User Reviews

This was a very entertaining adaptation with super French atmosphere, complete with antique racing bikes and many other period details. It's great to see such trouble taken. But how strange that there should be a glaring anachronism. The story starts with a voice-over newsreel in what we later find out was 1926! Sound newsreels were certainly not current at that date.

The story is complex and the plot a bit preposterous, but it's great fun. Hastings gets more to do that usual with a real romance.

More Poirots with Suchet seem to be in the pipeline, which is good news.

Hercule Poirot travels to Deauville in France to accompany his friend Captain Hastings on a golfing holiday. On the evening of their arrival, Poirot is approached by wealthy tycoon Paul Renauld who tells him that he believes his life to be in danger. The next morning Renauld is found dead in a bunker dressed in nothing but an old overcoat and stabbed in the back with a letter opener.

Another enjoyable feature-length adaptation of an Agatha Christie whodunit. The dramatisation by Anthony Horowitz is very good, the lighting first rate as is Andrew Grieve's direction and the performances from David Suchet and Hugh Fraser are up to their usual standards. Bill Moody also does fine work as the arrogant Inspector Giraud of the French police who believes that he will solve the case before Poirot does. The two detectives set a wager, if Giraud wins Poirot must shave off his precious moustache and if Poirot wins Giraud must give up his famous pipe after which he is named after as "The Pipe".

Definitely one of the best 'Agatha Christie's Poirot'-films!

Faithfully adapted from the book, Murder on the Links is mystery of the highest level. Suchet, as the Belgian detective, and Fraser, as Poirot's good old friend, are getting better every time. The beautiful locations are perfectly chosen and the music, this time with a French touch, is as always brilliantly composed by Christopher Gunning.

Murder on the Links is highly entertaining and a must-see for Agatha Christie fans!

10/10

Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser) is the only regular sidekick of Hercule Poirot to accompany him in this super mystery among super mysteries. David Suchet as Poirot comes up against an even more flamboyant detective, Giraud, of the French police. Also known as "The Pipe" for the Sherlock Holmes style pipe that he smokes constantly, Giraud does not have the manners and genteel methods of Poirot. Bill Moody plays the pompous French jackass perfectly.

"Murder on the Links" takes place when Hastings lures Poirot to Cherbourg, on the French side of the English Channel. He convinces him it's a bit of a Riviera coastal setting. In truth, the good captain has his eyes set on golfing. Fortunately for him, the accommodations are luxurious and the place has exemplary chefs and cuisine to satisfy our super sleuth.

The movie opens with scenes 10 years before the main story. The headlines and crime story being reported then have clues that Poirot will eventually discover to help him solve the puzzle of this fantastic who-dunnit. While audiences see the earlier story, few of us have it in our grey cells to piece this together with later clues and developments to solve the crime.

Thank goodness Hercule Poirot is here to do it for us. And to entertain with another fantastic rendition of a superb Agatha Christie mystery. "Murder on the Links" must be toward the very top of the heap for intrigue and difficulty in solving. Yet, even with that, it's all quite clear when Poirot explains it at the end. And, Captain Hastings even finds romance in this edition of the great BBC series.

When they first arrive and Poirot uncovers his ploy, Hastings tries to urge him to give golf a try. Poirot says, "To hit a little ball into the little hole in the middle of a large open field - No! It is not the taste of Poirot."

Poirot is up against the obstinate Inspector Giraud to uncover the killer in a well known stabbing. Times are happier for Hastings as he meets the beautiful singer Bella Duveen.

It's not my favourite adaptation I must admit, I find it a little formulaic, somewhat bland. The most enjoyable segment, has to be the news cast concerning the case of the Beroldy's, it was very well done.

I like the clash of personalities between Poirot and Giraud, it gives an interesting dynamic for our Belgian, I like the wager they have together. Unfortunately Giraud makes me feel like I'm watching Maigret.

I find the camera work quite drab, it pans from one actor to another, it's a little flat. Apart from our main cast I also find some of the acting a little off the pace too, Bill Moody (Giraud,) Diane Fletcher (Mme Renauld) I find a wee bit wooden.

6/10 seems a fair score, watchable because it's part of the Poirot series.

