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The British television series Poirot was produced between 1989 and 1995 and is the most popular and widely watched of David Suchet's works. His portrayal is hailed by Agatha Christie fans as the definitive Poirot and praised especiallyby Rosalind Hicks, Christie s daughter, who was instrumental in having him cast in the role.

"Poirot" starring:

David Suchet (Poirot)
Hugh Fraser (Capt. Hastings)
Philip Jackson (Chief Inspector Japp)
Pauline Moran (Miss Lemon)

WHEN WAS THE SERIES FILMED?

Five seasons were produced between 1989 and 1993, the first two filmed for the ITV channel. Several feature-length films were made between 1987 ("The ABC Murders, "Death in the Clouds," "Peril at End House, and Poirot s first case: "The Mysterious Affair at Styles") and the present, most recently Murder in Mesopotamia (2000). They were produced by LWT (London Weekend Television) and by Carnival Films, a company founded by Brian Eastman. 

In 1988, producer Eastman developed an idea pitched by Rosalind Hicks, Agatha Christie s daughter, to create a new detective series based on Christie's stories about the eccentric little moustached detective. After the script writers and a director were found, Eastman then approached David Suchet for the lead. Eastman and Suchet were familiar with each other, having worked together previously on the British television series Blott on the Landscape. "Agatha Christie's Poirot" was the first big project for Eastman.

WHO IS BRIAN EASTMAN?

Brian Eastman graduated from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art as a producer of film and television. In 1978, Eastman founded Carnival Films of which he still remains head of production. The films and TV series produced by Carnival Films have won numerous awards including an Oscar, several BAFTAs, and an Emmy, among others.

Besides "Poirot," Eastman produced some highly successful TV series such as "Bugs," and his first work, "Blott at the Landscape." Eastman was an executive producer of this series in which David Suchet played the title character. 

Eastman s best known works are "Traffik," "Oktober," and the action/fantasy series "The 10th Kingdom."

ABOUT THE FILMING OF POIROT

Filming began in 1989. The previous year was devoted to long preparation. David Suchet was confirmed as the lead early on, but there were problems casting the part of Arthur Hastings, Poirot s sidekick. Many actors were interested in playing him but weren't right for the role. Hugh Fraser was cast - adept at projecting the vacuous Hastings look - but Fraser was years younger than the book character, so make-up artists aged him for the camera. Besides that, Hastings smokes cigarettes and Fraser was an avid anti-smoker. Script writers embellished the script to accommodate him.

To prepare for the role, Suchet studied Belgian history to understand how and where Poirot had been brought up: "When I was first asked to play Hercule Poirot ten years and more ago, Suchet said, I did a vast amount of research. I read all the books and the short stories, for a start, and I also watched how other people had portrayed him on screen. In some of the productions, I'm sorry to say, he appeared as something of a buffoon, a clownish character who was little more than one-dimensional. A bit of a Music Hall joke." He hired a teacher to coach him on how to murder the English language and to speak with an elegant French accent: "You see, every time somebody meets Poirot, they think he's French, so I can't use a proper Belgian accent. If I used a proper Belgian accent, which is slightly guttural and has a bit of Dutch in it, people would know I wasn't French. It can't be Parisian because people would know that. So what I did was I listened to the radio, Belgian radio, quite a lot - to the French-speaking channel and also to the French radio stations. It's a mix and match really, a mixture of French-speaking Belgian and country French. It's very, very specific, and it also had to be an accent that could be easily understood because there's no point in speaking a brilliant accent if nobody can understand what you're saying", he said. 

He also had to practice Poirot's particular walk. He said, "When I did the film testing, I had been cast and we did some film tests just to see how it all looked -- the make-up and the costume and things before we actually went into proper filming. The producer, Brian Eastman, and I sat down to have a look at what we'd shot, and we were sort of pleased that the character was there, and he said, "Well, you know, it's nearly there, but there's something missing. There's something missing." He said, "You know, the funny thing is, David I don't know what it is. It's something to do with the movement. And I turned around and said, "Could it be the way I'm walking because maybe I'm walking too much like me and it's not reflecting the character." So we watched a bit again and he said, "You know, I think you're right."

