Poirot (TV Series) The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim (1990) User Reviews

It's fun but you'll figure it out

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 12 February 2014]

"The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim" is a decent entry into the Poirot series, with some charming acting, dialogue, and interactions. When a wealthy man goes for a walk to the mailbox and disappears, Japp bets Poirot that he can't solve the crime never leaving his office. Poirot takes that bet.

Mr. Davenheim (Kenneth Colley) tells his wife (Mel Martin) that he is going out for a walk, shortly before a visitor, who is his nemesis, one Gerald Lowen (Tony Matthews) arrives for a business meeting at the Davenheim home. Lowen claims that he did not pass Davenheim on the path to the house. He waits a long time for Davenheim, and when he doesn't return, he leaves in a huff.

When Mrs. Davenheim's jewelry is discovered missing, Lowen becomes a suspect because he was in the same room as the safe waiting for Davenheim a long time.

Of course, Poirot figures it out without leaving, to the annoyance of Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson). And let's not forget the parrot that Poirot is babysitting, and the book about conjuring that he's reading, two little details that make the episode all the more fun.

My only problem with this episode is that it's so darn easy to figure out though perhaps the reason for what happened isn't.

Mel Martin, a lovely actress, seems to have quite a small part in this. Suchet, Jackson, Fraser as Higgins and Pauline Moran as the patient Miss Lemon, are all wonderful. Very entertaining.

"I was talking to the parrot!"

[gridoon · 7/10 · 20 December 2007]

A wealthy banker disappears; "People don't just vanish into thin air!", says Poirot; Inspector Japp has a challenge for him: he bets 5 pounds that Poirot can't solve the case within one week without ever leaving his apartment; Poirot accepts the challenge, and sends Captain Hastings out with a list of "odd" questions to collect information.

Three things are most notable about this episode: a) the "Poirot solving the mystery from his own house" gimmick, b) the story itself, which is quite intriguing (as usual for an Agatha Christie story, the truth is hiding in plain sight), c) the little magic tricks that Poirot learns how to do by studying a book - they are amazing. I re-watched them step-by-step on the DVD, and I couldn't spot any editing tricks - it looks as if David Suchet did them himself! (***)

I've got a parrot for Poirot.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 27 October 2015]

The Davenheim's live well, a glorious house, plenty of servants. Mr Davenheim is called on by business rival Gerald Lowen. Before his arrival Davenheim goes to catch the last post nearby, planning to meet Lowen off the train. Mrs Davenheim watches her husband leave, disappearing into the fog, that's the last time he's seen.

In these earlier episodes Japp considers Poirot more of a nuisance/rival, it's interesting as the series goes on you see the friendship develop.

You can see the influence of David Renwick in this episode, a tremendously clever and witty writer, there are scenes in this episode that he alone could be responsible for, the magician at the Theatre (straight out of Jonathan Creek!) I've got a poirot for Mr Poirot.

The episode does remind me somewhat of Conan Doyle's The man with the twisted lip, they are similar.

As is always the case it's beautifully acted, Mel Martin puts in a lovely sympathetic performance as Davenheim's aggrieved wife, Kenneth Colley is also very enjoyable as Davenheim.

It's a very clever story, beautifully presented, with some wonderful touches of humour, great story, 8/10

One of the best episodes of Poirot (and they are all excellent)

[cheryl-toh · 11 April 2006]

This episode of the splendid "Poirot" series stands out for having a good deal more humour than most of the others. Poirot is confined to his house after Japp after accepting a wager proposed by Japp.

Poirot sends his trusty associate Hastings to gather information for him, and Hastings' confusion and embarrassment is rather amusing. To add to the hilarity, Poirot occupies himself trying to learn magic tricks, and furthermore receives a pet animal to babysit.

This is a wonderful tale and all our favourite sidekicks (Hastings, Japp and Lemon) have significant roles. You will undoubtedly enjoy it - the plot is most ingenious and you'll be laughing out loud too!

My favorite episode

[kaberi-893-642316 · 10/10 · 26 September 2015]

One of the things I judge these episodes by, especially the adaptations of the short stories, are the various extra touches they add that don't come from the original stories themselves. This episode distinguishes itself by having a barrage of extras, each one amusing in itself, but together, an ideal recipe for such a marvelous series.

The plot in itself is fairly minimal. Mr. Davenheim, a wealthy banker, walked away from his home one afternoon and has not been seen since. Suspicion falls on a business rival of his that visited the house on the day of his disappearance; there is some reason to believe that the rival has done away with Mr. Davenheim, but if so, where is the body? Japp makes a wager with Poirot: if he can solve the mystery in 7 days without leaving his apartment, Japp will give him 5 pounds. "Like robbing a baby", chuckles Japp as he leaves. But, not surprisingly, by employing Hastings as his substitute eyes and ears, Poirot arrives at the solution.

