Murder in Mesopotamia is great production values and good use of location shooting in Tunisia which stands in for Baghdad and the area around an archaeological dig.
Poirot has rushed to Baghdad in order to meet a Russian Countess who is not there when he arrives. Hastings is there though, he has popped over to visit his nice but dim nephew who is helping out at an archaeological dig.
The dig is led by renowned American archaeologist, Dr Leidner. His wife is visiting the dig accompanied by a nurse. Also with him are his two long term archaeological associates Richard Carey and Anne Johnson. There is a priest Father Lavigny who is a linguist expert plus a few others and locals helping out.
When Poirot arrives, a local crook is murdered. Mrs Leidner confides to Poirot why she has been feeling nervous. She has received threatening letters from her long dead first husband. Dr Leidner then finds his wife dead in their room with a blow to the head. The room was locked and no one was seen going in or out.
When Anne Johnson things she has it figured, she finds herself in danger. Poirot meanwhile thinks that no one has a worthwhile alibi.
There was a lot of money spent on this episode. It looks beautiful even though there is not enough of a story for a feature length film. Poirot chasing around a fly in the middle of a night is pure padding.
The biggest problem is that the story falls apart, so do a lot of the characters back story. The murderer could never had planned where the victim could had landed because of gravity. There is a sense of randomness where the Mrs Leidner would had fallen. As for the rest, Agatha Christie was having a laugh wasn't she?
Poirot has rushed to Baghdad in order to meet a Russian Countess who is not there when he arrives. Hastings is there though, he has popped over to visit his nice but dim nephew who is helping out at an archaeological dig.
The dig is led by renowned American archaeologist, Dr Leidner. His wife is visiting the dig accompanied by a nurse. Also with him are his two long term archaeological associates Richard Carey and Anne Johnson. There is a priest Father Lavigny who is a linguist expert plus a few others and locals helping out.
When Poirot arrives, a local crook is murdered. Mrs Leidner confides to Poirot why she has been feeling nervous. She has received threatening letters from her long dead first husband. Dr Leidner then finds his wife dead in their room with a blow to the head. The room was locked and no one was seen going in or out.
When Anne Johnson things she has it figured, she finds herself in danger. Poirot meanwhile thinks that no one has a worthwhile alibi.
There was a lot of money spent on this episode. It looks beautiful even though there is not enough of a story for a feature length film. Poirot chasing around a fly in the middle of a night is pure padding.
The biggest problem is that the story falls apart, so do a lot of the characters back story. The murderer could never had planned where the victim could had landed because of gravity. There is a sense of randomness where the Mrs Leidner would had fallen. As for the rest, Agatha Christie was having a laugh wasn't she?