The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim (Agatha Christie's Poirot episode)

The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim is the fifth episode of series 2 of the ITV British television drama series Agatha Christie's Poirot featuring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot, first broadcast on 4 February 1990 in the UK. The episode is an adaptation of the Agatha Christie short story of the same name and was directed by Andrew Grieve with dramatisation by David Renwick.

Synopsis
A well-known banker, Mr Davenheim, has disappeared. For Poirot, this is a case to be solved not so much by clues as with "the little grey cells", as he is confined to his flat.

The TV adaptation is fairly faithful to the original story but with the addition of Miss Lemon as character, some minor side plots and changes of settings. Hastings has more action in the adaptation than in the original story as it is he, and not Japp, who is assigned to get the information Poirot needs to solve the case.

Cast

 * David Suchet as Hercule Poirot
 * Hugh Fraser as Captain Hastings
 * Philip Jackson as Chief Inspector Japp
 * Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon
 * Kenneth Colley as Mathew Davenheim
 * Mel Martin as Charlotte Davenheim, his wife
 * Tony Mathews as Gerald Lowen
 * Fiona McArthur as Martha, maid at Kimberley House
 * Richard Beale as Merritt the boatman
 * Bob Mason as Sergeant
 * Peter Doran as Policeman
 * Stewart Harwood as Delivery Man
 * Jonty Miller as Mechanic
 * Malcolm Mudie as Chief Engineer
 * Uncredited actor as Walter, Mr Davenheim's driver
 * Uncredited actor as Colonel Brighton, the potencial buyer of Mr Lowen's racing car

Mentioned

 * Commander Wallace, who leaves Poirot a parrot while travelling.

Comparison with Original Story
(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read)

Characters
Some characters have been added which did not feature in the original short story:
 * Miss Lemon, who does not have a side-plot of her own per se, but provides Poirot with a parrot to take care of, teases him about his confinement and applauds his magic tricks.
 * Merritt the boatman, who provides testimony concerning the night of the disappearance.
 * Walter the driver, member of staff at Davenheims'.
 * Minor members of the local Police Force and Japp's police force.
 * Members of staff in the car racing bussiness.

The role of some characters is more prominent in the adaptation than in the original story:
 * Chief Inspector Japp is now in charge of the case.
 * The maid at Davenheim's now has a name – Martha. She testifies as to the colour of Lowen's trousers and is very giggly, almost flirtatious with Mr Davenheim and Merritt the boatman. She does not seem to get along very well with Mrs Davenheim.

Some characters' backstories have been changed:
 * Mr Lowen is now a famous race-car driver.
 * Mr Davenheim does not have business ties on South America (Buenos Aires), but South Africa (Johannesburg). His wife's jewels are therefore from Africa (which is more plausible because of the local jewel mines) and also his business trip last winter was to Africa.

The character of Inspector Miller, the investigator in charge of the case in the short story, has been left out in favour of Japp.

