Wasps' Nest (Agatha Christie's Poirot episode)

Wasps' Nest is the fifth episode of series 3 of the ITV British television drama series Agatha Christie's Poirot featuring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot, first broadcast on 27 January 1991 in the UK. The episode is an adaptation of the Agatha Christie short story of the same name and was directed by Brian Farnham with dramatisation by David Renwick.

Synopsis
Poirot runs into his old friend John Harrison at a village fete, and upon being introduced to his fiancée and his other friend, he and Hastings set out to prevent a murder.

The TV adaptation is faithful to the main premise of the original short story: Poirot visits a friend John Harrison to attempt to prevent a murder which has not yet occured. Japp, Hastings and Miss Lemon all appear in the episode although they were not in the original story.

However, the original story is an extremely barebones narrative by Poirot in which he recalls events from some time ago. The story starts, as it were, almost at the end when Poirot visits Harrison to prevent the murder. This would have been almost impossible to dramatise as is. In the film, events are presented sequentially with many added plot elements and scenes to add dramatic interest and create a sense of mystery. The backstories of the characters have also been fleshed out and embellished.

Comparison with Original Story
(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read) Only the two scenes at the end where Poirot calls on Harrison with the denouement conforms to the original story. The prior events narrated by Poirot in the denouement had to be dramatised as scenes earlier in the plot of the adaptation.

The backstories of the main characters are also embellished. Here, John Harrison is a philosopher, Molly Deane a glamourous fashion model and Claude Langton a sculptor.

Along with these are three side plots: Japp is hospitalised for appendicitis, Miss Lemon takes exercise classes and Hastings has a new hobby of photography. All three are cleverly woven into the main plot.

Poirot hasn't had a case for weeks so Hastings and Japp take him to a village fete to cheer him up. Also there are John Harrison, the son of Poirot's old friend, his fiancee, fashion model Molly Deane, and Claude Langton, Molly's former fiance who is performing a clown at the fete.

At the fete, Hastings is busy taking photographs. Poirot reads tea leaves. Harrison introduces him to Molly and she asks Poirot to read her tea cup. He says something strange: he foresees dark clouds and troubled waters. Poirot tells Hastings later there were two colours of lip stick on the cup, Molly Deane's pink and also someone else with deep bright red.

Harrison had earlier asked Claude Langton to help destroy a wasp's nest in his garden. His first attempt using petrol is unsuccessful. He tells Harrison and Molly that he needs something stronger.

Hastings shows Poirot his photos of the fete. Poirot looks at the photos of John Harrison and Molly. Not good at all, he says.

Miss Lemon has been taking exercise classes. She bumps into John Harrison in Devonshire Street and share a taxi to Whitehaven Mansions as Harrison is going there to meet Poirot and Hastings for lunch. It's Poirot's treat but Harrison insists they come to tea next week. Meanwhile Harrison gets a call from Molly. She has had an accident driving to a job interview. It's nothing serious, her brakes failed and she crashed into a tree but she needs to spend the weekend at a country inn while the car is fixed.

Poirot and Hastings come to tea at Harrison's and Poirot gets himself stung by wasps. Harrison tells him that Langton, Molly's former fiance was due to come on Wednesday to make a second attempt on the wasp's nest. Poirot sniffs something strange in a large tank of water in Harrison's garden.

Walking to a chemist for something to treat the wasp sting, Poirot tells Hastings his disquiet. Why did Molly's brakes fail when the car had recently been checked? Why did Claude fail to destroy the wasp's nest the first time? Who put petrol in the tank in the garden? The bright red lipstick on Molly's cup had been the clown's. Langton had kissed Molly.

Poirot tells Hastings to distract the chemist while he studies the poisons book. They then go to Claude Langton's house where Poirot tells the sculptor that he is there to investigate a murder that has not yet taken place. Poirot asks Claude about Molly Deane. He admits that he still loves her but she is not Harrisons. Murder? He can't harm Harrison, he's his best friend. But Poirot had read Claude's entry in the poisons book and he sees the bottle of cyanide on a shelf in the sculptor's studio.