It's not a bad adaptation of the story but it's much different than the novel. And they made it way too difficult to follow all the overdone twists and turns. OK, but could have been a lot better.

I guess the esteemed police officer Giraud had never read any Poirot mysteries, because he happily goes up against him in "Murder on the Links," from 1996.

Poirot and Hastings are approached by a businessman Paul Renaud, who has been receiving threats. The next morning, Madame Renaud is found bound and gagged, and her husband's dead body is found on a golf course nearby.

Poirot and Giraud disagree about the solution to this crime, so they make a wager. The one who catches the killer has to give something up. In Poirot's case, it's his mustache, and in the case of the police detective, it's his pipe.

Well, we all know Poirot isn't going to shave off his mustache. Hastings, however, loses his heart to a lovely singer. She becomes his wife, the "Bella" mentioned in subsequent episodes.

Very good episode with an interesting denouement.

Following the pattern of the episodes in season 6, this episode opens with a prologue which probably tells the viewer a bit too much early on; perhaps not giving too much away, but directing our attention a certain direction very early on, so it was a little distracting to be looking at every female character of a certain age with a suspicious eye, and looking at the main man (clearly to become the victim), with a too-knowing eye compared to how I normally come into these films. With this setup still in mind, we jump forward 10 years to find that Poirot and a welcomingly-returned Hastings are on holiday in France, although perhaps not the first choice of Poirot himself in terms of destination and hotel. From here the mystery unfolds with the murder, which is added to by Hastings finding romance while Poirot is challenged to a wager by someone believed to be the best detective in France (which is impossible, Poirot notes, since Poirot is here now).

Unlike the previous episode, where perhaps the mystery was an afterthought to comedy, style and other such things, here the mystery is done well. Okay perhaps we are told too much too soon, but it doesn't ruin the mystery so much as make it more accessible to the viewer (which I am totally fine with since I spent Hickory Dickory Dock believe that the mouse did it since he always happened to be on the scene of the crime – basically I need all the gentle guidance I can get!). Generally it unfolds well since the viewer is allowed to be a bit ahead of Poirot by knowing the base of the story (he has to return to London to get this information), so when he roars past us and the mystery goes beyond this, then we are not too far behind so don't feel like we are doing a standing start when things twist and the reveal begins.

There are side issues, which mostly work. I enjoyed the wager between the two detectives, even though I think Moody was a bit too heavy in his playing; I even quite liked Hastings' subplot even though it seemed telegraphed and to come from nowhere to somewhere too quickly. The look and feel of the production is very good, with good locations through Normandy giving the episode a base of France – although it did make me wonder how there was not a single French person in the entirety of France? We get Poirot speaking with an accent, but everyone from local detectives through to the guy working the train platform was speaking in English accents (sometimes very regional ones) – it was distracting and a shame not to at least have local color in the smaller characters.

The main actors do as well as usual, particularly with Suchet on form as ever. Fraser is fun but the romance pushes him a bit out of his comfort zone and I didn't think he worked as well in this. The supporting cast are solid enough to do the job, with good playing across the board – even those I thought could have done better or been cast differently, they still were okay. Overall Murder on the Links is a solidly enjoyable episode, which is accessible to the point where the viewer feels involved but not so much that it is obvious at any point. The mystery comes first, so the supporting material is allowed to be just that – and mostly it works even if the wager and the romance have their aspects that could have been better.

This was one of the most complex Poirot mysteries I have seen and thankfully it was very well dramatized so the viewer was able to follow the nature of the crimes committed. I believe Agatha was at the height of her powers when she wrote this great novel.

David Suchet is brilliant once again as Hercule Poirot. Not only are we treated to a first class deception and murder but also to an entertaining wager as Poirot deals with an arrogant detective wishing to upstage him. Captain Hastings also has his own plot and involvement in this story. Pay close attention and enjoy this great mystery, definitely recommended.