The first season episodes were filmed and shown in 1989 and became an instant favorite with the viewers. The series was nominated for a BAFTA. The second season episodes proved just as popular, and in 1990 two feature length films ("Peril at the End House" and "The Mysterious Affair at Styles") were filmed.

ABOUT THE CAST

The role of Hastings was played by British stage and film actor Hugh Fraser. Hugh Fraser was born in London. He also graduated from LAMDA. He studied later with the same faculty as David Suchet. After graduating from LAMDA he performed in various London theaters and in minor roles in films, including a first role as a long-haired hippie. Fraser didn t care much for the theater and subsequently became a rock singer, writing original music and lyrics for a brief time. Soon he returned to film-acting. His first major role came in 1983 in the film The Draghtsman s Contract, by Peter Greenway.

Fraser first met David Suchet in 1982 on the set while filming "The Missionary," where both of them played secondary characters. In 1983 they met again in the mini-series "Reilly: the Ace of Spies," where they also played supporting roles.

In 1988, Fraser tested for the role of Hastings and was offered a contract for ten episodes. He endured hours of unpleasantness in the make-up chair to age his appearance, having to dye his hair as well. He remained the quintessential Arthur Hastings for the duration of the series. Having become better known as a result of the popularity of the show, he has given memorable performances in films such as Duke Wellington in "Sharpe's Company," and played a minor part in "101 Dalmatians" and the role of betrayer J. Watkins in "Patriot Games."

The role of Chief Inspector Japp was played by British actor Philip Jackson. Philip Jackson was born on June 18th, 1948, in Redford, England. He graduated from Bristol University as an actor. His wife is also an actor. They have two children, George and Amy.

Jackson wasn't confirmed for the role of Japp right away, but the filmmakers were satisfied with his test and offered him the part. Besides "Poirot," Jackson has appeared in many other TV series, among them "Shoulder to Shoulder" (1974), "Robin of Sherwood, "The Last Salute" and the recent mini-series "Black Cab" (2000). He also played in over 20 feature films such as "The Doctor and the Devils" (1985), "High Hopes" (1988), "Sista Dansen" (1993), "Our Boy" (1997), "Opium War" (1997), "Cousin Bette" (1998). In 1999 Jackson was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for his role in the Independent film "Little Voice."

The role of Miss Lemon was played by Pauline Moran. Her character appeared only in the 2nd season episodes -- the filmmakers didn't expect the TV series to be continued and thought that the addition of Miss Lemon would be necessary.

Pauline Moran is primarily a stage actress. Her few films include "Three Weeks" (1977), "The Five Minute Films" (1982), "The Woman in Black (playing the title role) and in such TV series as "The Cleopatras" and "The Good Soldier.

WHO WORKED ON THE EPISODES?

DIRECTORS

Peter Barber-Flaming: Premiere (1989) season
Edward Bennett: Three episodes from the 2nd (1990) season, "Hercule Poirot's Christmas"
John Bruce II: several episodes
Ross Devenish: the 1990 season episodes, "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe", and "The Mysterious Affair at Styles"
Brian Farnham: several episodes from the first and third seasons, and the A&E feature-length film "Lord Edgeware Dies (2000)"
Andrew Grieve: fourth and fifth season episodes, "Murder on the Links," "Hickory Dickory Dock," and the A&E feature-length film The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (2000).
Ken Grieve: the fourth and fifth season episodes
Renny Rye: the second and third season episodes, and the feature-length TV film "Peril at the End House."
Other directors were Andrew Piddington, Richard Spence, and Stephen Whittaker.

Peter Barber-Flaming is a London director. He directed nine TV series and films, among them "My family and Other Animals" (1987), "Seekers" (1992), "Anna Lee. His most recent work was "Mortimer's Law" (1998).

Edward Bennett is a director and script writer. He directed the episodes of several detective TV series such as "Inspector Morse" (1987), "Dalziel and Pascoe" (1997 - 1998) and "Cats Eyes." His recent work is "Monarch of the Glen" (2000). In 1991 he wrote and directed "A Woman at War." He won accolades at the Berlin film festival for "Ascendancy" (1983).

John Bruce II is a director. "Poirot" is his last work. Before "Poirot", he directed episodes of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" and "The Return of Sherlock Holmes", starring Jeremy Brett. He also directed "The Woman in White" and "Strangers.

