The Hollow 

Poirot stumbles on the murder scene of philandering Dr Christow in a country house as his wife standing next to him with a revolver in her hand.

Director:

Simon Langton

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel), Nick Dear (screenplay)

Stars:

David Suchet, Jonathan Cake, Megan Dodds

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
David Suchet	...	Hercule Poirot
Jonathan Cake	...	John Christow
Megan Dodds	...	Henrietta Savernake
Sarah Miles	...	Lucy Angkatell
Edward Fox	...	Gudgeon
Claire Price	...	Gerda Christow
Lysette Anthony	...	Veronica Cray
Tom Georgeson	...	Inspector Grange
Edward Hardwicke	...	Sir Henry Angkatell
Caroline Martin	...	Midge Hardcastle
Jamie de Courcey	...	Edward Angkatell (as Jamie De Courcey)
Ian Talbot	...	Victor Simms
Angela Curran	...	Frances Simms
Lucy Briers	...	Beryl Collins
Dale Rapley	...	Sergeant Coombes

Storyline

While spending the weekend at his cottage outside London, Hercule Poirot is invited to dinner by Sir Henry and Lady Angkatell. Leaving immediately after dinner, he returns the next day to find that a weekend guest, John Christo, has been shot dead. There is any number of suspects: his former lover, Veronica Cray whom he had not seen for 12 years but suddenly turned up at a nearby cottage; his wife, Gerda who was deeply hurt by his womanizing; his current mistress Henrietta Savernake; Midge Hardcastle, who was very much in love with him, but whom he constantly ignored; and Edward Angkatell, who was in love with Midge. What Poirot finds however is that the evidence equally implicates everyone just a little too equally for it all to be just by chance.

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Plot Keywords:

death of husband | revolver | sculptress | movie actress | inquest | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The Yggdrasil doodle looks exactly like it does in the book

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Goofs

Outside the Coroners' Court at the Inquest, the sign is displayed without an apostrophe. This is a modern day 'simplification' and is unlikely to have been portrayed that way in the generic time period 1920s to 50s the film is set in.

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Quotes

Henrietta Savernake: I'm not, Mr. Poirot, terribly truthful.
Hercule Poirot: No, but I think you have integrity.

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Connections

Version of Dangerous Women (1985)

User Reviews

Interesting mystery with a good twist at the end

Hercule Poirot is at his country cottage, his escape from London on the weekends. He is invited to dinner at the nearby mansion of Sir Henry and Lady Lucy Angkatell. Also present are Gerda Christow, Henrietta Savernake, Edward Angkatell and Midge Hardcastle - all related in some way to at least one of the Angkatells - and John Christow, Gerda's husband. Henrietta is secretly having an affair with John and John is looking for a good time to tell his wife. After the dinner a woman appears to ask for matches. She is Veronica Clay, a neighbour and famous actress, and someone who was engaged to John Christow 12 years earlier. The next day, John is found murdered, shot to death, with his wife standing over him with a revolver in her hand. She is the obvious suspect, but things aren't that cut and dried.

Interesting mystery with a good twist at the end. A few good red herrings along the way too. Ending doesn't quite have the tension and build-up of the usual Poirot mystery though.

No Chief Inspector Japp, Captain Hastings or Miss Lemon either and they always add colour to the proceedings, being a ying to Poirot's yang.

As always, some stars or stars-to-be in the supporting cast. This time we have Edward Fox and Sarah Miles. Fox must either have needed the money or did this for a laugh, as his role is quite small - playing the butler - and his lines quite limited. Seemed well below his capabilities and fame.

Sarah Miles plays Lady Angkatell, an incredibly irritating woman. Her character almost single-handedly wrecks the movie. Whether that it is the fault of the writer, director or Miles, I don't know, though I suspect Miles was simply overdoing the lunacy side of the character.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 September 2004 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Hampton Estate, Seale, Farnham, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Television, A+E Networks, Agatha Christie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 93 min (11 episodes)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1