Customer Reviews

Poirot - Hickory Dickory Dock

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the opening scenes of this tale, a furry little mouse scurries through the walls of a boarding house in London searching for morsels of food. As in the children's nursery rhyme he scurries up the clock just as it strikes the hour. Having made his way to a bedroom in the upstairs, he pauses and twitches his whiskers. The crumbs from a bedtime cookie are lying on a saucer..but he hesitates. Something strange is happening and he dare not advance to the plate of crumbs. What is this...oh my goodness one of the humans is killing the nice young girl who always eats cookies at bedtime. What awful things happen in the hours around midnight!!

Agatha Christie was given to using lines from literature for the titles of some of mystery tales, but HICKORY DICKORY DOCK is no nursery tale. Someone is killing the young men and women occupants of a youth hostel in London. The boarders are all attractive and energetic people...how could one of them be the culprit. What could be the motive..lust, money, a deadly secret??? The mouse knows the murderer's identity and the secret but the police are stymied.

Enter Hercule Poirot! Well not exactly. First, there's Miss Lemmon. Seems her sister is in the boarding house business and she has noticed strange goings on at her establishment. Miss Lemmon asks Poirot to investigate her sister's complaints which he is reluctant to do. After all, how can the great Belgian detective worry about trifling matters like misplaced items at a boarding house..even for Miss Lemmon!! Poirot does as he is asked however, and soon he is involved with murder. With the help of the Lemmon sisters he cracks the case and not a moment too soon. A wild chase at the end involves Hastings and the good Inspector.

HICKORY DICORY DOCK has an interesting cast including the handsome young man (Jonathan Firth) who played Albert in the miniseries VICTORIA AND ALBERT. (I understand he IS the brother of Colin!!)

When a series of petty thefts at a student hostel turns into a case of murder, it is up to the great Hercule Poirot to solve the baffling crime. However, he soon finds himself involved not only in a case of murder, but smuggling and political doings as well. Not only that, he foolishly invites the rather sloppy Inspector Japp to stay with him, while Japp's wife is away, which make for a rather rough time ala the "Odd Couple." HICKORY DICKORY DOCK is another in the BBC/Mystery series featuring the wonderful David Suchet cementing his claim as the definitive Poirot. Phillip Jackson adds a nice touch of earthy humor as his foil, Chief Inspector Japp. David Burke, best known as Dr. Watson in the Jeremy Brett SHERLOCK HOLMES series, appears in an extended cameo as a dying politician. Once again, great care and intelligence is lavished on this production that would make Agatha Christie proud. Another winner for Poirot fans and a film I highly recommend.

The star of this Hercule Poirot entry, "Hickory Dickory Dock" (Acorn Media: AMP 5025), seems to be a mouse that gets more screen time than do some of the human cast. Barring that, we have here a very convoluted tale of diamond smuggling , social awareness and protest (not found in the original novel), petty thievery, and murder. There is also a bit of "comic" relief, this time with Japp (Philip Jackson) staying as a guest of Poirot and wrestling with unappetizing meals and a strange bit of plumbing in his room that no one seems willing to explain to him.

Another feature unusual to this series is that of Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran) being directly involved in the situation that brings her boss to the hostel, run by her sister, where a mixed group of young people are all entangled, in one way or another, with the seemingly triple plot-strands of the thefts, the smuggling, and the murders--all against a background of the Jarrow Marchers and their dying leader, whom Japp suspects of a murder many years before.

I really shouldn't say more, lest I spoil the fun. Suchet is up to his high standards as the comical but dangerous Belgian, Moran is truly human in this episode, and Jackson gets a chance to show us the home environment of his Chief Inspector. The photography is nicely in the film-noire tradition (although in color), and the secondary characters sharply drawn and believable. Except for the murderer leaving a photograph on a body, every thing seems perfectly logical. That mouse, however, is annoying.

This Acorn Media DVD includes some low-tech bonus tracks about Suchet and Christie, some of the cast, and Poirot/Suchet trivia questions. Lots of fun all through.

When a series of petty thefts at a student hostel turns into a case of murder, it is up to the great Hercule Poirot to solve the baffling crime. However, he soon finds himself involved not only in a case of murder, but smuggling and political doings as well. Not only that, he foolishly invites the rather sloppy Inspector Japp to stay with him, while Japp's wife is away, which make for a rather rough time ala the "Odd Couple." HICKORY DICKORY DOCK is another in the BBC/Mystery series featuring the wonderful David Suchet cementing his claim as the definitive Poirot. Phillip Jackson adds a nice touch of earthy humor as his foil, Chief Inspector Japp. David Burke, best known as Dr. Watson in the Jeremy Brett SHERLOCK HOLMES series, appears in an extended cameo as a dying politician. Once again, great care and intelligence is lavished on this production that would make Agatha Christie proud. Another winner for Poirot fans and a film I highly recommend.

Having not yet read or listened to (I'm a big audiobook fan) Agatha Christie's original "Hickory Dickory Dock", I can't speak to the quality of the adaptation here. But looked at simply as a TV-movie "whodunit", I enjoyed this production. Acting, directing, pacing, and music all rate solid marks, keeping things moving along and preventing an understated story (this is no "Murder on the Orient Express") from becoming dull and routine. You sure to see a lot of that mouse, though. I guess if you have a trained mouse that can act on cue you have to make the most of him. A clean DVD image and a handful of modest extras round out this pleasant little DVD.

Both my sister and my mother have read almost every mystery that Agatha Christie ever wrote, but I never thought to start. Then I sat down one evening to watch television with them, and I was at once enchanted. It was an episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot on A&E. The David Suchet Poirot films (both full length movies and short films) come from this series. I enjoyed that first show so much that I watched the series religiously until it went off the air.

