Agatha and the Midnight Murders

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Agatha and the Midnight Murders
Genre
  • Crime
  • Mystery
Written byTom Dalton
Directed by Joe Stephenson
Starring
ComposerBlair Mowat
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
  • Emily Dalton
  • Sebastian Cardwell
ProducersCarol Harding
Tom Dalton
CinematographyBirgit Dierken
Editor
  • Fiona Brands
Running time93 Minutes
Production companiesDarlow Smithson Productions
Factual Fiction
Original release
Network Channel 5
Release5 October 2020 (2020-10-05)

Agatha and the Midnight Murders is a 2020 British alternative history television drama film about crime writer Agatha Christie. The film premiered on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom on 5 October 2020, [1] and on PBS in the United States 25 May 2021. [2] It was directed by Joe Stephenson. [3]

Contents

Plot

Christie is having trouble collecting the American royalties on her published works. In a bid to make a private cash sale of a manuscript, therefore, she decides to kill off her most famous character, Hercule Poirot. She hires a low-life man to accompany her as a bodyguard for a cut of the price. The action takes place in a hotel where Christie expects to complete the transaction. Christie and her bodyguard encounter the prospective buyers and a varied group of hotel guests. The suspense builds as a series of murders takes place in the hotel.

Cast

Production

Filming took place in Malta, back-to-back with Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar . [4]

Reception

The show was poorly received by critics. Writing in The Guardian , Euan Ferguson said: "It was a mess: ill-plotted, playing bits for laughs or for horror without ever achieving either." [5] Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph gave the show 2 out of 5 stars, writing: "All of the characters' behavior felt a little weird, and it was not clear if that was by accident or design. Some were caricatures while others were barely there." [3]

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References

  1. Carr, Flora (7 October 2020). "Meet the cast of Agatha and the Midnight Murders". Radio Times.
  2. Agatha and the Midnight Murders PBS, accessed 19 June 2021.
  3. 1 2 Singh, Anita (7 October 2020). "Agatha and the Midnight Murders, review: this sneaky Christie isn't a patch on the real thing". The Daily Telegraph.
  4. Creamer, Jon (14 May 2020). "Emily and Tom Dalton launch docs and drama indie".
  5. Ferguson, Euan (11 October 2020). "The week in TV: In the Face of Terror; David Attenborough; Deaf U; Agatha and the Midnight Murders". The Guardian.