Hercule Poirot finds himself investigating the death of his dentist, Henry Morley, just hours after he had visited his surgery for a routine check up. Chief Inspector Japp believes that it was suicide, and this theory is strengthened after one of Morley's patients, a greek called Amberiotis (Kevork Malikyan), dies as a result of an overdose of procaine and andrenalin: the drug used by dental surgeons to freeze gums. He assumes that Morley had made a mistake when administering it to Amberiotis and then killed himself in remorse, but Poirot is not satisfied. When it transpires that Alistair Blunt (Peter Blythe), a prominent banker, had also visited Morley's surgery on the fatal day, Japp asks if Morley had actually been murdered but that the real target was Blunt. Poirot discovers that Blunt had been accosted in the street by a good natured but rather scatter brained and dowdily dressed lady called Mabelle Sainsbury Seale (Carolyn Colquhoun) who claimed to have known his wife in India. Poirot and Japp question her, but she disappears almost immediately afterwards. The disfigured body of a woman wearing the same clothes (including a pair of buckled shoes) as Miss Sainsbury Seale is subsequently discovered in a trunk at a flat belonging to a Mrs Sylvia Chapman. The body is identified as that of the latter through her dental records - she too was a patient of Morley's - and Japp now believes that he is hunting down an unlikely psychotic killer in the form of Miss Sainsbury Seale. But, Poirot believes that he is dealing with a clever and elaborately planned triple murder where the motive lies in the world of political intrigue and big city banking...
All in all, One Two Buckle My Shoe is a must see for all fans of Agatha Christie's works and for anyone who enjoys high quality TV drama and murder mysteries. Clive Exton's screenplay sticks very closely to Christie's novel, which was undeniably ingeniously plotted, but at times stretched plot credibility to the limit and the reader was forced to ask "Is that really possible?" For instance, this reviewer was told by his own dentist that for procaine and adrenalin to be fatal it would take at least seven cartridges to get anywhere near being so. Therefore, there is no need to be terrified the next time you sit down in a dentist's chair! Ross Devenish, who also directed this series' splendid adaptation of Christie's debut novel, The Mysterious Affair At Styles (1990), again shows that he is a natural for directing top notch whodunits skilfully linking the rich 1930's period detail with the atmosphere and intrigue of the complicated story line. Performances are extremely good all round with Peter Blythe of particular note as the extremely intelligent but arrogant and self-important banker Alistair Blunt. He and David Suchet, who offers his customary accomplished performance as Poirot, are well matched and it is extremely rewarding for the viewer in the way the two men collide over differences of opinion in matters political and in their differing attitudes towards regard for human life. Caroline Colquhoun is also noteworthy as the ill-fated Mabelle Sainsbury Seale; a character for whom we feel great sympathy since she unwittingly walked into a deadly situation and it was a combination of her good nature, plus the fact that there was no way she could have foreseen the danger before her, that sealed her fate. A case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Overall, fans of this series and those who simply enjoy a rattling good detective thriller should on no accounts miss this; and the original source novel is highly recommended too.
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