Day 198: Poirot, The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor

Show: Agatha Christie’s Poirot

Episode Particulars: S3EP6, “The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor”, original airdate February 3^rd, 1991.

 Summary: Poirot is summoned to a small town by Mr. Naughton (Desmond Barrit), a hotel owner. But instead of being about an actual murder, Naughton just wanted Poirot’s help in figuring out the solution to a detective novel he’s writing. Disgusted, Poirot plans to leave the next day, but then an actual death occurs. Mr. Jonathan Maltravers (Ian McCulloch) dies on the grounds of his estate, Marsdon Manor, and since he was suffering from an ulcer, the initial assumption is that that’s what killed him. Poirot suspects otherwise, as do a few other people, but for entirely different reasons. There’s a legend that a young woman killed herself on the grounds of the manor, and some people think Maltravers saw her ghost and was frightened to death. Poirot, however, believes this is a much more conventional murder. Three guesses as to which party is correct.

Standalone Thoughts: The problem with this episode is that it’s trying too hard to be something it’s not, which ruins what it actually is. You see, it starts to play out like a horror movie practically from the get-go; creepy music, lots of cawing birds, eerie lighting, etc. At the same time, it establishes that someone believes they’re seeing the ghost of a woman. It’s all very atmospheric…but unless you have never seen or heard of the Poirot stories, you know immediately that it can’t actually be something supernatural, because Poirot is grounded in reality. Which means that the someone in question is either making it all up for sinister purposes, or they’re mentally ill and commit the murder because of it. Either way, you know who the murderer’s going to be, and the only question will be why and how. Sure, those are still enough for some mystery fans to play with, but knowing who did it can take the fun out of it for some people.

That being said, the atmosphere is successfully unsettling, although again, it may make you bitter because you know you’re being manipulated. In particular, the bit near the end of the episode is nicely handled and got me tensing up despite myself. So this may be a great episode to watch on Halloween, if nothing else.

While the horror trappings bring down the mystery, there are some other things that keep the episode from being bad or a slog. Marsdon Manor is gorgeous to look at from the outside, and the conservatory is spectacular. There’s nothing too extraneous in the story; almost everything is relevant, right down to radio broadcasts. That can sometimes seem like a plot device instead of subtle foreshadowing, but in this case, I thought it was well-done. Above all, the episode continues the trend from “Wasp’s Nest” by letting Poirot and Hastings do more than just investigate, whether it be visiting a wax museum or chatting with Mr. Naughton. I’m grateful for that, both because it helps us relax after the horror-based moments (I’m not a big horror fan, in case you couldn’t tell) and because it helps save the episode from feeling like a misguided experiment. Although I will say this much; this might have been very effective as an original piece in a world where we weren’t sure if the supernatural was real or not (or if you added an ending where it turns out that the supernatural is real, but had nothing to do with the murder). Damning with faint praise, perhaps, but praise nonetheless.

Number of Tropes Followed/Subverted: Just 2/15 tropes and 1/15 subversions. The tropes are “An Affair to Forget”, although it has no bearing on the case, and “Coincidental Comment”, which actually pops up three times, two of which come one right after the other. The subversion is “Playing Fair”, because even though you can figure the basics out for yourself, as I said, the actual clues are withheld from us, including the results of the autopsy report. You can’t play less fair than that.

Other: *I am slightly amused by the fact that Mr. Naughton feels like he has to write mystery novels under a feminine penname, because nowadays, it seems to be the other way around. Although that may still be the case if you’re a man writing romance novels…

*Mrs. Maltravers (Geraldine Alexander) is given a wooden carving by someone who just returned from Africa. I think it’s supposed to be a talisman to ward off evil, but the way it’s described makes it sound like it could be a talisman to encourage evil. I highly doubt that’s the case, but this is one of those cases where throwing in one extra word would clear up any potential confusion.

*There’s a joke at Poirot’s expense at the end of the episode, but although I agree Japp and Hastings were being a little mean, given the way Poirot has treated them in the past, I’m willing to look at it as a bit of ego deflation, especially since it doesn’t harm him in anyway. Now, if they’d messed with his mustache…

Most Interesting Character: This was another instance where I picked a character by default because the other characters either barely appeared or showed very little personality. Which means the winner is;

Samuel Naughton

Yes, his obliviousness to Poirot’s irritation and subsequent insults can be a little cringeworthy, but he’s energetic, friendly, and willing to help, which makes him stand out above the rest. Plus, he’s a writer. That alone makes me sympathetic to him.