I started reading some of Agatha Christie's mysteries this year, and I firmly believe that David Suchet is the best portrayal of Hercule Poirot that ever was. I have seen other notorious actors, such as Peter Ustinov and Tony Randall, play the part, but they do not achieve the full embodiment of the persona (both physical and psychological) that David Suchet does.

HICKORY DICKORY DOCK isn't an immediately predictable film. I honestly did not know who the killer was until Poirot revealed the truth. This is not one of those mysteries where you can tell what the detective or the police or the killer will do before they even do it; this film left me completely on the edge of my seat. HICKORY DICKORY DOCK has a storyline that does not follow some predetermined, overused mystery plot; it is creative and exciting. Additionally, the historical accuracy is extreme, right down to the shoes.

I highly recommend any of the David Suchet Poirot films to anyone searching for an interesting, exciting mystery to watch.

I really enjoyed the novel and was expecting to enjoy the movie version, but I found it curiously dull as compared to many of the other adaptations. No Captain Hastings and a mouse. This mouse, while cute, appeared far too often - crawling around the clock, arriving in rooms at the precise moment they were murdered, even acting as a catalyst in the climactic scene. The real interesting aspects of the book, and much of its humor, came from Dame Agatha's casting of these motley group of students. As a product of her time, she had used racial epithets in her earlier works that American publishers changed because they were offensive. She changed though. Watching her evolve with the times, and reflect those times in her novels provides a fascinating look at the social evolution of the 20th century. She has a lesbian couple in "A Murder is Announced" and in Hickory Dickory Dock - she had Ram Lal - an Indian student, very political yet polite and the extremely charming and affable Akibombo from Africa. However, these were the two characters that were cut from the adaptation. They did not have large dramatic parts which made them more expendable, but they added warmth and humor to the assemble that made the book very charming. The group of students in the movie seemed simultaneously dull and unattractive personality-wise although they were supposed to have a lot of camaraderie as young folks all living under the same roof. The mystery itself was secondary in this story - so not top-shelp Christie who-done-it in my opinion. The humor and interest in the movie are the trials and tribulations poor Japp endures as Poirot's house-guest. Miss Lemon has a larger part this time, and is a constant presence. And finally - the trying-not-to-be-horrified looks Japp and Poirot try to suppress as each tries to impress the other with their native cuisine is priceless. Too few and far between though - unless you're a huge Christie fan, I would suggest exploring the other movies first.

This is my favorite Poirot mystery. The dvd transfer is excellent as well. The initial Poirot releases on dvd had terrible transfers and looked as if they were being projected on a gym class wall, but Acorn seems to have gotten it right this time with quality audio and video. Follow the mouse as he seems to pop up everywhere and finally takes a starring role in this amusingly different Poirot adventure. Enjoy!

"Hickory Dickory Dock", based on the 1955 novel, is a feature-length film from Series 6 of "Agatha Christie's Poirot", which originally aired on Britain's ITV in 1995. The opening sequence is of a mouse running through a grandfather clock at a student hostel in Hickory Road, where it then witnesses a student steal a diamond ring from another while she sleeps. The mouse returns every time the action returns to the hostel, and we sometimes view the scene from the little fellow's point of view. It's a cute gimmick and one of two sources of humor in this otherwise grim mystery. Poirot has invited Chief Inspector Japp to stay with him while Mrs. Japp is out of town, having observed the police detective's disheveled state. Needless to say, the two men do not share tastes in food, heating, or plumbing.

When Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran) makes an outrageous three typos in one letter, Poirot (David Suchet) asks her whatever is the matter. She is preoccupied with the troubles of her sister Florence (Sarah Badel), who is the housekeeper at the youth hostel that has experienced a string of odd thefts. Poirot promises to look into the matter and proposes to meet the seven residents of the hostel by giving a dinner lecture there. When he makes it clear that he is investigating the thefts, one young woman, Celia Austin (Jessica Lloyd), confesses that she is a kleptomaniac. But that doesn't explain all of the thefts, nor will it explain the three subsequent murders that occur at the hostel. And Poirot isn't the only one watching the hostel, nor are the students all who they appear to be.

This is an especially enjoyable Poirot mystery for its humor, augmented by director Andrew Grieve's use of the mouse, inspired by the nursery rhyme of the same title. It is also one of the few where Miss Lemon actively participates in the investigation of the crime. Perhaps because her sister is involved, Miss Lemon accompanies Poirot almost everywhere on this case. Chief Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) is there to investigate the murders as well, his leave having been cancelled due to labor activists converging on London. Three murders is a lot for a Poirot mystery, and it sometimes seems that the plot is more complex than necessary. But it does all add up in the end and does not suffer for being somewhat overwritten.

The DVD (Acorn 2002): Bonus features are the usual for the Collector's Set discs. There is a text interview with David Suchet, a brief text bio of Agatha Christie, a list of Poirot books, the same as on the other discs. There are selective filmographies of 4 cast members, 10 Poirot trivia questions with answers, and 4 Poirot quotes. No subtitles.

Hickory Dickory Dock is vintage Christie. All the characters creep around acting suspiciously and all have a perfectly logical reason for doing so when Poirot explains it all in the end. As in Dumb Witness, the cute animal (some will disagree with the adjective 'cute' for a mouse) adds its take on the action. I love the mouse. It's the only one who knows what's going on and it even gets to join in the action. David Suchet is the quintessential Poirot. I often wonder if Agatha Christie would have gotten so bored with Poirot if she had seen Suchet's multi-faceted characterization. For me, Christie is the best of the mystery writers. You know you are going to have a good puzzle and a good time, with no blood and gore. Clues are slipped in gracefully and you find yourself saying, 'Of course!' in the end, if you haven't figured it out already. This is a wonderful addition to a great series.