But the extras! The fact that Mr. Lowen, Mr. Davenheim's rival, is a budding race car driver, so that Hastings gets to visit the track, witness a race, and briefly sit in a race car himself. The very appropriate comparison of Davenheim's disappearance to a conjuring trick has Poirot spending the episode consulting The Boy's Book of Conjuring, and practicing a series of well-timed tricks all along. And the temporary addition to Poirot's entourage of a parrot allows for one of the best exchanges in the series (Poirot: Do not fraternize with that creature. I am still training him. Hastings: It's only a parrot. Poirot: I was talking to the parrot.) Genius! Another good line that was not an extra, but a slight variation on Christie's original story: Poirot, as he finally accepts the 5 pounds from Japp for having solved the mystery, says "Like robbing a baby". An excellent line to top off an excellent episode.

Wonderful plot and great dialogue equals a great episode

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 21 May 2010]

The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim is one of my favourite "shorter" Poirot episodes. The only flaw I could see was that the duel identity got somewhat obvious a little too early.

But what does compensate hugely are:

a) the sumptuous production values, the costumes, sets and scenery are all superb and the photography is marvellous.

b) love the music, the main theme is iconic and not annoying, but the use of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture was perfect.

c) The plot is wonderful, I was gripped from start to finish and while there was plenty of suspense there were some great humorous moments as well.

d) the dialogue is great, it is thought-provoking but there are some hilarious bits as well. Poirot's indignant "I was talking to the parrot" has to be one of the funniest quotes ever in a Poirot episode, it was certainly a breath of fresh air.

e) the acting is as usual of high calibre. David Suchet is of course brilliant, and Hugh Fraser and Phillip Jackson are both amusing as Hastings and Japp. Pauline Moran plays her role of Miss Lemon with efficiency, while Kenneth Colley is very good as Matthew Davenheim.

Overall, this is a great episode, with a wonderful plot and some great dialogue. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Unmissable viewing for fans of first rate period detective drama.

[jamesraeburn2003 · 10/10 · 9 July 2018]

A prominent banker called Matthew Davenheim (Kenneth Colley) walked out of his house one evening and has not been seen or heard of since. His wife Charlotte (Mel Martin) says that he was expecting an arch business rival called Gerald Lowen (Tony Mathews) to arrive for a meeting and he had walked to the station to meet him. But, when Lowen finally appeared at their house he swore that he had not passed Davenheim in the lane. After waiting for several hours for him to arrive, Lowen finally became inpatient and left. Charlotte called in the police led by Chief Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) of the Yard and they found Davenheim's safe forced open and the contents, including money and some priceless jewellery, gone. After a nearby lake was dredged, a suit of clothes was found by the police and Charlotte identifies them as those worn by her husband at the time of his disappearance, which forces Japp to concede that he might be dead - in fact, murdered. Inevitably suspicion falls upon Gerald Lowen who is further implicated by the appearance on the scene of a tramp and petty thief called Billy Kellett. Lowen races motorcars and when Japp and his team went to the racetrack to question him, Kellett appeared and tried to make off with the chief inspector's wallet, but was caught red handed. He is searched and is found to be in possession of Davenheim's signet ring. When Japp asks him how he came by it, Kellett says that he had been resting by the lake and that a person matching the description of Lowen had tossed it over a hedge. Kellett later identifies Lowen as the man at an ID parade and he is duly arrested on suspicion of murder. Now, Japp had bet his old friend Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) five pounds that he could not solve the mystery without leaving his flat, and Poirot, who has sent Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser) out to question all the relevant people and to conduct a search of the Davenheim house, is about to blow Japp's case out of the water. Poirot needs the answers to the following questions before he can solve the case. Why did Davenheim on the night of his disappearance go into his study and play Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture at full blast on his gramophone? Why did a man who always wore a beard keep a shaving razor in his bathroom cabinet and why did Davenheim sleep in a separate bedroom from his wife following his recent trip to South Africa?

