Watch The ABC Murders For Free

Too much of everything

That was an excellent one.

Fantastic!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The contrast with this feature length episode and the much later ones cannot be more stark.Despite the longer running time, The ABC Murders does not feel padded. The art direction is exquisite even for small street scenes. More importantly it has dashes of humour even though the storyline is dark. I actually laughed several times. Captain Hastings returns to London from South America with a smelly stuffed crocodile as a gift for Poirot. Almost immediately Poirot's little grey cells are being tasked.Poirot receives a series of anonymous letters from a killer who calls himself ABC who taunts him by telling Poirot where he will strike next. The killer leaves an ABC railroad schedule at the scene of the murders, the victims appear to be random but the killer seems to have an obsession with an adherence to alphabetical order both in the names of the victims and the town or city the deaths occur.Poirot gets the friends and families of the various victims together to look for any common clues in order to find the serial killer. Suspicion falls on a shell shocked war veteran who is a door to door stocking salesman. The press are going hysterical with alliterative headlines.Poirot suspects that not all of the victims were random.The ABC murders is an intriguing episode which was simply well made, the characters are comfortable with each other, Japp joking about receding hairline to Hastings, it tries to divert you to a cul de sac but Poirot is too wily for that.

Poirot investigates a series of killings in "The ABC Murders" in this excellent adaptation. As Hastings reappears after an absence, Poirot receives letters from a serial killer, calling himself ABC, who tells Poirot the city where the next murder will take place. At the scene of each crime, he leaves the ABC railroad schedule. The murders seem to have the same last name initial as the name of the town.The authorities think the killer is insane, but Poirot doesn't. He believes there is a real method to the killer's madness. It takes a while, but Poirot finally figures it out. Wonderful, exciting adaptation, and if you haven't read the book (or like me read it a hundred years ago) it's even more thrilling since you won't know the solution. I love Poirot, Hastings, and Japp together. Suchet is so perfect as Poirot except for one small thing. Agatha Christie came to hate Poirot. There's no way she would have hated THIS Poirot. She found him "insufferable" and an "egocentric creep." Despite being fussy, egomaniacal, and arrogant, Suchet somehow gives Poirot warmth and a camaraderie with Japp and Hastings. I just love his interpretation. You can't hate him.

Dame Agatha tackles a serial killer.The story opens with Poirot greeting his friend Hastings, who is returning from South America. Hastings cradles a stuffed caiman in his arms, having shot it on the Orinoco. The caiman are rather small relatives of the American alligator. Their numbers are in drastic decline because of illegal hunting. Their skins are made into shoes and belts. At night, the good folk paddle their little rowboats through the swamps and look for caiman with flashlights. When the light beam catches a caiman's head above water, the animal simply sits there and stares back, to be shot through the eyes with a small-caliber rifle, so as not to damage the hide. Once in a while the police raid a warehouse filled halfway to the ceiling with stretched and dried skins, ready to turn into pocketbooks. Oddly, someone named Hastings was a well-known student of caiman paleontology.But, ah, mes amis, the story, yes? Poirot receives a letter telling him a murder will be committed in Andover. The letter is signed A.B.C. Poirot dismisses it as a crank but an old lady is killed in Andover on the date indicated. Her last name begins with "A" and a railroad guide, known popularly as the ABC Guide, is found near the body. Another letter, and the death of someone whose name begins with "B" in Brexhill. Another letter, and the murder of a Carmichael Clark in Chartwell or Camberville or someplace. Anyway you get the picture. There is no discernible connection between any of the victims nor any motive for the murders. One of the survivors questioned is another of the juicy, gray-eyed blonds the production has enlisted. There always seems to be a delicate blond. But then even Lady Carmichael's brunette nurse is quietly refulgent, even in those great black clod hoppers her profession and the period demand. And she's full of smiles. When pain and anguish wring the brow, a ministering angel thou. Why do my nurses always look like battle axes? The last one, in the middle of my colonoscopy, shouted at me, "RELAX!" The apparent murderer himself is revealed less than half-way through the film. (If I remember, the novel gives us his name in the first sentence.) At first we only know what he looks like. And he looks like a madman SHOULD look. Elderly, with thick glasses, parched gray skin and a set of crooked teeth that belong on a caiman. He cackles with glee at nothing and twists his hands together. When he stares into the camera it seems to be a skull grinning back at you from the Frankfort horizontal.The problem is that the guy is so miserable he enlists our sympathy. He's poor. He's shabby. He's epileptic. He's stupid. He's old. He's ugly. He's ridden with guilt. Mais, pas de soucis. He's even dumber than he looks and winds up rich and free.Except for the voluptuous Miss Lemon, the usual characters are there, doing their jobs -- Captain Hastings and Inspector Japp who, with his hooded eyes and default expression of surprised resignation, sometimes reminds me of an old childhood chum, Ronnie Foster, R.I.P.

I believe that I've always loved Agatha Christie's books. When I was younger, I can remember reading and re-reading each one, especially those with Hercule Poirot, over and over. I've probably read most of her books at least 3 times. So it only seems natural that I would be a fan of and enjoy movies adapted from Christie's mysteries. The big-budget Hollywood films like Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express are among my favorite films. But for whatever reason, over the years, I have passed on most chances to watch Poirot with David Suchet on television. I had caught the odd episode here and there, but they were not a priority. I've decided to change that and give them a try.It's odd that I would start my journey through the series with The ABC Murders. Of all the Poirot novels, it's one of my least favorite. Most of the problems I have with the novel are the same as those I have with the movie. The biggest issue I have is the story's structure, including the final reveal. For my money, we as viewers (and readers) discover far too early the identity of A.B.C. We know who the man is, what he looks like, and what he's doing. And, while the film does bring all the characters together for Poirot to make the big reveal as to the murder's identity, for lack of a better description, it lacks some of that good old English drawing room feel that I really enjoy. It's almost an afterthought without the power usual found in Christie's endings.Getting past my petty quibbles with the story's structure, the movie is very nicely done. As much as I enjoy Peter Ustinov and Albert Finney in the role of the Belgian detective, David Suchet may be the definitive Poirot. He seems closer in my mind to fitting Christie's description of Poirot than anyone else I've seen. He's quite remarkable in the role. The rest of the acting is just as good, with A.B.C. himself, Donald Sumpter, giving a wonderful performance. The film's pace is snappy and the direction is solid. Considering what I assume to be a modest budget, the 1930s sets and costuming are dead-on perfect. The film has a wonderful look to it. Overall, the positive far outweigh the preconceived negatives I had in my mind making The ABC Murders quite an enjoyable experience.I'm looking forward to visiting the other episodes in the series. If the other films in the series are this entertaining as The ABC Murders, I'm in for a real treat.