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 BBC One 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. 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 in supporting roles.[1][2]

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

Cast

Main

Supporting

Production

Locations

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

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air 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 slated to occur in Andover on 31 March. Poirot gives this information to the police, but Inspector Crome, who has replaced the retired Inspector Japp, dismisses the letters' contents as an April Fools Day prank. Poirot seeks out Japp, but he suddenly dies in his presence. When Alice Asher is found murdered, and she is quickly followed by Betty Barnard, in Bexhill, Crome takes the letters more seriously. However, he refuses all offers of help from Poirot and confiscates his papers, believing that Poirot knows the killer. Unbeknownst to Poirot and the police, a down-on-his-luck travelling stocking salesman named Alexander Bonaparte Cust encountered both victims prior to their deaths. A new letter arrives, stating that the next location and victim will begin with the letter C, but Crome still refuses Poirot's help. He believes that Poirot lied about his credentials and therefore cannot be trusted.
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 be in the town of Churston. He telephones the home of Sir Carmichael Clarke to warn him, only to learn he has already been murdered. Poirot confirms that A.B.C. is killing in locations where Poirot has previously been, when he discovers a newspaper clipping describing how he helped to deliver a baby on a train stopped in Andover. Another letter indicates that Doncaster is the next location; A.B.C. signs "Giddy-Up." Crome and Poirot travel there. Crome believes that the next murder will take place at the race track. In fact, the intended victim is a ventriloquist named Dexter Dooley. However, A.B.C. mistakenly kills the wrong man.
3"Episode 3"Alex GabassiSarah Phelps28 December 2018 (2018-12-28)[9]6.93[8]
Cust awakens in the gents' toilet in the train station at Embsay. He finds the body of another victim, Ernie Edwards, and that he is holding the murder weapon. Cust flees the crime scene, throwing the knife away, along with his hat and coat. Poirot finds a pack of stockings in the victim's case and, after visiting the sales company, identifies the murderer as Alexander Bonaparte Cust, who is soon arrested. After talking with Cust, who has a brain tumour and suffers from constant headaches, seizures and blackouts, Poirot doubts his guilt. Sir Carmichael's brother, Franklin, thanks Poirot for apprehending the murderer and has a brandy with him. Crome subsequently arrests Franklin because his fingerprint, taken from the brandy glass, matches that on the typewriter in Cust's room. Poirot realises that Franklin set Cust up with the stocking salesman job and that the first two murders were covers for the murder of Sir Carmichael. Franklin would inherit his brother's money, after Lady Hermione died of cancer. Franklin is hanged for the murders and, in a flashback to Belgium during the war, it is established that Poirot was actually a priest, whose congregation was murdered in his church as part of the Rape of Belgium.

Reception

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

  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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 "The ABC Murders Begins on BBC One on Boxing Day at 9pm". BBC Media Centre. 15 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  5. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 "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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