"Cards on the Table" Murder Mystery Stumps Even the Clever Little Belgian
English mystery writer Agatha Christie must have had her gray cells working overtime in 1936 when she created Cards on the Table, another crime novel featuring her clever little Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.
This made-for-TV movie is notable in that Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) says at one point, "The question is, can Hercule Poirot possibly be wrong?"
"No one can always be right," Mrs. Lorrimer replies.
"But I am! Always I am right. It is so invariable it startles me. And now it looks very much as though I may be wrong," laments Poirot, "and that upsets me. But I should not upset, because I am right. I must be right because I am never wrong."
In this case, it is not the what, but the who, that causes Poirot's confusion.
Poirot is at an exhibition when he meets Mr. Shaitana (Alexander Siddig), a wealthy collector of the finest "specimens" in the world of crime: the people who do not get caught because they commit the perfect murder.
Siddig does an excellent job of playing Shaitana, who comes off in the movie as sleazy and uneasy to be around.
Shaitana invites Poirot to dinner to meet his "collection" which turns out to be four sleuths and four people who he believes have gotten away with murder.
The sleuths include Poirot, Scotland Yard's Superintendent (David Westhead), a colonel from His Majesty's Secret Service (Robert Pugh) and a popular mystery novelist (Zoe Wanamaker).
The guests begin to play bridge when Shaitana is murdered with a small stiletto. It is the job of the sleuths to identify the murderer, all of whom are murder suspects. All four had the opportunity, and all four had something to hide. The sleuths learn little from their interrogation.
Shaitana is in the room where the four suspects are playing bridge when he is murdered, and it is known that no one entered the room before Shaitana was killed. It turns out that none of the suspects actually killed Shaitana, and he did not stab himself.
It is unusual to see Poirot be flummoxed over a murder investigation. He tends to be very thorough, detailed and workmanlike in his approach, and exudes patience and confidence in his eventual ability to explain all of the details that the others miss.
In Cards on the Table, Poirot almost meets his match in the mysterious Mr. Shaitana, who apparently will go to any lengths to prove his fascination with the perfect murder.
To learn what really happened, you will have to see the movie, it is too good to give away here.
Agatha Christie wrote 41 murder mystery novels over a 55-year period. She remains one the greatest novelists of all time.
Related Tags: murder mystery, private detective, hercule poirot, belgian, sleuth, whodunit, french accent, 1930s
Ed Bagley is the Author of Ed Bagley's Blog, which he Publishes Daily with Fresh, Original Articles on Internet Marketing, Jobs and Careers, Movie Reviews, Sports and Recreation, and Lessons in Life intended to Delight, Inform, Educate and Motivate Readers. Visit Ed at . . . http://www.edbagleyblog.com/MovieReviewArticles.html
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