- 9 hours ago
Some adaptations don’t just retell Agatha Christie’s stories—they reinvent them with fresh twists and bold changes. From a more daring Miss Marple to a suspenseful supernatural noir, these creative liberties add new layers of intrigue and excitement that breathe new life into classic mysteries. Join us as we explore the most memorable and impactful changes that elevated Christie’s work on screen, proving that sometimes change pays off brilliantly.
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00:00May I?
00:01Oh, certainly, ma'am.
00:02Push off, father.
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:07And today, we're counting down our picks for those creative liberties,
00:10bold reinterpretations, and clever enhancements
00:13that elevated Agatha Christie's already masterful stories for the screen,
00:17proving that sometimes, a little deviation can pay off.
00:21Of course, this means a spoiler warning is now in effect.
00:25It was you, Vol, who fooled me.
00:30Number 10, Detective Bundle Brent, Agatha Christie's Seven Dials.
00:35Netflix's take on Seven Dials finally gives Lady Eileen Bundle Brent the reins.
00:40And honestly, it's about time.
00:42I owe it to him.
00:44If there is even the remotest possibility of foul play to get to the truth.
00:48In the novel, Bundle is sharp and curious, but often pushed to the side,
00:52while bigger players steer the action.
00:54The series flips that entirely.
00:56This time, she's the one chasing leads, poking at secrets,
01:00and accidentally wandering into espionage messes that clearly exceed polite society rules.
01:06And what do you know about Seven Dials?
01:09You are aware, Lady Eileen, that I am usually the person asking the questions in this office?
01:15Then I hope you're enjoying this delightful turn of events.
01:18It definitely adds something watching her drive the story.
01:21The gender swap of Lord Caterham into Lady Caterham is another inspired move.
01:26Especially since it pulls Bundle's own family straight into the conspiracy.
01:30It makes the danger feel personal, messy, and far more fun to watch unravel.
01:35The one behind it all.
01:36I fear we may finally need to have a truly grown-up conversation.
01:48Number 9. Supernatural Goings-On.
01:51A Haunting in Venice.
01:53Kenneth Branagh's adaptation takes Christie's fairly grounded Halloween party
01:57and deliberately pushes it into spookier territory.
01:59But I have seen too much of the world, countless crimes, two wars,
02:04the bitter evil of human indifference, and I conclude, no.
02:09No God, no ghosts.
02:10While Poirot ultimately explains every so-called ghostly moment with cold logic,
02:15the film spends a long time making you doubt everything.
02:18He keeps the line between real danger and supernatural suggestion,
02:22which is constantly blurred.
02:24Unusual territory for a Christie adaptation.
02:26Mrs. Seminoff, your dedication to housekeeping could be improved.
02:29No one had been in this room except you,
02:31yet my new friend left his footstep in the fireplace.
02:33The bright scratch at the keyhole indicates a lock recently picked.
02:37Ms. Oliver, you must find a new subject for your book.
02:39Ms. Drake, I am sorry for your loss, but this oracle is a fake.
02:44The setting does a lot of the heavy lifting, too,
02:46with its shadowy corridors and decaying grandeur adding to the unease.
02:51Instead of a cozy puzzle, the mystery plays like a gothic thriller
02:54that keeps nudging Poirot out of his comfort zone.
02:57It's a bold tonal shift that knowingly toys with audience expectations.
03:02Why don't you have the answer?
03:04Why don't you have the answer?
03:06You always have the answer.
03:08Why don't you have the answer?
03:15Number 8.
03:16A streamlined voyage.
03:17Death on the Nile.
03:19The 1978 adaptation knows exactly what it is
03:22and wastes zero time pretending otherwise.
03:25Only I warn you, mademoiselle.
03:28Do not allow evil into your heart.
03:31It will make a home there.
03:34If love can't live there,
03:36evil will do just as well.
03:39Christie's crowded suspect list gets trimmed
03:41just enough to keep things sharp without losing the intrigue.
03:44That breathing room lets performers like Bette Davis and Maggie Smith
03:48truly go at each other,
03:49trading looks and lines like daggers.
03:52You have got to forgive Miss Bowers.
03:54She's just unfamiliar with the marriage state.
03:57I saw you drooling over her pearls.
04:00Shut up, Bowers.
04:01You'd give every tooth in your head to lay your hands on them.
04:04What nonsense just because you've got a grudge against her,
04:06or rather her father?
04:07Subplots are simplified,
04:09motives are more defined,
04:11and the emotional beats become much clearer,
04:13tossing in moments like the Cobra Scare
04:15adds visual punch without derailing the mystery.
04:18It's less about meticulous logic
04:20and more about momentum,
04:21personalities,
04:22and building tension.
04:24No wonder we still enjoy dusting off this old classic
04:26and re-watching it decades later.
04:28She's hinting to the murderer.
04:32In other words,
04:33he was present at the time.
04:37But apart from you and me,
04:40only one other person was present.
04:43Precisely.
04:45Number 7.
04:46A New Witness.
04:47Murder, She Said.
