Témoin muet (Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie)

Témoin muet is the 3rd episode of season 2 of the French TV series Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie. It was produced by Escazal Films and France Télévisions, directed by Marc Angelo and first aired on France 2 on 22 November 2013. It is an adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel Dumb Witness.

Synopsis
Like the rest of the episodes of season 2 of this series, the original Christie detective characters have been replaced. The lead roles are taken by a French detective Commissaire Swan Laurence assisted by a journalist Alice Avril and Laurence's secretary Marlene. The action is set in Lille in the 1950s. Laurence receives a letter written by by a wealthy old lady Emilie Longuet telling him she suspects someone is trying to kill her. However, by the time it reaches him, the lady has been dead for three months. She had written it much earlier but the letter appears to have been posted only recently. The trail appears cold, but Laurence does not reckon on his mother, Alexina, a spiritualist and medium getting involved. Not only does she insist that the spiritual world can reveal the truth, she is also good friends with Geneviève Ranson, Emilie's secretary and sole heiress.

Comparison with the original story
(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read)
 * The plot device of receiving a letter long after it is written is retained.
 * In this case, the letter has a certain scent of cheap perfume which Laurence used later to narrow down and determine that the sender is Daisy the maid.
 * The plot element of Emilie emitting a green luminous haze as a clue is not depicted. Here Laurence simply asks for exhumation and the postmortem confirms death by phosphorus poisoning. There is however an apparition of Emilie emitting green vapour seen by the maid Daisy at the start of the episode.
 * The theme of the supernatural is much more prominent in this adaptation. Alice has a nightmare and also experiences an apparition of Emilie showing her a black notebook, alerting her to the importance of looking for it. When she finds in the library whereupon the place was totally disarranged by a poltergiest type event. Alice is also led to find the dead body of Daisy when she heard someone singing the song Daisy often sang. Laurence also sees an apparition of Sophia.
 * There is also a seance held after the death of Emilie Longuet. In this case, Alexina, a spiritualist, convenes one with Geneviève Ranson and Daisy. Daisy appears to have an experience where she sees the dead Emilie and Emilie tells Daisy that she was murdered. But Daisy refuses to say anymore to the others and runs off.
 * There are several other deaths in the show, at least three of which took place years before and which form the backstory for the motives of several characters in wanting Emilie dead. Daisy, the maid is also killed because she is a potential "witness" ever since the seance. Alexina is poisoned because she had planned to hold a seance with Laurence and Alice present where she would invite Emilie to name her killer.
 * The motive as revealed towards the end is actually revenge against Emilie Longuet as opposed to wanting to get her money.
 * The dog's name is Max. Here he is also the "dumb witness" but he plays a much smaller role than in the original and the Suchet adaptation. There is no plot device of the dog's ball, and there is no plot device of the picture of a dog who is outside with no key. The dog was let out of the house. The killer knew Emilie would get up to let him in when she hears the barking and so set up the tripwire at the proper time. Max is also present when Daisy, Emilie's maid, is being killed. Laurence finds traces of dried blood on his fur. There is no other serious "help" or "testimony" from the "dumb witness" in this adaptation.
 * Two plot devices unique to this adaptation are used to home in on the killer.
 * One is perfume - used to identify who posted the letter and who stole Emilie's black notebook.
 * Golf clubs - Laurence gets various suspects to swing the club as though they were trying to hit someone to confirm who killed Daisy with it.

Cast

 * Samuel Labarthe as Swan Laurence
 * Blandine Bellavoir as Alice Avril
 * Françoise Fabian as Alexina Laurence
 * Nathalie Richard as Geneviève Ranson
 * Isabelle de Hertogh as Bella Siatidis
 * Vincent Schmitt as Georges Siatidis
 * Anne Azoulay as Charlotte Ségur
 * Olivier Chantreau as Louis Ségur
 * Jacqueline Bir as Émilie Longuet
 * Élodie Frenck as Marlène
 * Dominique Thomas as Tricard
 * François Godart as Robert Jourdeuil
 * Thomas Baelde as Raoul Gredin
 * Alexie Ribes as Daisy
 * Camille Richeux as Sophia Siatidis
 * Jack Claudany as Maître Sermet
 * Bernard Debreyne as Tramp
 * Eric Beauchamp as Flic Martin
 * Xavier Memeteau as person in nightmare
 * Uncredited actor as Hubert Dambreuse

Filming locations

 * Château de Steenbourg
 * Cimetière de Roubaix - exhumation scene. The chapel at the south end of alley 3 can be seen in the background.
 * Quesnoy-sur-Deûle - final scooter riding scene by the banks of the Deûle canal.
 * Tourcoing - high angle shot showing tower of town hall.
 * Linselles