The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
- Episode aired Feb 4, 1990
- TV-14
- 52m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
1.7K
YOUR RATING
Poirot wagers Chief Inspector Japp that he can solve the mystery of a missing banker without leaving his flat.Poirot wagers Chief Inspector Japp that he can solve the mystery of a missing banker without leaving his flat.Poirot wagers Chief Inspector Japp that he can solve the mystery of a missing banker without leaving his flat.
Charles Rayford
- Race Spectator
- (uncredited)
Cy Town
- Race Spectator
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- David Renwick
- Agatha Christie(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDavid Suchet performed all of the magic tricks Poirot is seen doing.
- GoofsAt the dinner table, Poirot had his usual napkin covering his clothing. When he was asking Japp and Hastings the first of the two questions he needed answers to, the napkin disappeared, only to reappear when he was asking the second question.
- Quotes
Hercule Poirot: And please, do not fraternize with that creature. I am still training him.
Captain Hastings: It's only a parrot.
Hercule Poirot: I was talking to the parrot.
Featured review
The parrot is (almost) the star
What a great episode of a superbly acted series, beautifully dramatised by David Renwick, whose witty lines characterise and embellish Agatha Christie's excellent story.
Mr. Davenheim (Kenneth Colley), looking somewhat like an Edwardian king on a postage stamp, with distinguished beard and flower in buttonhole, tells his wife (Mel Martin) that he is going to post a letter and will meet a business rival arriving at the local railway station, Gerald Lowen (Tony Matthews).
Lowen arrives - but says he has not passed Davenheim on the only path to the station and after waiting for more than an hour, departs in a huff.
Police are called when Davenheim fails to turn up at all, Lowen becomes chief suspect because the family jewels are found to be missing from the safe in the room he was waiting in, the weighty safe having been prised open - it is cleverly subsequently revealed, while Tchaikovsky's majestic 1812 Overture is being played on the gramophone.
Poirot bets a fiver with Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) that he can solve the mystery without leaving his flat - and amusingly is joined by Japp's parrot for the duration, leading to an iconic exchange with Hastings in which he makes a demeaning remark, assumed to refer to the parrot, which he then says is aimed at him. Highly reminiscent of the Spitting Image sketch with Margaret Thatcher in a restaurant asked to order vegetables, saying (with reference to her cabinet around the restaurant table) they'll order for themselves!
The denouement, which other - clearly superior sleuths - apparently guessed early on, was a surprise to me. And how pleasing there were no dead bodies to worry about throughout the episode. It always amazes me how an invitation to Poirot for a weekend away, invariably leads to a significant increase in business for the local undertaker.
When Poirot receives the parrot at the door of his flat, the delivery man's dialogue - 'a Poirot for Mr Parrot' or words to that effect - is hilarious.
A superb hour of entertainment, performed by the inimitable David Suchet and ensemble to a very high standard. Unmissable.
Mr. Davenheim (Kenneth Colley), looking somewhat like an Edwardian king on a postage stamp, with distinguished beard and flower in buttonhole, tells his wife (Mel Martin) that he is going to post a letter and will meet a business rival arriving at the local railway station, Gerald Lowen (Tony Matthews).
Lowen arrives - but says he has not passed Davenheim on the only path to the station and after waiting for more than an hour, departs in a huff.
Police are called when Davenheim fails to turn up at all, Lowen becomes chief suspect because the family jewels are found to be missing from the safe in the room he was waiting in, the weighty safe having been prised open - it is cleverly subsequently revealed, while Tchaikovsky's majestic 1812 Overture is being played on the gramophone.
Poirot bets a fiver with Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) that he can solve the mystery without leaving his flat - and amusingly is joined by Japp's parrot for the duration, leading to an iconic exchange with Hastings in which he makes a demeaning remark, assumed to refer to the parrot, which he then says is aimed at him. Highly reminiscent of the Spitting Image sketch with Margaret Thatcher in a restaurant asked to order vegetables, saying (with reference to her cabinet around the restaurant table) they'll order for themselves!
The denouement, which other - clearly superior sleuths - apparently guessed early on, was a surprise to me. And how pleasing there were no dead bodies to worry about throughout the episode. It always amazes me how an invitation to Poirot for a weekend away, invariably leads to a significant increase in business for the local undertaker.
When Poirot receives the parrot at the door of his flat, the delivery man's dialogue - 'a Poirot for Mr Parrot' or words to that effect - is hilarious.
A superb hour of entertainment, performed by the inimitable David Suchet and ensemble to a very high standard. Unmissable.
helpful•40
- michael-1151
- Feb 10, 2021
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Filming locations
- Joldwynds, Surrey, UK(M. Davenheim Kimberley House, Holmbury St. Mary, Surrey)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime52 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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What is the French language plot outline for The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim (1990)?
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