04:48Murder, She Said makes one major change
04:50to 450 from Paddington
04:52and builds everything else around it.
04:54Madam,
04:55don't you think perhaps you had a little nap
04:57and maybe had a bad dream?
04:58Young man,
04:59I was not dreaming.
05:00I saw it.
05:01What are you going to do about it?
05:03By letting Miss Marple witness the train murder herself,
05:06the film removes the intermediary role
05:08played by Elspeth McGillicuddy in the novel.
05:10The mystery still unfolds along Christie's original lines,
05:14with the missing victim
05:15and the slow process of proving a crime even happened.
05:19The police found nothing.
05:20Of course not.
05:21The murderer returned before the search
05:23and disposed of the body.
05:26By Jove,
05:26the police will certainly want to investigate now.
05:29Well,
05:29according to them,
05:30there is nothing to investigate.
05:32Surely in the light of our theory,
05:33a fresh search.
05:34Certainly.
05:35But this time we will conduct our own.
05:37Giving Marple first-hand knowledge
05:39strengthens her resolve
05:40when the authorities dismiss her
05:42and keeps the story moving efficiently.
05:44Her decision to go undercover
05:45as a housekeeper
05:46fits comfortably within Christie's logic,
05:49while also giving Margaret Rutherford
05:50room to dominate the screen
05:52in her own distinctive way.
05:54Beef broth,
05:55baked custard.
05:56Beef broth,
05:57but I ordered beef steak.
05:58The doctor said beef broth.
06:00What are the blazes with him?
06:02I give the orders in this house.
06:03I'm sick of slops.
06:04Take it away.
06:05Certainly.
06:11Moving from Devon
06:12to a blinding Mediterranean resort
06:14turns the story
06:15into a sun-drenched pressure cooker.
06:17Hello.
06:18I'm Daphne Castle.
06:20Welcome to the island.
06:21How do you do?
06:22Looks lovely.
06:23I'm sure we have a nice time here.
06:25Oh.
06:26And a naughty one too.
06:27The heat presses in on everyone,
06:30tempers fray,
06:31and polite manners start slipping.
06:32That contrast between postcard beauty
06:35and murder works wonders on screen,
06:37especially when Poirot finally lays everything out
06:40like a welcome splash of cold water.
06:42I think you will all agree
06:43that it was a most audacious plan,
06:46brilliantly executed.
06:48The setting also sharpens the satire.
06:50Watching rigid, status-obsessed guests
06:53melt under the sun
06:54adds bite and humor
06:55that the novel keeps more subdued.
06:57The added Tiffany Diamond subplot
06:59gives Poirot a reason
07:00to circle Arlena early,
07:02setting up a sly game
07:03between hunter and prey
07:04long before she's murdered.
07:06The well-known romancer and teller of tales.
07:09Excellent plotline.
07:11Imaginatively conceived.
07:12Good, clear narrative style.
07:15I'll give you 9 out of 10, Poirot.
07:17Number 5.
07:18More Psychological Twists
07:19Agatha Christie's Poirot
07:21Five Little Pigs
07:22Christie's Five Little Pigs
07:24might just already be
07:25one of her most emotionally loaded novels.
07:28And the 2003 Poirot adaptation
07:30builds directly on that foundation.
07:32The past keeps pulling me back.
07:36It won't let me be.
07:38And until these ghosts are laid to rest,
07:41I can't move on.
07:43The structure of revisiting
07:44Five Conflicting Memories remains intact.
07:47But the dramatization
07:48makes the long-term consequences feel heavier.
07:51Showing Caroline Crail's execution
07:53shifts the focus toward finality and loss.
07:56While Carla's motivation
07:57becomes simpler and more grounded.
07:59She just wants peace for her mother.
08:01Not an abstract answer about herself.
08:03What did she write?
08:05Quite simply, that she didn't do it.
08:08She's innocent,
08:09and that I could always be sure of that.
08:12That is what I want you to prove.
08:14Adjusting Phillip's feelings
08:15to center on Amias instead of Caroline
08:17sharpens the web of jealousy Christie designed.
08:20Nothing feels rewritten,
08:22just clarified.
08:23Making the solution feel sadder,
08:25quieter,
08:26and more human.
08:27And once you had the poison,
08:31you went to join Amias in the garden,
08:34poured him some beer.
08:36To my Mona Lisa.
08:42Number 4.
08:44A Miss Marple Reimagining.
08:45Various.
08:46Margaret Rutherford's iconic take
08:48on Miss Marple in the 1960s films
08:50was a bold reimagining
08:52that breathed new life
08:53into the beloved character.
08:55I concede our timetable
08:56may have been out of date,
08:58but I'm quite sure the 715
08:59is still running.
09:00Very possibly.
09:01But it could be most dangerous up here.
09:05Undoubtedly.
09:06Eschewing Christie's quiet,
09:07demure spinster,
09:08Rutherford brought a formidable,
09:10almost theatrical presence
09:11to the role.
09:12Her Marple was not merely
09:13an astute observer
09:14from St. Mary Mead,
09:16but a delightfully eccentric,
09:17robust woman
09:18who enthusiastically plunged
09:20headfirst into danger,
09:21whether masquerading as a maid
09:23or engaging in a spot of fencing.
