Musings - Agatha Christie's Plays

 

Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap is the longest running play (since 1952) in the world with a break only during the Covid pandemic.  The story is loosely based on the real Dennis O'Neill case. Mousetrap is coming to Broadway in 2023 for the first time after 70 years in London's West End at St. Martin’s Theatre. It has been performed more than 28,000 times for more than 10 million audience members.  Link to the Broadway play for more information. 

The play takes place at a guest house (like a B&B) where they are snowed in with a murderer.  There is the husband and wife who run the guest house, four guests (one unexpected) and two police officers.  At the end of every performance they ask that the audience keep the killer a secret to not spoil the show for future audiences.  It seems to have worked, I understand that the end has quite the twist.    

Not many people think of Agatha Christie as a playwright, but the following is a list of her plays:

Akhnaton (Play)

Alibi (play)

And Then There Were None (adapted)

Appointment with Death (adapted)

Black Coffee (play)

Butter in a Lordly Dish (radio play)

Cards on the Table (adapted)

Chimneys (adapted)

A Daughter's a Daughter (adapted)

Fiddlers Three (play)

Go Back for Murder (play)

The Hollow (adapted)

Love from a Stranger (adapted short story)

The Mousetrap (play) Longest running play Guiness World Records. Finally coming to Broadway

Murder at the Vicarage (adapted)

Murder Is Easy (adapted)

Murder on the Nile (adapted)

Peril at End House (adapted)

Personal Call (radio play)

Spider's Web (play)

Three Blind Mice (radio play and short story) became Mousetrap

Towards Zero (adapted)

The Unexpected Guest (play)

Verdict (play)

Wasp's Nest (adapted short story)

Witness for the Prosecution (adapted short story)

The Yellow Iris (radio play)

I hope to see Mousetrap at some point, how about you?

Mystery Movie - Crooked House

This is an Agatha Christie mystery without Miss Marple or Hercules Poirot and I think it is the best of her works.    “Writing Crooked House was pure pleasure and I feel justified in my belief that it is one of my best.” (Agatha Christie)

The 2017 movie of Crooked House is a mystery film directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner, based on Agatha Christie’s 1949 novel of the same name.  The movie stars Glen Close and Gillian Anderson.

"In this classic Agatha Christie detective story, former diplomat Charles Hayward has returned from Cairo to London to become a private detective. When Aristide Leonides, a wealthy and ruthless tycoon, is poisoned in his own bed, Detective Hayward is invited to solve the crime. As the investigation deepens he must confront the shocking realization that one of the key suspects is Aristede's beautiful granddaughter, his employer and former lover; and must keep a clear head to navigate the sultry Sophia and the rest of her hostile family."

This film has lots of atmosphere combined with a secretive and eccentric family for a creepy feel.  The conclusion is a bit of a shock.  It is well done and reminds me of some of Hitchcock's best work. A must see for Christie fans, and mystery fans in general.

If you have seen this movie, please share your thoughts.

Here is the movie trailor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfLpwich4AE