The Disappearance Of Mr Davenheim is a first rate example of this wonderful series at its peak. It is certainly unmissable viewing for fans of first class period detective drama. It has an ingenious plot, which leads to a very satisfying denouement that takes us completely by surprise thanks to David Renwick's subtle dramatization. His screenplay allows for some cracking chemistry between Poirot and Chief Inspector Japp like when the latter takes out a wager with the detective challenging him to solve the case without leaving his luxurious art deco pad in London. Of course, Poirot rises to the challenge and succeeds. This scenario allows David Suchet the golden opportunity to push his considerable acting talents to the limit in bringing out his character's eccentricities, nuances and intelligence, which he does with considerable relish. There are moments of delightful comedy too between Suchet's Poirot and Hugh Fraser's Captain Hastings too like when the former reluctantly agrees to adopt a parrot for a neighbour who has gone away. "Do not fraternise with that creature, I am still training him", says Poirot and Hastings thinks that he is telling him not to mess with the parrot. But, Poirot replies "I was talking to the parrot."

In addition to the fine performances from David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson and Pauline Moran as Poirot's secretary Miss Lemon, Kenneth Colley who is perfectly cast as the villainous banker Matthew Davenheim deserves praise as does everyone else in the cast - even down to the most minor of roles. Andrew Grieve's direction finely balances the humour with absorbing detective drama; while Ivan Strasberg's lighting and Carlotta Barrow's set decoration combine to create a rich period flavour (the 1930's) that adds to the overall sense of the mysteriousness.

"I know it's a rather odd question, but a rather odd person would like to know."

[bensonmum2 · 8/10 · 24 July 2015]

Mr. Mathew Davenheim walks out his front door, into the fog, and disappears. Hercule Poirot bets his friend, Chief Inspector Japp, that within seven days he can solve the mystery of the missing Mr. Davenheim without leaving the comforts of his home.

The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim is a top notch episode. It's got most everything you could want in a Poirot episode: an interesting set-up, solid acting from the regular cast, excellent period detail (those cars were amazing), nice locations, Mel Martin, Poirot's magic tricks, and some cracking good dialogue. The dialogue, in particular, really stands out. Most everyone has mentioned the "I was talking to the parrot" line - and I agree, it's hysterical. Equally enjoyable are some of Hastings' lines as he's collecting information and clues for Poirot. When Hastings has to go back to speak with Mrs. Davenheim and ask about her and her husband's sleeping arrangements - it's laugh out loud funny. Overall, a well constructed and acted episode.

The only problem I have is how easy it is to solve the mystery. I agree with Poirot, all you need are about three clues to solve the entire thing. And as a viewer of the events leading up to Mr. Davenheim's disappearance, the mystery can be solved even quicker. I think I solved most of the case the moment he stepped out of his front door and headed into the fog. Still, it's a very nice episode.

Poirot, the missing banker, the bet and the parrot

[grantss · 7/10 · 1 August 2016]

A wealthy banker, Mathew Davenheim, disappears. He was last seen by his wife, leaving the grounds of his home. Suspicion falls on the head of Mr Davenheim's long-time business rival Gerald Lowen. Chief Inspector Japp gets Poirot involved in the case. However, due to some intellectual bravado by Poirot, he and Japp have a wager that Poirot can't solve the case without leaving his flat, resulting in Poirot being confined to his flat for seven days. This leaves Hastings to gather the clues, and we know how good a sleuth he is... Meanwhile, in between trying to solve the case, Poirot is working on conjuring tricks and looking after a friend's parrot.

Reasonably intriguing, though my first instinct regarding what happened proved to be the right one, meaning it is not really that difficult a mystery. The parrot sub-plot proved to be quite entertaining and gives us some great jokes. As always, Hastings' sleuthing is a source of amusement.

The parrot is (almost) the star

[michael-1151 · 9/10 · 10 February 2021]

What a great episode of a superbly acted series, beautifully dramatised by David Renwick, whose witty lines characterise and embellish Agatha Christie's excellent story.

Mr. Davenheim (Kenneth Colley), looking somewhat like an Edwardian king on a postage stamp, with distinguished beard and flower in buttonhole, tells his wife (Mel Martin) that he is going to post a letter and will meet a business rival arriving at the local railway station, Gerald Lowen (Tony Matthews).

Lowen arrives - but says he has not passed Davenheim on the only path to the station and after waiting for more than an hour, departs in a huff.

Police are called when Davenheim fails to turn up at all, Lowen becomes chief suspect because the family jewels are found to be missing from the safe in the room he was waiting in, the weighty safe having been prised open - it is cleverly subsequently revealed, while Tchaikovsky's majestic 1812 Overture is being played on the gramophone.

Poirot bets a fiver with Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) that he can solve the mystery without leaving his flat - and amusingly is joined by Japp's parrot for the duration, leading to an iconic exchange with Hastings in which he makes a demeaning remark, assumed to refer to the parrot, which he then says is aimed at him. Highly reminiscent of the Spitting Image sketch with Margaret Thatcher in a restaurant asked to order vegetables, saying (with reference to her cabinet around the restaurant table) they'll order for themselves!

