Customer Reviews

Poirot - One Two Buckle My Shoe

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

<One, Two, Buckle My Shoe> is a very welcome addition to the Hercule Poirot series being issued by Acorn Media. The shorter episodes are in boxed sets of three video tapes each, the longer ones on DVD. As I mentioned in my other reviews of this series, it is always fascinating and instructive to see how the shorter cases are inflated to fill up the 50 minutes or so while the novels have to be simplified to fit in the 103-minute format. So before watching this episode, I reread the novel and then enjoyed seeing how the script writer Clive Exton had to prune away several characters, one fairly major, and still stick closely to the convoluted plot with little loss of ingenuity.

Known in this country as "An Overdose of Death" and as "The Patriotic Murders," this novel tries to parallel the child's rhyme, but Christie is not as successful as she was in "Ten Little Indians" (to give it its polite name). Therefore it is good that the television version simply has two young girls playing outside one of the murder locales, chanting the song. The background of the Fascist group in the park is only hinted at in the novel but chilling on the screen. Equally chilling are the feet of the third corpse protruding from a box in a closet.

Peter Blythe (familiar to us as Rumpole's Head of Chambers, "Soapy Sam") turns in a fine performance as the powerful politician who had a dental appointment around the time of the murder of his dentist; and the rest of the cast (no Miss Lemon or Hastings in this one) are up to the standards already set for this series. Philip Jackson's Chief Inspector Japp, always trying to keep one step ahead of Poirot, is a delight as always.

I will say nothing of the plot, lest I slip up and spoil your enjoyment--but I must warn you to use your eyes as well as your ears in the early segments of the film, because things get pretty complicated.

A word for those who keep contacting me about the "Silent Witness" episode: Acorn Media claims it will be out in July or August of 2001. Be patient.

This entry in the Poirot series boasts perhaps the fastest pace, the most complex story and a uniquely horrific feel that gives it an edge not possessed by most of the episodes. You're never allowed to get your bearings, quite, so that as Poirot and Japp jump from one murder site to another, you're always left a step or two behind. There are so many characters, it's difficult just to keep track of them, much less to figure out what they have to do with the rest of the story. So when the identity of the murderer is revealed it feels less like the closing of a mystery than the gasping to the finish line in the last lap of a race. (It's interesting that "Buckle my Shoe" and "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" should have been directed by the same person, Ross Devenish. They are just about at opposite extremes in pacing, one practically breathless, the other relaxed to the point of sedate.)

I'm not criticizing the episode for this rush of characters and locations. In fact, it's remarkably effective, especially in the opening sequences as we jump from one character to another, waiting for the thread that will tie them together. The clipped pace is, nonetheless, somewhat unusual for the series, which tends to have a relaxed, if persistent, forward movement. The episode is also largely lacking the humorous touches around the edges that makes some of the other episodes so endearing. So if one of the attractions of the series for you is its placid, tongue-in-cheek style, you may be a little put off by "Buckle My Shoe."

On the other hand, aside from the absence of Hastings and Miss Lemon, all of the series's familiar virtues are present: David Suchet and Philip Jackson in their usual parts, elegant design and camerawork, first-rate character acting in every part, no matter how small. And if "Buckle my Shoe" lacks the humor of the rest of the series, it has a darker tone that at its best is downright creepy. (The scenes in the dentist's office are especially skin crawling.) It may not be what you usually get from the series, but "One, Two, Buckle my Shoe" has more than enough to compensate.

This has perhaps the best opening in a Poirot episode I have seen so far: slow-motion footage, plenty of superimposed images, of a (particularly malevolent) dentist being shot while little girls play hopscotch outside (the very fact that they do nothing else during the course of the film but play hopscotch makes them seem obsessive and evil)... The film itself did not disappoint. No other episode quite conjures up the feeling of clueing and detection in the books--although I am a great fan of the films, I sometimes feel that they fail to measure up to the essence of detection and mystery possessed by the books (the last two films, THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD and LORD EDGWARE DIES, are examples of this). Yet in this adaptation, I was conscious of Poirot as __a mind__, as, with the assistance of Inspector Japp, he investigates murder after murder: a dentist's suicide (although the clue of the stains and the rug, also, I think, found in MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA, was missing), his patient's death by overdose (not revealed that he was a spy / blackmailer until end, unlike book), and the death of an actress (or was somebody else the victim, as the dental records indicate?). Finally, following the titular clue of a shoe buckle, Poirot is able to accuse the murderer (watching with my family, they were able to spot the villain--one of the flaws in the series, as Christie's misdirection works perhaps better on page than on screen). The acting was superb, and new areas of the characters' lives were revealed: a shot of the Whitehaven Mansions lobby, and Inspector Japp at home in Isleworth. Unfortunately, the church service scene was not in the film, nor are Mr. Chapman and Howard Raikes to be found; and most of the spy business was missing. Yet this is still an absolutely superb film, one that any fan of Agatha Christie would do well to watch.

+++++

I watched this movie without reading the 1941 Dame Agatha Christie novel that it was based on. I'm glad I did this! Why? Because it forced me to really watch the movie in order to try and deduce who the murderer was.

I don't want to be blunt but there doesn't seem to be that much to the main plot of this mystery. Hercule Poirot's (David Suchet) dentist Henry Morley (Laurence Harrington) commits suicide while on the job. All the people who were his patients (including Poirot) that morning when dentist Morley was found dead said that he was quite well when he treated them. So when exactly did he die? Naturally, the great sleuth investigates and he banks on the investigative skills of Chief Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) to aid in the investigation. Two more of the dentist's patients are eventually killed.

As Poirot says, the clue to solving this case "began with a shoe."

