Hercule Poirot (American radio series)

Last updated

Hercule Poirot is an American radio mystery drama that began on February 22, 1945, on Mutual and ended on November 21, 1947 on CBS. [1] Harold Huber portrayed Hercule Poirot, the fictional Belgian detective who was featured in Agatha Christie's novels. [1] Christie chose Huber for the role after she saw him in the film Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937). [2] In the series, Poirot was based in New York, rather than the London setting found in the books. Many of the episodes had Poirot "involved in substantive international capers". [3] :18

Contents

Mutual series

The series on Mutual was also known as The Adventures of M. Hercule Poirot and Agatha Christie's Poirot, [3] It consisted of 30-minute episodes, each of which contained a complete story. [1] Episodes were broadcast on Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time from February 22, 1945, through September 6, 1945. Two additional broadcasts on Mutual occurred on Sundays (October 7 and October 14, 1945) at 9 p.m., ending Poirot's run on that network. [3] (Another source says that the series ran until February 17, 1946, "before legal disputes over scripting halted it." [4] ) Some episodes (including "The Case of the Roving Corpse" and "The Trail Led to Death") were original, and others were adapted from Christie's stories (including "Rendezvous with Death", an adaptation of Death on the Nile ). [4]

Lawsuit

In January 1946 writer Martin Stern won a suit in the state of New York's Supreme Court for breach of contract against Huber and Eastman, with whom Stern had agreed to provide scripts for the Poirot program. Stern charged that he received no payment after Huber sold the scripts to Mutual independently. Two radio writers and editors testified on Stern's behalf that they had revised his scripts for Huber, and three radio executives were witnesses for Huber. After five days of testimony and decision, Judge Henry Clay Greenberg ruled in Stern's favor, awarding him $14,000 and costs. [5]

Critical response

A review in the trade publication Variety said that the March 22, 1945, episode ("The Case of the Roaming Corpse") kept a listener's interest with the quality of its script and music. Overall, however, the review said that the series had "been running hot and cold, one week a good show, next a bad one." [6]

CBS series

The CBS series (known as Mystery of the Week) [3] consisted of 15-minute episodes that ran on weekday evenings, with each story in five parts, ending on Friday, [1] It began at 7 p.m. E. T. on April 1, 1946, and ended on November 21, 1947. [3] Procter & Gamble was the sponsor, promoting Ivory soap and Dreft dishwashing detergent. [3] Nelson Case, Ron Rawson, and Richard Stark were the announcers. [3] Carl Eastman was the director; [1] Alfred Bester and Louis Vittes were the writers. [3] It was replaced by Beulah . [7]

Critical response

A Variety review called the August 19, 1946, episode "a tight and fast-paced story within which the detective's smart deductions operate skillfully." [8] The review complimented Huber's portrayal of Poirot and described the supporting cast as "thoroughly competent". [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hercule Poirot</span> Fictional detective character created by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays, and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975.

<i>Agatha Christies Poirot</i> British television detective series (1989–2013)

Agatha Christie's Poirot, or simply Poirot, is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. The ITV show is based on many of Agatha Christie’s famous crime fiction series, which revolves around the fictional private investigator, Hercule Poirot. David Suchet starred as the fictional detective. Initially produced by LWT, the series was later produced by ITV Studios. The series also aired on VisionTV in Canada and on PBS and A&E in the US.

<i>Death in the Clouds</i> 1935 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie

Death in the Clouds is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in 1935. It features the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and Chief Inspector Japp. It is a "closed circle" murder mystery: the victim is a passenger on a cross-Channel aircraft flight, and the perpetrator can only be one of eleven fellow-passengers and crew.

<i>The Murder of Roger Ackroyd</i> 1926 detective novel by Agatha Christie

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a detective novel by the British writer Agatha Christie, her third to feature Hercule Poirot as the lead detective. The novel was published in the UK in June 1926 by William Collins, Sons, having previously been serialised as Who Killed Ackroyd? between July and September 1925 in the London Evening News. An American edition by Dodd, Mead and Company followed in 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inspector Japp</span> Fictional character

Inspector James Japp is a fictional character who appears in several of Agatha Christie's novels featuring Hercule Poirot.

<i>Halloween Party</i> 1969 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie

Hallowe'en Party is a work of detective fiction by English writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in November 1969 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. This book was dedicated to writer P. G. Wodehouse. It has been adapted for television, radio, and most recently for the film A Haunting in Venice (2023).

