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The ABC Murders (TV series)

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The ABC Murders
Series title against a background of twisted railway tracks
Genre
Based onThe A.B.C. Murders
by Agatha Christie
Written bySarah Phelps
Directed byAlex Gabassi
Starring
ComposerIsobel Waller-Bridge
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes3
Production
Executive producers
  • Basi Akpabio
  • James Prichard
  • Elizabeth Kilgarriff
  • Damien Timmer
  • Sarah Phelps
  • Helen Ziegler
ProducerFarah Abushwesha
CinematographyJoel Devlin
Editors
  • Simon Brasse
  • Rob Hall
Production companies
Original release
Network
Release26 December (2018-12-26) –
28 December 2018 (2018-12-28)

The ABC Murders is a 2018 mystery thriller television serial loosely based on Agatha Christie's 1936 novel of the same name. It was broadcast over three consecutive nights beginning on 26 December 2018 on BBC One. It was adapted by Sarah Phelps and directed by Alex Gabassi. It stars John Malkovich as Hercule Poirot, with Rupert Grint, Andrew Buchan, Tara Fitzgerald and Shirley Henderson.[1][2]

The series was released on DVD through Universal Pictures UK on 11 March 2019.[3]

Cast

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Main

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Supporting

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Production

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Locations

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Various cities, towns and villages in the historic county of Yorkshire in the north of England—including Grosmont, Leeds, Pickering, Ripon, Saltaire, Skelton-on-Ure and Wakefield—played key roles as settings for this adaptation. Newby Hall in North Yorkshire is the mansion at Churston. The De La Warr Pavilion at Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex is also featured.[6]

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateUK viewers
(millions)
1"Episode 1"Alex GabassiSarah Phelps26 December 2018 (2018-12-26)[7]8.65[8]
Poirot has been receiving letters signed A.B.C., taunting him and predicting murders. According to the letters, the first killing is due to occur in Andover on 31 March. Poirot passes the letters to the police, but Inspector Crome, who has replaced Poirot's former contact Inspector Japp, dismisses them as an April Fools prank. When Alice Asher is found murdered in Andover, quickly followed by Betty Barnard in Bexhill (an open ABC railway guide being left by each body), Crome is forced to take the letters more seriously. Suspicious of Poirot, and believing him to have been untruthful about his occupation in his native Belgium before he arrived in England as a refugee during the Great War, Crome confiscates Poirot's papers and searches his apartment. A down-on-his-luck travelling stocking salesman named Alexander Bonaparte Cust was nearby at the time of both murders.
2"Episode 2"Alex GabassiSarah Phelps27 December 2018 (2018-12-27)[5]7.03[8]
Poirot is given another letter from A.B.C. by a neighbour who received it in error. It states that the next murder will take place at Churston, a country house owned by Sir Carmichael Clarke that Poirot had previously attended as a guest. He telephones the house, but is too late: Sir Carmichael has already been killed. It seems that Poirot himself may be the connection between the locations, as they are all places he has been. He re-visits Churston, and is asked by Sir Carmichael's brother Franklin to investigate; matters are complicated by the serious illness of Sir Carmichael's widow Lady Hermione Clarke, who is herself believed to be near death. Another letter indicates that Doncaster is to be the next location. A.B.C. signs "Giddy-Up", leading Crome to believe that a murder will take place at Doncaster Racecourse. In fact, the intended victim is a ventriloquist named Dexter Dooley, but the murderer mistakenly kills the wrong man. Once again, Cust is nearby.
3"Episode 3"Alex GabassiSarah Phelps28 December 2018 (2018-12-28)[9]6.93[8]

Ernie Edwards is stabbed to death in the men's public toilets at Embsay railway station. Cust lies unconscious on the floor nearby, with a knife in his hand. Coming round, he flees the scene. Poirot finds a pack of stockings in the victim's suitcase and, after visiting the stocking manufacturer, discovers the identity of the salesman. The police visit Cust's lodgings where they find a typewriter and copies of the ABC railway guide. Cust is arrested. Franklin Clarke thanks Poirot for apprehending the murderer of his brother, and joins him in taking a brandy. Poirot, however, secretly doubts Cust's guilt, in spite of the apparently overwhelming evidence against him: doctors have discovered that Cust has a brain tumour that causes him to suffer debilitating headaches, seizures and blackouts.

Franklin Clarke is arrested for the murders. Poirot realises that it was he who had set Cust up with the stocking salesman job. He had posed as a representative of the manufacturer, provided Cust with a typewriter, and wrote regularly to 'help' the novice salesman with instructions on exactly where he should travel to by train in order to make sales. Franklin's aim had been to ensure the death of his brother before that of Lady Hermione so that he, as next in line, would inherit the title and estate. He was trapped by his fingerprints on the brandy glass, matching prints found on the typewriter. Franklin is hanged for the murders. In a flashback to Belgium during the war, it is revealed that that Poirot had been a priest whose congregation had been murdered in the church by advancing soldiers during the Rape of Belgium.

Reception

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The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the series an approval rating of 70% based on 30 reviews, The website's critical consensus reads, "The ABC Murders liberally adapts the famed Agatha Christie mystery while retaining its thrilling spirit, thanks in part to the sly performance of John Malkovich, who inhabits Hercule Poirot with enough wizened panache to win over those who were skeptical of his casting. "[10] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[11]

The Guardian gave the first episode four stars and praised Malkovich's performance.[12] The Times gave it four stars and found it enjoyable, also praising Malkovich.[13] Reviewing the finale, Metro praised Poirot's new backstory and declared it "mystery television at its finest".[14]

References

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  1. ^ "All-star cast announced for new BBC One Agatha Christie thriller The ABC Murders". BBC Media Centre. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "First-look image of John Malkovich as Hercule Poirot in BBC One's The ABC Murders". BBC Media Centre. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  3. ^ "Agatha Christie: ABC Murders [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "The ABC Murders Begins on BBC One on Boxing Day at 9pm". BBC Media Centre. 15 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  5. ^ a b "The ABC Murders episode 2". BBC Programmes. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  6. ^ "The ABC Murders: An A to Z". AgathaChristie.com. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  7. ^ "The ABC Murders episode 1". BBC Programmes. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  8. ^ a b c "Four-screen dashboard". BARB. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  9. ^ "The ABC Murders episode 3". BBC Programmes. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  10. ^ The ABC Murders
  11. ^ The ABC Murders
  12. ^ Mangan, Lucy (26 December 2018). "The ABC Murders review – John Malkovich's suffering Poirot is magnificent". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  13. ^ Midgley, Carol (27 December 2018). "TV review: The ABC Murders; The Midnight Gang". The Times. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  14. ^ Pearce, Tilly (28 December 2018). "The ABC Murders finale: Poirot's heartbreaking backstory revealed as killer is finally unmasked". Metro. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
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