Freddie Dacres

In the novel Three Act Tragedy, Captain Freddie Dacres is a gambler, and a guest at Sir Charles' cocktail party. He lives at 3 St. John's House, W.1.

He is described as a "little red, foxy man with a short moustache and slightly shifty eyes". He speaks in a "high clipped voice".

Captain Dacres had been a jockey, and had ridden in the Grand National in the past. He still spends a lot of time on race courses. Reference is made to "some trouble", although nobody knows exactly what happened, and there had not been an inquiry. However, people's eyebrows went up a little at the mention of his name.

He is also known to get drunk quite frequently. When Hermione "Egg" Lytton Gore visits him, he invites her to the Seventy-Two Club to have a cocktail. She accepts, although she suspects that he has already had enough to drink.

Captain Dacres tells Egg that doctors, like Sir Bartholomew Strange, have too much power, because they can get people committed to institutions, and prevent them from getting out, in the name of curing them. He says that he was not about to take the cure that Sir Bartholomew had offered, no matter what his wife, Cynthia, said.

He also tells Egg that he saw Muriel Wills come out of his room the morning after the death of Sir Bartholomew. He says that she went through the door at the end of the passage, to the servants' quarters. He says that his wife says he was seeing things, but he is sure that he did see Miss Wills.

Portrayals
In Murder in Three Acts (1986), the character is played by Nicholas Pryor. Like in the original story, he has a drinking problem and is frequently shown as drunk. However here he does not have a military background. His occupation is unknown. According to "Egg", he is often to be found at the bar at the yacht club.

In the film adaptation of Three Act Tragedy in Series 12 of ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot drama series, the part of Captain Dacres was played by Ronan Vibert.