Plot elements

 * The main setting of the story has been changed. In the short story, Davenheim's country retreat The Cedars was near Entfield; this is changed to Kimberley House, Holmbury St Mary, Surrey, near Brooklands where car races are being held. This is to allow Hastings to indulge in his hobby of cars.
 * At the beginning of the adaptation, we get an exposition sequence from the Davenheims' household, with Mrs Davenheim admiring her jewels and locking them away again safely when her husband comes home, Matha helping him out of his coat. Some background information is then given on the situation of Davenheim's business with Mr Lowen. This does not happen in the original story, where Mrs Davenheim is a pleasant, but rather simple-minded woman who does not know anything about her husband's work.
 * In the film, the relationship between Davenheim and Leuwen is much more personal than in the short story. Here, Davenheim detests Lowen and calls him "a shark and very slippery". Mrs Davenheim later tells Japp that Lowen has "hounded" her husband for several years now.
 * It is Davenheim who had gotten the better of Lowen in the past, and not the other way around as in the short story.
 * Lowen has come to consult Davenheim because he wishes to trade some valuable South African stocks (5% stake in Cape Gold) and assume directorship at the bank in return, which is his chance to get on top again. In the short story, no particular reason for their business meeting is given.
 * Before Mr Davenheim disappears, he goes through some papers in his office instead of strolling about the grounds as in the original story. He then tells his wife he wants to post some letters in the village and expects to meet Lowen just off the train; in the original, no reason is given for his departure. In the film, he naturally never meets Lowen who insists he had seen no one on the lane and, although rather baffled, Mrs Davenheim admits him to the house to wait in the study.
 * Some time later (possibly on the evening of the very same day), Poirot, Hastings and Japp watch a magic show in the theatre. Poirot does not like it and explains afterwards how straightforward the tricks have been.
 * Japp's challenge and wager to Poirot is made after the Detective gives him a cup of hot chocolate instead of something alcoholic and claims that unlike on the stage, people in real life do not vanish as if by magic. This prompts Japp to explain the recent disappearance of Mr Davenheim to Poirot and Hastings, which is different from the original story where they already heard of the incident three days ago from the papers.
 * While Poirot is enduring his enforced confinement to his house, two sideplots are introduced for comic relief:
 * A Commander Wallace leaves him a parrot to take care of while he himself is in Scotland. This proves to be an endless source of irritation for Poirot.
 * The Detective learns conjuring tricks.
 * Instead of getting information on the case from Japp, Poirot tasks Hastings with the necessary inquiries. There are additional clues which Poirot uses, not found in the original story:
 * The light grey colour of Lowen's trousers, as testified by the maid. If he had scuffled and attacked Davenheim on the walk towards his house, his trousers could not have remained clean.
 * Merritt's testimony as to the people he saw by the lake that evening – a girl on a bike and two vagrants (one of them was blind).
 * The fact that Davenheim played the 1812 Overture before disappearing. Hastings is sent to do an experiment and proves that one cannot rifle Davenheim's safe without someone in the house hearing. This suggests Davenheim used the music to mask his rifling of his own safe just before his disappearance.
 * The contents of Davenheim's bathroom cabinet. As Davenheim had a beard, it is curious that there are razors in the cabinet.
 * The side-plot with Lowen coming to the house through the garden and lingering by the window, witnessed from afar by one of the gardeners, is omitted. Instead, Hastings and Japp get suspicious of him when the says that he did not throw Davenheim's clothes in the lake, which is an information not yet made public. Lowen insists that he has heard it at work and that the police cannot really expect people not to know something like this.
 * The side-plot with Billy Kellett is retained, but changed slightly.
 * Billy is now in the habit of pretending that he is blind, possibly to be less suspicious when moving through the crowd looking for things to steal.
 * Instead of pawning Davenheim's signet ring immediately after finding it, getting drunk and then assaulting an unnamed police officer to ingeniously get arrested, Billy actually tries to steal Japp's purse at the car race at Brooklands only several days after the disappearance (and no information is given as to his whereabouts before that). Japp and Hastings attend the event to keep an eye on Lowen, who in the adaptation is also a well-known racer of Bugattis.
 * After Billy Kellet is arrested, the police find the singet ring still on him. He tells the same story as in the original. However, the original explanation – that Lowen threw the ring away because he possibly disposed of the body in the nearby lime kiln but had to improvise as the metal would not be destroyed by the lime – is not used and the issue is not addressed.
 * In the film, George Lowen isn't arrested merely on Billy Kellett's say-so. Instead, an identity parade is held where Kellett identifies Lowen as the man who had thrown the ring away. Lowen then tries to attack Kellett and screams that the other man must have killed Davenheim, but is swiftly taken to a cell.
 * In the original, Poirot is not present at the dénouement, which is not detailed in the short story. In the adaptation, he is allowed to attend the identity parade and is present when Mrs Davenheim arrives on his orders and recognizes Billy Kellett. This happened off-screen in the original story, where Poirot simply told Japp that Mrs Davenheim should be able to see through her husband's disguise if asked. Billy/Davenheim tries to make a run for it, but is quickly apprehended.
 * In the last scene, Poirot performs his last magic trick with the parrot for his friends but fails to make the bird vanish. He also gets Japp's cheque for five pounds, but it is unclear what he shall use the money for. In the original, he decides to invite Hastings and the Inspector to dinner.

Tropes and themes

 * 1930s aesthetics and lavish scenery
 * Art Deco filming location (Joldwynds)
 * Bugatti car races
 * Poirot's quirks
 * His new hobby – magic tricks, inspired by "The Boy's Book of Conjuring". Throughout the episode, he makes a handkerchief disappear, makes a 'fake' re-assembleable house of cards, makes one of the playing cards blank, seamlessly puts together a newspaper cutting he had just cut into several pieces, conjurs a wand from under a cloth and attempts to make the parrot vanish. The last trick does not work, but that does not damper the Detective's spirits.
 * His mépris of magic shows and car racing, a pastime for simpler minds.
 * Hastings's quirks
 * His keen interest in car racing.
 * His overall clumsiness and bad luck (see humour).
 * Humour
 * Japp being served crème au chocolat by Poirot instead of brandy.
 * Japp declaring that he feels guilty about his wager with Poirot, because it is like robbing a baby. When Poirot wins the bet, he uses Japp's words against him.
 * The maid's comment about how sordid moustaches are.
 * Poirot and the parrot he has to take care of. Also his verbal exchange with the delivery man who misspronounces the Detective's name and then 'corrects' himself by saying: 'I beg your pardon. I've got a "poirot" for Mr Poor-rot.'
 * Hastings dirty trousers, as he sat on a freshly painted bench.
 * Hastings being caught red-handed when conducting the experiment with the safe that Poirot had tasked him with.
 * Hastings being mistaken for a potential buyer of Lowen's car, ushered in the car to try it out then berated by Lowen for pretending to be the buyer. Just before that, Japp appears at the scene, mistakes Hastings in goggles for Lowen and asks him to answer a few questions.

Filming Locations

 * Joldwynds, Holmbury St Mary, Surrey – as Kimberley House, the home of the Davenheims.
 * Brooklands Museum – the old clubhouse and part of the former race track.