Agatha Christie Quote

The Christie Archive Trust

"Never tell all you know - not even to the person you know best."

- Agatha Christie, The Secret Adversary

Quote of the Week

20th Century Studios

Ariadne Oliver - "Don't you dare look at me like a murder suspect. We are old friends!"

Hercule Poirot - "Every murderer is somebody's old friend."

- A Haunting In Venice

A Haunting In Venice - Old Friends

20th Century Studios

"Every murderer is somebody's old friend." You have to love how brutally honest Poirot can be when it comes to solving a murder.

A Haunting In Venice arrives in theaters tomorrow, September 15th.

Poirot Has Lost His Faith

20th Century Studios

With each new clip, A Haunting In Venice Looks spookier and spookier. The latest features Poirot speaking to Mrs. Reynolds and Ariadne Oliver about losing his faith. The scene takes place at a children's Hallowe'en party, a nod to the original Agatha Christie title. 

A Haunting In Venice arrives in theaters on September 15th.

A Haunting In Venice Looks Proper Scary

20th Century Studios

The latest clip from A Haunting In Venice is very spooky. The scene is from a séance that Poirot appears quite skeptical about. I do love a good Agatha Christie mystery!

A Haunting In Venice arrives in theaters on September 15th.

A Haunting Mystery

20th Century Studios

What happens to us after death? In A Haunting In Venice, Hercule Poirot must seek his own answers to this age old question. This one looks properly spooky.

A Haunting In Venice arrives in theaters on September 15th.

A Haunting In Venice

20th Century Studios

When the first Kenneth Branagh Hercule Poirot film, Murder on the Orient Express, was announced, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. I grew up watching David Suchet as Agatha Christie's little Belgian detective, and I couldn't see how Branagh would fit the role. And then I watched it. It was dark, and suspenseful, and more than a little heartbreaking, but Branagh's Poirot was actually quite good. Next came Death on the Nile, another dark and sinister story that made for a good movie. The latest film is A Haunting in Venice, based on Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party. This looks like the spookiest one yet.

Here's the official synopsis from 20th Century Studios:

“A Haunting in Venice” is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve, “A Haunting in Venice” is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.

A Haunting In Venice arrives in theaters on September 15th.

Quote of the Week

ITV

When one is unique, one knows it. 

- Hercule Poirot, The Adventure of the Western Star

Quote of the Week

ITV

Good advice is always certain to be ignored,

but that's no reason for not giving it.

- Miss Jane Marple, Sleeping Murder

Quote of the Week

20th Century Studios

The impossible cannot have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances.

- Hercule Poirot, Murder on the Orient Express

Death On The Nile

20th Century Studios

I've always loved a good mystery. I discovered the Agatha Christie mysteries as a child when I saw my first Miss Marple, The Body in the Library, on PBS. And when the Hercule Poirot mysteries joined the lineup, I was hooked. I've enjoyed the many different incarnations of the characters over the years, from Joan Hickson to Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple, even Angela Lansbury once played the spinster sleuth, but Poirot was always David Suchet. 

As such, I wasn't too certain I would enjoy Kenneth Branagh's turn as the Belgian detective, but I was in for an unexpected delight. Murder on the Orient Express is a classic Agatha Christie story and it was an excellent introduction for Branagh's Poirot. While the story s quite sad, the acting was fantastic and the cast was absolutely stellar.

Branagh's latest Poirot tale is Death on the Nile. The cast is once again amazing, so it should be quite the film.

Here's the official synopsis from 20th Century Studios:

Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot’s Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple’s idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short. Set against an epic landscape of sweeping desert vistas and the majestic Giza pyramids, this dramatic tale of love gone wrong features a cosmopolitan group of impeccably dressed travelers and enough wicked twists and turns to leave audiences guessing until the final, shocking denouement.

Death on the Nile arrives in theaters on February 11.

Quote of the Week

Very few of us are what we seem.

- Agatha Christie, The Man in the Mist

Quote of the Week

One of the luckiest things that can happen to you in life is, I think, to have a happy childhood.

Agatha Christie, An Autobiography

Quote of the Week

ITV

It is the brain, the little gray cells on which one must rely. One must seek the truth within - not without.

- Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's Belgian Detective

Sherlock POPVinyls

Funko

I've always been a fan of murder mysteries and recently, have even gotten Bean hooked on them. I grew up completely addicted to Masterpiece Mystery on PBS. I loved Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, or really any Agatha Christie, but I also loved Sherlock Holmes. When I was a kid, Jeremy Brett played the title role on PBS. He was brilliant, and frightening, and in short, amazing in the way that he portrayed Sherlock Holmes. It was his performance that led me to read the complete Sherlock Holmes collection as a young adult. Later, I discovered old Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone at the helm. And you can't leave out Disney's animated version, The Great Mouse Detective. I even enjoyed the futuristic cartoon Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century, though it was sadly short lived.

Nowadays, there are several Sherlocks to choose from. Robert Downey, Jr did an incredible job of bringing humor to the role. Jonny Lee Miller gives us not only a Holmes who solves American crimes, but also a female Dr. Watson. (Have you noticed how she always seems to dress in black and white with occasional greys. I'm sure its some commentary on her intellectual relationship with Sherlock.)

Entertainment Earth

Lastly, we've come to my current favorite Sherlock: the BBC version with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. It may take place in modern times, but it seems to stay fairly close to the feel of the original stories. The only sad part is that they make just three episodes per year. (My favorite is John and Mary's wedding from last season.) However, Funko's new POPVinyl collection may help ease the wait. This set of six figures features two Sherlocks (one in gloves and the other playing the violin), Dr. John Watson, Mycroft Holmes, Moriarty, and Irene Adler. An additional Moriarty wearing the crown jewels will also be available. Unfortunately, they won't arrive in stores until sometime in October, but since I absolutely adore Sherlock Holmes, in almost any incarnation, I'll be sure to add these to my collection.