A few years after this episode was made, I once got a job that covered the north Lancashire area. This meant dealing with a host of complaints relating to the famous art deco The Midland Hotel in Morecambe. Wonderful to see from the outside, inside some of the rooms were dirty, dinghy and disgusting.
The exterior of the Midland Hotel is prominently featured in this episode as Poirot goes up north to the seaside with Hastings and then to the Lake District area. It just happens that Inspector Japp is also there on various speaking engagements about his life dealing with crime.
On the bus trip Hastings bumps into a man in a rush and a rather dim woman carrying a set of 12 valuable Napolean miniatures that she intends to sell on behalf of her invalid aunt. When the paintings go missing Hastings goes to investigate, Poirot takes a more laid back approach.
I thought this one was easy to figure and it did not always make sense. Writer Clive Exton might been overstretched with Christie's plotting. The best bit was Poirot's face as Japp talks about private investigators and amateur sleuths in his talk.
The exterior of the Midland Hotel is prominently featured in this episode as Poirot goes up north to the seaside with Hastings and then to the Lake District area. It just happens that Inspector Japp is also there on various speaking engagements about his life dealing with crime.
On the bus trip Hastings bumps into a man in a rush and a rather dim woman carrying a set of 12 valuable Napolean miniatures that she intends to sell on behalf of her invalid aunt. When the paintings go missing Hastings goes to investigate, Poirot takes a more laid back approach.
I thought this one was easy to figure and it did not always make sense. Writer Clive Exton might been overstretched with Christie's plotting. The best bit was Poirot's face as Japp talks about private investigators and amateur sleuths in his talk.