09:25You won't find it as easy as you think.
09:28I warn you,
09:29I was ladies' national fencing champion
09:32in 1931.
09:33This dynamic,
09:35often comedic portrayal,
09:36made Marple an unforgettable
09:38cinematic figure,
09:39carving out a distinct legacy
09:41that continues to entertain audiences
09:43despite its clear deviation
09:45from the literary source.
09:46I must have picked it up
09:47from reading your play,
09:48Remember September?
09:50My play?
09:52There's nobody of that name in it.
09:54How odd.
09:55Number 3,
09:57A More Hopeful Ending,
09:58And Then There Were None.
10:00Christie's bleakest story
10:01gets a mercy edit
10:02in the 1945 film,
10:04and the timing explains a lot.
10:06Letting Vera Claythorne
10:07and Philip Lombard survive
10:09gives audiences something solid
10:10to hold onto
10:11after all that dread.
10:12You came just in time
10:13from that last shot,
10:15and now the game is over.
10:17The tension and moral reckoning remain,
10:19but the ending offers release
10:21instead of total annihilation.
10:23For some fans,
10:24it softens the blow too much,
10:26yet it also reframes the story
10:27around accountability
10:28rather than pure nihilism.
10:30And now my work is done.
10:40Never should trust a woman.
10:43Later adaptations played with this idea
10:45in different ways,
10:46either restoring the darkness
10:47or deepening the psychology behind it.
10:50The 1945 version stands
10:52as a snapshot of its moment,
10:54choosing hope
10:54without completely abandoning unease.
10:57Good morning.
10:59Ready to leave now?
11:01Are we?
11:03Are the others ready too?
11:06You call it.
11:08Number two,
11:09A Change in Murderer,
11:10Ordeal by Innocence.
11:12Switching the killer
11:13is the kind of move
11:14that makes Christie fans sit bolt upright,
11:16and the 2018 series knows it.
11:18What everyone would want to know is
11:20what made him the way he is.
11:23You know?
11:24He'd been given everything.
11:25Why did he turn out so vicious?
11:28Revealing Leo Argyle as the murderer
11:30instead of the housekeeper
11:31reframes the entire story
11:33around power,
11:34control,
11:35and cruelty.
11:36Jaco's innocence
11:36becomes even more tragic,
11:38while the family's polished exterior
11:40starts to rot in real time.
11:42It's an uncomfortable watch
11:44in the best way.
11:45Did he say the wrong thing to you?
11:47Did Philip?
11:48Did mother?
11:49What the hell are you accusing me of?
11:51Have you lost your damn minds?
11:53It really makes you rethink
11:55everything you've seen
11:56and heard so far.
11:57This bold narrative reimagining
11:58echoed earlier successful
12:00killer switches
12:00and adaptations like
12:02The Body in the Library,
12:03The Siddiford Mystery,
12:05and The Secret of Chimneys,
12:06demonstrating a willingness
12:08to surprise
12:08even the most ardent fans.
12:10I'm not meant to kill her,
12:12but she tried to prevent me
12:14from seeing my wife.
12:17and the fiddle player.
12:20And then my mind cleared.
12:23Before we continue,
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12:38Number 1.
12:40A plot twist ending.
12:42Witness for the prosecution.
12:44Billy Wilder's
12:44Witness for the prosecution
12:45understands the exact mechanics
12:47of Christy Sting
12:48and times it perfectly.
12:50Do you find the prisoner
12:51at the bar,
12:52Leonard Stephen Vole,
12:54guilty or not guilty
12:56of the murder
12:57of Emily Jane French?
12:58Not guilty,
13:03me lord.
13:05Just when the case
13:06seems neatly wrapped
13:07and justice feels
13:08comfortably delivered,
13:09the film springs its trap door
13:11and sends everything
13:12crashing through it.
13:13The original twist
13:14is intact,
13:15still sharp enough
13:16to cut,
13:17but Wilder adds
13:17a final,
13:18merciless turn
13:19that makes the ending
13:20linger far longer
13:21than expected.
13:22You can't,
13:23Leonard.
13:23Not after what I've done.
13:24I won't let you.
13:25Don't be silly.
13:26I saved your life
13:27getting you out of Germany.
13:28You saved mine
13:29getting me out of this mess
13:30so we're even.
13:30It's all over now.
13:31Don't, Leonard.
13:32Don't leave me.
13:34Christy herself
13:34reportedly praised
13:35this adaptation,
13:36which says a lot.
13:38We don't know
13:38where you sit on the jury,
13:40but our verdict
13:40is that this cinematic triumph
13:42ensures that justice,
13:43in its most dramatically
13:44satisfying form,
13:46is unequivocally served.
13:48Let them try me
13:48for perjury
13:49or an accessory
13:50or...
13:51Ready?
13:52Or better yet,
13:54let them try me for...
13:57Which change
14:00to an Agatha Christie novel
14:01did you think
14:02worked the best?
14:03Let us know
14:03in the comments.
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