Ariadne Oliver is a fictional character in the novels of Agatha Christie. She is a crime fiction novelist, the creator of the fictional Finnish detective Sven Hjerson, and a friend of Hercule Poirot.

<i>The Mystery of the Blue Train</i> 1928 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie

The Mystery of the Blue Train is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by William Collins & Sons on 29 March 1928 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00. The book features her detective Hercule Poirot.

<i>Hercule Poirots Christmas</i> 1938 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot's Christmas is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 19 December 1938. It retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6).

<i>Taken at the Flood</i> 1948 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie

Taken at the Flood is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1948 under the title of There is a Tide. .. and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in the November of the same year under Christie's original title. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition at eight shillings and sixpence (8/6). It features her famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, and is set in 1946.

Sarah Phelps is a British television screenwriter, radio writer, playwright and television producer. She is best known for her work on EastEnders, a number of BBC serial adaptations including Agatha Christie's The Witness For the Prosecution, And Then There Were None, Ordeal by Innocence, The ABC Murders and The Pale Horse; Charles Dickens's Great Expectations and Oliver Twist; and J. K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy, and work with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

<i>The Regatta Mystery</i> Agatha Christie short story

The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1939. The first edition retailed at $2.00.

This page details the other fictional characters created by Agatha Christie in her stories about the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot.

This page details the books featuring the fictional character Hercule Poirot, created by Agatha Christie.

<i>The Yellow Iris</i> (radio drama) 1937 radio play written by Agatha Christie

The Yellow Iris is a radio play written by Agatha Christie and broadcast on the BBC National Programme on Tuesday 2 November 1937 at 8.00pm. The one-hour programme was broadcast again two days later, this time on the BBC Regional Programme at 9.00pm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agatha Christie bibliography</span>

Agatha Christie (1890–1976) was an English crime novelist, short-story writer and playwright. Her reputation rests on 66 detective novels and 15 short-story collections that have sold over two billion copies, an amount surpassed only by the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare. She is also the most translated individual author in the world with her books having been translated into more than 100 languages. Her works contain several regular characters with whom the public became familiar, including Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, Parker Pyne and Harley Quin. Christie wrote more Poirot stories than any of the others, even though she thought the character to be "rather insufferable". Following the publication of the 1975 novel Curtain, Poirot's obituary appeared on the front page of The New York Times.

<i>Murder in Three Acts</i> Television mystery film

Murder in Three Acts is a British-American made-for-television mystery film of 1986 produced by Warner Bros. Television, featuring Peter Ustinov as Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot. Directed by Gary Nelson, it co-starred Jonathan Cecil as Hastings, Tony Curtis, and Emma Samms.

In Agatha Christie's mystery novels, several characters cross over different sagas, creating a fictional universe in which most of her stories are set. This article has one table to summarize the novels with characters who occur in other Christie novels; the table is titled Crossovers by Christie. There is brief mention of characters crossing over in adaptations of the novels. Her publications, both novels and short stories, are then listed by main detective, in order of publication. Some stories or novels authorised by the estate of Agatha Christie, using the characters she created, and written long after Agatha Christie died, are included in the lists.

Lists of adaptations of the works of Agatha Christie:

Hercule Poirot is a series of full cast BBC Radio drama adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels and short stories adapted by Michael Bakewell, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1985 and 2007. With the exception of the first two adaptations, the series stars John Moffatt as Poirot.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Dunning, John (May 7, 1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. p. 318. ISBN   978-0-19-984045-8 . Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  2. "Exciting new program on KWKH tomorrow". The Shreveport Times. August 18, 1946. p. 17. Archived from the original on March 10, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cox, Jim (June 14, 2015). Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age. McFarland. p. 191. ISBN   978-1-4766-1227-0 . Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Bernthal, J. C. (August 25, 2022). Agatha Christie: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction. McFarland. p. 200. ISBN   978-1-4766-7620-3 . Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  5. "Hercule Poirot Costs Huber & Eastman 16G". Billboard. January 26, 1946. p. 10. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  6. "Agatha Christie's Poirot". Variety. March 28, 1945. p. 34. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  7. "Talk of the Trade". Billboard. November 1, 1947. p. 18. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Mystery of the Week". Variety. August 21, 1946. p. 38. Retrieved March 10, 2024.