Hercule Poirot and his good friend Captain Hastings are holidaying at a resort in Deauville, France. A wealthy local businessman, Paul Renauld, approaches Poirot and tells him he believes his life is in danger from Chileans who are trying to defraud him. That night Renauld's wife is found tied up in their home, with Mr Renauld feared abducted. The next day Renauld is found stabbed to death on the golf course of the resort. While suspicion immediately falls on the nameless, faceless Chileans, Mr Renauld's stepson also had a motive, and had threatened to kill his stepfather. However, some of the neighbours and other parties have connections with the Renauld family that make things decidedly more complex. Poirot investigates but is hamstrung by a bullying egomaniac from the French Police, Monsieur Giraud. Giraud is no fan of Poirot and believes he is a better detective than Poirot and they take a bet on who will solve the case first. Meanwhile, Hastings falls in love.

Interesting, with some good twists and a nice romantic touch. Some of the connections are obvious and some of the big reveals can be seen a distance away. However, there is still more than enough mystery and detail that you won't figure out to make this quite intriguing.

The introduction of Giraud was an interesting change, as the police are normally in awe of Poirot and try to help him in any way. Giraud being so anti-Poirot and clearly stymieing his efforts makes for an original and refreshing change of pace.

The Hastings romance was also interesting and welcome. Hasting was always the romantic fool in the Poirot movies, often putting sentimentality and his feelings for a woman ahead of rationality and the thought that they could be involved in the murder. Here the romantic side gets dialed up a notch, and it is good to see.

This movie contains a scene where Poirot and Capt Hastings return to the Reynaud house to confront Mme Reynaud.

For most of the scene, Poirot is resplendent in his grey suit with matching grey bow tie, but for 2 shots in the scene, his bow tie changes to a red one. How did they overlook that?

It's actually not the only occasion in which Poirot's clothes change within a scene, but as I identify the others, I may add them here too.

Another error noted is in 'Death in the Clouds' where an airport scene, full of wonderfully historic aircraft, has a very modern Cessna taxiing in the background.

The Normandy setting is lovely, the rare handsome protagonist a nice addition. The mystery gets remarkably convoluted, even by Christie's standards, featuring plots within plots and multiple weapons and lots of mistaken identities. (The resolution makes sense for about two seconds; afterwards I would be hard-pressed to explain it to someone in detail.) With the running time stretched to over 90 minutes, the director once again struggles to fill it. And so we are treated to a dozen tedious exchanges of "What do you think you're doing?!" between Poirot and his French police counterpart; long scenes from a bicycle race; and lastly a tacked-on, drawn-out ending of the Hastings In Love variety. I enjoyed watching, especially the lavish interiors. But as for the storytelling, sometimes less is more.

While Poirot and Hastings are holidaying in Deauville, France with his close friend, Captain Arthur Hastings, a businessman - Paul Renauld whose assets include several South American business interests and the hotel where Poirot and Hastings are staying - claims that someone, probably from South America has made threats against his life. The next day he is found stabbed to death on a nearby golf course. Poirot also makes the acquaintance of Monsieur Girand of the Surete, an arrogant police official that views himself as the better detective. This clash of egos leads to a bet between the pair over who would solve the Renauld case first.

The suspects are: Madame Eloise Renauld, the victim's wife, the victim's stepson, who disliked him, Jack's fiancée, who was frustrated by the victim's opposition to the engagement, Madame Bernadette Daubreuil, Marthe's mother and the former lover/possible partner-in-crime of the victim, Bella Duveen, Jack's former lover, who may have mistaken the victim for him and Mr. Stonor, the victim's private secretary, who is in love with Madame Renauld.

A solid adaptation of one Agatha Christie's classic mystery, and it's well-paced, captures the era really well, follows the novel fairly closely, executes his twist and turn and red herrings quite well. It's well-acted, especially by Hugh Bonnerville as Hastings.

It will take your best constitution to sit through the idiotic postering and bloated pronouncements of the French detective Giraud. He challenges Poirot to a contest to see who can solve the 'murder on the links' first.one of the prizes is Giraud's famous pipe that he puffs relentlessly. The character is pompous to be sure but too overplayed to be natural and continually annoying. Almost matched by the Captain Hastings bland presentation as a dolt 'extraordinaire' ! His bumbling and puppy dog, blank expressions are a distraction on the same level as Giraud. He's wasted here.