Ross Devenish is an actor and director. He directed the episodes of "Dalziel and Pascoe", "True Tilda" and several films. In 1966 he won a BAFTA award for his first film "Goal! The World Cup" (best documentary). In 1997 he won Ernest Artaria Award for "The Guest", in 1980 he was nominated for two awards, winning one at the Berlin film festival for "Marigolds in August."

Brian Farnham has directed two films and ten TV series. Among them are "Head of the Country" (1986), "The Chief" (1990) and "Bugs" (1995).

Andrew Grieve is a director and screen writer. He was born in 1939 in Cardiff, Wales. Grieve directed 13 films and TV series. In 1988 he won an award at the San-Sebastian film festival for "On the Black Hill" which he also wrote.

Ken Grieve is a director. Besides "Poirot", he directed several episodes of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes".

Andrew Piddington is a director. He directed four films. He was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for "The Fall.

Renny Rye is a director of such films and TV series as "The Paradise Club," "Midnight Movie," "Karaoke," "Golden Lazarus," "Family Money," "Big Women," and "Oliver Twist" (2000).

Richard Spence is a director. In 1995 he won a BAFTA award for "Skallagrigg." He has also directed seven films. "Poirot" was his last TV series.

Stephen Whittaker is an actor and director. Among his works are episodes of "Inspector Morse. He appeared as an acor in 16 films, such as "Mercury" (1996) and "Hunting" (1991). He played a secondary character in "Blott on the Landscape", a series starring David Suchet.

MUSIC

The music for "Poirot was composed by Christopher Gunning. Gunning was born in England and spent his childhood in London. He graduated from the School of Music and Drama. He was initially an arranger and then began composing music for
films. In 1988 he composed the main theme for "Poirot" and became well known in the UK and America. He was nominated for the Ivor Novello Award for the theme music for "Poirot." Gunning has won several awards including a BAFTA award and three Ivor Novello Awards, one of which he was nominated for the plaintive alto sax melody of the Poirot theme.

SCRIPT WRITERS

During all five seasons of Poirot, only Clive Exton and Anthony Horowitz served as the series dramatists.

Clive Exton was born in London. He has been a screen writer since 1964. Among the scripts written by Exton are "Red Sonja" (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger) and twenty others. He won an E.A. Poe Award for "Shake Hands Forever (1988).

Anthony Horowitz is a lesser known writer of television and film.

DID POIROT EVER WiN AWARDS?

Poirot was nominated for five BAFTA s and won four. Christopher Gunning was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for the theme music. David Suchet was nominated for the BAFTA best lead actor in a series three times. 

WHERE WERE THE SERIES FILMED?

Poirot's flat, situated in White Haven Mansions, is in a real block of flats in London called the Charter House square. The apartment building currently on the tourist bus route - so many people want to see the house where Poirot lived!

FEATURE LENGTH FILMS

There are 13 of them:

• "Peril at the End House" (1990)

• "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" (1990)

• "The ABC Murders" (1992)

• "Death in the Clouds" (1992)

• "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" (1992)

• "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" (1995)

• "Hickory Dickory Dock" (1995)

• "Murder on the Links" (1996)

• "Dumb Witness" (1997)

• "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" (2000)  - Read about the film

• "Lord Edgeware Dies" (2000)  - Read about the film

• "Evil Under the Sun" (2001) - Read about the film

• "Murder in Mesopotamia" (2001)  - Read about the film

"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" and "Lord Edgeware Dies" were filmed after the long break. They were shown in the summer of 2000. David Suchet appeared in an earlier version of "Lord Edgeware Dies" called "13 at Dinner" (1985), starring Peter Ustinov as Poirot and David Suchet as Inspector Japp. According to some viewers' opinions, the recent version is superior.

These two films' budgets were 6 million dollars per film (compare the budgets for "Boys Don't Cry" at two million dollars and "Terminator II" at 100 million dollars).

The creators of the "Poirot" films don't expect them to win awards. They are simply assured of a return on their investment and viewer satisfaction.

