspectives, Poirot reunites them all to identify the murderer.

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Plot Keywords:

animal in episode title | three word episode title | murder | poison | hercule poirot | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

14 December 2003 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Wonwell Beach, Erme Mouth, Devon, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Weekend Television (LWT), A&E Television Networks, Agatha Christie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 93 min (11 episodes)

Color:

Color (Kodak Vision Color Negative Film)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Meredith Blake is also the name given to a character in The Parent Trap (1998).

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Goofs

Talulah Riley has light hazel eyes whereas Sophie Winkleman has dark brown eyes and they both play Angela Warren.

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Quotes

Hercule Poirot: Human nature has an infinite capacity to surprise.

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Connections

Version of Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie: Cinq petits cochons (2011)

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Soundtracks

The Innocence of Caroline Crale
by Christopher Gunning

User Reviews

Remarkable achievement

This is one of my personal top favorites of Christie's books, and I've always wondered why it hadn't been adapted for television; although considering how badly many of them have fared in the past, you figure maybe its just as well! Amazingly, this production has stuck remarkably close to the book - tight budgets and weather permitting - although it starts to derail badly a couple of times at the very end. Christie's books are sometimes quite dark and very adult, something which has usually been scrubbed out of the various movie and television versions, as they are dumbed down, cheered up, and "sanitized for your protection". However in this adaptation, the producers have instead chosen to "dive deep", and have come up with something surprisingly moving, which starts to edge towards Greek tragedy. In many ways, it stands head and shoulders above prior Poirots.

The casting has netted a very interesting group of actors, although as much as I admire Aidan Gillen's work he is the last person that I would have thought of for Amyas Crale - I would have looked for someone more like Denis Quilley. Suchet's work here is just about seamless, as he wisely takes a "less-is-more" approach to this serious outing. Its amusing to see Annette Badland in a minor role; she appeared memorably in a "Miss Marple" many years prior, as an unfortunate victim tied to a clothesline.