Hastings and Poirot have an invitation to watch Molly at a fashion show. There, they see Molly speaking to an old man with a strange walking stick with a skull at the tip. Who is he? The viewers have seen this mysterious man several times earlier on. Poirot tells Hastings to take a photo.

Japp had earlier been hospitalised for appendicitis. Hastings and Poirot show the photo to Japp but he doesn't recognise the old man--not someone in their rogues' gallery. But later, while checking out from the hospital, Japp bumps into the old man. So he's a doctor!

Poirot puts two and two together. Perhaps the doctor is at Devonshire Street. He goes to call on him but meanwhile asks Hastings to get him some washing soda.

Poirot calls on Harrison again. He tells Poirot that Claude Langton is due to come at seven thirty to destroy the wasp's nest. Poirot gives Harrison the same warning that he is here to prevent a murder and then he departs, saying he will return later to watch Claude tackle the wasp's nest.

Poirot comes back to find Harrison sitting alone. Claude had come and gone, and had left with Molly Deane. Poirot tells him he knows everything. Molly and Claude had rekindled their love. She had faked the brake failure to spend time with Claude in the country. Poirot had seen the photo of John at the fete looking at Claude with deep hatred. Lately, John had poured the petrol from Claude's syringe into the tank and refilled it with water. So Claude's first attempt to kill the wasp's had failed and now he had been forced to buy cyanide, cyanide which Harrison planned to use to commit murder!

It is not murder but suicide, Harrison protests. While Claude had been working on the wasp's Harrison had slipped some of Claude's cyanide into his own tea. He will die soon. But it is still murder, Poirot says. Claude had taken away his girl. Claude's name is on the poisons book. When Harrison is found dead, Claude would be blamed and he could expect to he arrested and hanged for killing Harrison.

It is too late says Harrison. But no, Poirot tells him. Eariler he had slipped into Claude's house and switched the cyanide for washing soda.

Poirot had also called on Harrison's doctor and learnt that he had a terminal illness with two months to live. He may be a dying man, but he is not, at heart, a killer. Harrison agrees, and thanks Poirot for coming.

Cast

 * David Suchet as Hercule Poirot
 * Hugh Fraser as Captain Hastings
 * Philip Jackson as Chief Inspector Japp
 * Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon
 * Martin Turner as John Harrison
 * Melanie Jessop as Molly Deane
 * Peter Capaldi as Claude Langton
 * John Boswall as Dr Belvedere
 * Kate Lynn Evans as Mrs Henderson (as Kate Lynn-Evans)
 * Serena Scott Thomas as Model Girl
 * Hilary Tindall as Compere at Fashion Show
 * Julian Forsyth as Waiter
 * Mark Chapman as PC Keating (uncredited)
 * Cole Henderson as Driver (uncredited)

Tropes and themes

 * The Art Deco 1930s
 * Arnos Grove tube station (used as Marble Hill tube station) - opened in 193, designed by Charles Holden.
 * 46 Alisa Road, Twickenham, Surrey - built in 1935 by Couch and Coupland.
 * Hasting's hobbies
 * photography

Filming Locations

 * Arnos Grove station - for Marble Hill station.
 * An art deco house, 46 Alisa Road - Claude Langton's house
 * Royal Masonic Hospital - Japp's hospital
 * The Range, Dockett Eddy Lane, Shepperton - John Harrison's house
 * London Institute, 35 South Street, London - Miss Lemon's fitness studio
 * All Saints Weston, Chestnut Ave, Weston Green, Esher - Church opposite the chemist visited by Poirot & Hastings
 * Sunbury Clock Tower, The Parade, Shepperton, Sunbury-on-Thames
 * Marney's Village Inn, Alma Rd, Esher - as the Riverside Arms