The major people considered in Poirot's investigation are as follows:

1. Mr. Amberioth, one of the dental patients (Kervork Malikyan)
2. Former actress Miss Mabelle Sansbury-Seale and another dental patient (Carolyn Colqumoun)
3. Banker Allister Blunt and yet another dental patient (Peter Blythe)
4. Helen, Blunt's secretary (Joanne Phillips-Lane)
5. Gladys Neville, Morley's dental assistant (Karen Gledhill)
6. Frank Carter, Gladys' boyfriend (Chris Eccleston)
7. Alfred Biggs, Morley's pageboy (Joe Greco)
8. Julia Olivera, Blunt's sister-in-law (Helen Horton)
9. Jane Olivera, Julia's daughter (Sara Stewart)

Of all the actors mentioned above, Suchet's performance stands out. He does a stellar job in depicting the super sleuth (as usual). Also the actress who portrayed Miss Mabelle Sansbury-Seale did a good job.

This movie compared to the others in this series has less humor in it. However, the mystery is much more complex and intriguing. Also, this particular movie began with a slow motion sequence of kids playing hopscotch. I found this interesting.

The cinematography of this movie is visually stunning. The costumes are authentic looking. As well, the background music adds to each scene.

Finally, the DVD (which has the movie is full screen format) has five extras. Of these, the ones that had the Poirot trivia and quotes were the most interesting for me.

In conclusion, this is a fun movie, even if you have read the novel!!

(1992; made for TV; 100 min; British drama; 10 scenes; color.)

+++++

Whether you like it or not, this episode is darker, more confusing, and more quickly-paced than any other in the series' history. Personally, I LOVE IT. The multiple, characters, settings, plot devices, and moods give it and incredible feeling of intrigue, creepiness, and A LOT to think about! I didn't mind pausing to get my bearings a few times, even though it may have interrupted the flow! It made me feel clever that I could keep up with it! Wonderful stuff!

And, as you may have noticed in some of my other reviews, I'm obsessed with picking which episodes have my favorite theme music. This one makes incredibly great use of the "One, Two, Buckle, My Shoe" nursery rhyme and makes it into a them that it played all throughout in so many different varations that it's mind-bogglingly wonderful!

You've got a love a film that can make girls playing hop-scotch seem demonic and evil!

"One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" is a feature-length film that was part of "Agatha Christie's Poirot"s Series 4, which originally aired on Britain's ITV in 1992. Hercule Poirot's (David Suchet) dreaded visits to his dentist, Mr. Morley (Laurence Harrington), seem downright perilous when the dentist and a new patient by the name of Mr. Amberiotis (Kevork Malikyan) die the same day -Mr. Morley from an apparent suicide and Mr. Amberiotis from an overdose administered by the dentist. Then another patient whom Poirot ran into that day, a Miss Mabelle Sainsbury-Seale (Carolyn Colquhoun), disappears. Miss Sainsbury-Seale was an old acquaintance of the wife of another patient, the prominent banker Alistair Blunt (Peter Blythe), who encourages Poirot to find her.

The bodies keep piling up in this one. It is one of Poirot's more perplexing cases, perhaps because it's difficult to believe that the culprit would cook up such an elaborate scheme when easier solutions were at hand. That, combined with a couple of plot holes and the odd decision of the director to show us Mr. Morley's murder before it has happened, prevent "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" from standing among the best episodes of "Agatha Christie's Poirot". Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard (Philip Jackson) is indispensable to Poirot in this case, giving him access to vital information he would otherwise not have. And Poirot, himself, is very much in character and entertaining, as usual. Capt. Arthur Hastings and Miss Lemon do not feature in this episode.

The DVD (Acorn 2001): There is a text interview with David Suchet, the same one featured on all the Collector's Set discs. There is a brief text bio of Agatha Christie, a list of Poirot books, selective filmographies for David Suchet, Philip Jackson, and Hugh Fraser -oddly since Fraser is not in this episode. There are also 4 Poirot trivia questions without answers and 4 Poirot quotes. No subtitles.

I'm getting the entire series - bit by bit. That's how much I like Suchet and Poirot.

"Motive, Means, and Opporturnity" are the three guiding lights of crime detection. What I find most interesting in this episode is the search for motive and how it keeps shifting--especially when you look at it in retrospect, after the great reveal.

The motive is about power, of course, but not just power derived by money and position. It's about the power of secrecy and how that in multiple ways gives power over others--and, ultimately the desire to maintain that power led to multiple murders.

Poirot, as always, shows the power of the carefully detected detail as a means of cracking the case. It's the buckle, you see, that buckles the case. I love the recurring motif of the young girls playing hopscotch to this traditional rhyme.

--Janet Grace Riehl, author Sightlines: A Poet's Diary

The plot does not hold together. It requires a whole string of very rare events to happen, some of them on the spur of the momen, and in the proper sequence. The absence of the dental office manager is never explained even though the absence is necessary for the plot to work. How does a total stranger learn of a woman's relatives, their residence, and their health condition? Why would a dentist have a vial of adrenalin? Why did not the police and Poirot not notice the lack of powder burns?

This feature-length mystery falls squarely into the "middling" range. The plot lacks propulsiveness and too many of the supporting characters are of the cardboard cutout variety (a situation not helped by some weak acting, particularly by the actor playing the would-be Black Shirt). On the other hand, David Suchet is, as per the usual, effective as the misleadingly droll Poirot: he does a fine job of revealing the dangerous qualities lurking beneath the effete exterior. Peter Blythe turns in a similarly excellent performance as a coolly evil megalomaniac. As other reviewers have noted, the score is effective, and the reconstruction of the murder scene (done twice) is also well done. Some viewers may rejoice with me at the absence of Capt. Hastings. The quality of the DVD itself is adequate, but the picture was occasionally fuzzy.