DAVID SUCHET ABOUT POIROT

" . . . you find that Miss Christie described him rather well. Or other characters in her books did - 'a dear little man', 'a clever little man', 'an odd little man'. And so I was able to build on his eccentricities, and I found that he was endearingly funny - vain, too, but he's not just a silly voice and a silly moustache - d'you know that there are no less than twenty-four descriptions of that alone? He thinks of his moustache as 'the perfect thing of beauty', and believe me, it took some selecting to make it look right on my face!"

ABOUT HAVING TO WEAR THE FAT SUIT

" . . . I'm a 34" waist, and Poirot is about a 43", and he must be at least sixteen or seventeen stones, and no way am I going to do a Robert de Niro, and put that weight on my own frame. I once actually did do something like that, in a film called Sunday, and I played a New Yorker who was supposed to weight 27 stones. I just ate and ate and ate - everything that I shouldn't have done. I find it very easy to pile it on - but God, it was the best part of a year in getting it all off again, and it was agony. Never again!"

KUDOS FROM A BLOOD RELATION

" . . .The great comfort is that I once went to lunch with Ms. Christie's daughter Rosalind and her husband Anthony Hicks, and she revealed that she never thought that Dame Agatha had never thought that any previous Poirot was right, that most of them had all been too jokey. But that Mrs. Hicks thought that she would have approved wholeheartedly of what I do. The whole point is to serve Agatha Christie, and to get it right. And Mr. Hicks, bless him, gave me another vital clue. He said 'Never forget, we can laugh with Poirot, but never at him', and I think that's so true".

HOW MANY MORE?

"The last story, Curtains, is different from all the rest, and I'd love to do that eventually. He's in retirement, as thin as a rake, and he's crippled with arthritis - Dame Agatha REALLY wanted to kill off her creation, but her publishers wouldn't allow her to bring out the book until after her own death. And when he was killed off, the event made the front page of the New York Times - now you tell me which other fictional character has ever achieved that? Remarkable, isn't it! It IS somewhat daunting to know that you are creating, in the flesh, one of literature's most popular characters......... I've filmed all over the world, and you know, if you go into a bookshop, whether it is in Tunisia, Morocco, The Far East or where-ever, there's a Poirot mystery on the shelf somewhere".

BUT, DO YOU LIKE HIM?

"I like him, because there's something odd and quirky about the man. He's right in the middle of a murder investigation, and he'll stop and comb his moustache. Then the next moment he's being nice to a serving girl, and rather pointed to the 'upper classes'. I wonder if Dame Agatha actually liked them very much? I always carry around a list of ninety-three things to remember about him. As mundane as how many lumps of sugar he puts in his tea, and how many in his coffee. Because, you know, people WILL notice these things if you make a mistake. And they do write in about my accuracy. One of the nicest descriptions of him is that 'his eyes twinkle' and I've had some lovely fan mail in from some ladies who love him purely because of that. I wanted him to have.....charm".

1995-2000: THE LOST YEARS

"When I first heard that Poirot was returning, I underestimated how much revision I would have to do. I had forgotten how hard he was to find in the first place-his walk, his mannerisms, how he thinks and so on. In the six or seven years that I played him before, he had become like a comfortable glove I could slip on and off. After a five-year break, the glove had got a bit stiff in the cupboard and it didn't fit quite so easily. I had to watch all the old Poirots again because I don't want the audience to detect any differences."

"Oh, yes, I've made a few wrong decisions, played in a few things that I'm not so happy with. I was in an earlier version of Lord Edgware Dies (it was called Thirteen for Dinner in the USA), with dear Peter Ustinov, and it was one of the worst performances I've ever given in my life. I didn't know what to do, I was playing his sidekick playing Japp, so all I did was eat - whenever I'm in a scene, there I am, munching away! I cringe when I watch it, with the silly hat and the suede jacket, I look like a bookie".

"I never read her really. I didn't really know her apart from the old Miss Marple film that I saw. I was a great fan of Joan Hickson, and I was told that she was the closest to Miss Marple, and I quite enjoyed [them] although I would never have gone to the cinema. I didn't go to the cinema to see Orient Express or Peter Ustinov's film because it's not my genre of entertainment. That's just my personal thing".

 © 2000-2001 г. d-suchet.narod.ru //
Translated by Adelka // Kim Dolce
Photos from www.mysteries.com, www.aande.com, www.PTP.ru.