Poirot is having a bad day; he has a cold and is bored because he has not had a case in three weeks he fears his little gray cells will suffer from the lack of use. Hastings convinces him that what he needs is a night out at the theater. The play they're watching is a mystery melodrama and Poirot thinks the storyline is so simple that after the first act he bets Hastings that he knows who the murderer is. Hastings takes the bet but Poirot was wrong (in this case, the butler didn't do it). Of course, in Poirot's view the reason he was wrong was because the writer did not play fair with the audience and kept revealed from them critical clues. His good humor is restored when, upon returning home, it is discovered that a murder has been committed in his apartment building. The victim is a young woman who had just moved into to the complex earlier that day. I don't remember another Poirot story where the episode concludes many minutes after after Poirot has revealed who the murderer is. Interesting twist and in this case, quite effective. The attention to detail that this series is known for is also apparent in this episode. I enjoyed the scene where the two young women, as they are waiting for their suitors' to unlock the apartment door sing "Life is just a bowl of cherries." This was a very popular Depression Era song. The problem for me is that the refrain has become an ear worm - even when writing about this episode the tune keeps running through my head. At least it's a tune I like.
Review of The Third Floor Flat