The denouement, which other - clearly superior sleuths - apparently guessed early on, was a surprise to me. And how pleasing there were no dead bodies to worry about throughout the episode. It always amazes me how an invitation to Poirot for a weekend away, invariably leads to a significant increase in business for the local undertaker.

When Poirot receives the parrot at the door of his flat, the delivery man's dialogue - 'a Poirot for Mr Parrot' or words to that effect - is hilarious.

A superb hour of entertainment, performed by the inimitable David Suchet and ensemble to a very high standard. Unmissable.

A Disappearance to Conjure With.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 4 May 2014]

Here's what we know so far. The victim, Mr. Daqvenheim, was found by a servant on the garden path precisely at 4:15 in the afternoon, with his limbs splayed, his clothes torn to shreds, and his hair matted with dried blood.

Sometime later, after cleaning himself up, he was murdered.

It's an enjoyable mystery, with plenty of Poirot, Hastings, Japp, and Miss Lemon. I found it especially enjoyable because I could more or less figure it out before Poirot did. Well -- the general picture anyway. He must not be as hot as everyone thinks because I'm pretty dull and I got there first.

The chief organism of interest is a parrot that someone sends to Poirot as a gift. Announces the delivery man: "A par-ROT for Mister Poy-rot." Poirot doesn't believe that "small animals belong in the house of a detective" but he keeps it around, despite its occasional squawk. The parrot figures in two comic exchanges that, if you're not expecting them, may go unnoticed.

Poirot is at his desk, practicing tricks he's picked up from "A Boy's Book of Conjuring." Hastings is fiddling with the parrot in its cage. Without looking up, Poirot remarks: "Please do not pay attention to that creature. I still have him in training." Hasting objects: "It's only a parrot." Poirot: "I was talking to the parrot." Comic business Number Two. Hastings and Japp are Poirot's dinner guests and the self-satisfied host brings a platter of roast chicken to the table. Poirot begins sharpening the carving knife and the parrot sets up an hysterical caterwauling. The host pauses and glances with irritation out of the sides of his eyes, then begins to carve the chicken to pieces with great relish.

There is another undecorated humorous moment. Since Poirot is unable to leave his flat, he has Hasting doing his snooping for him. When the dinner is served, Poirot remarks that there is one more datum he needs. Did the victim and his wife sleep together or did they have separate bed chambers? Poirot continues with the task at hand, but Japp stops and slowly turns to look at Hastings, who is aghast.

The mystery itself is typical for the series. A man walking down a lane in the fog disappears and his business rival shows up for a meeting that never takes place and leaves in a low English dudgeon. So what happened? Did the rival visitor meet his victim on the foggy lane, murder him, dispose of the body, and carry on with some sort of nefarious plan? Poirot bets Japp that he can solve the case without leaving his flat, which accounts for the time given over to Poirot's card tricks and cooking.

Hastings does the legwork in this Poirot mystery

[SimonJack · 8/10 · 6 June 2019]

Hercule Poirot's sidekick, Captain Hastings, has a lot of running around to do in "The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim." That's because Poirot has accepted a five-pound wager by Chief Inspector Japp that he, Poirot, could not solve a case without leaving his apartment. So, Hastings has to do his checking of the crime scene, interview suspects, and otherwise hunt for clues. He can then pass information on to Poirot at his apartment.

With that condition hanging over the plot, there are some scenes that are very funny as Japp and Hastings pass each other between interviewees and crime scene checks. Miss Lemon is also in this Agatha Christie story of her famous Belgian super sleuth,

The plot itself is an interesting one, and somewhat intriguing. But, as with the few other Christie mysteries that don't have a large number of characters, it's less taxing trying to figure out what happened. Although I didn't have all the details figured out in this case, shortly after Poirot said he had it solved, I was able to guess and understand who was the villain before Poirot revealed the whole solution.

One thing in this film was a bit unnerving to me. The Davenheim house was of more modern architecture, painted white, and with lots of glass. This particular place used here was in Joldwynds, Surrey, UK, which was used in another Poirot mystery, "The Theft of the Royal Ruby." But a house or house very similar to it have been used in a few other Christie mysteries. While they surely exist and some people do live in homes like those, they don't seem quite real for the English countryside of the 1920s and 1930s.

Here are some favorite lines from this film.

Hercule Poirot, "One must always seek the truth from within."

Miss Lemon, "You do like birds, don't you, Mr. Poirot? Hercule Poirot, "Miss Lemon, small animals have no part to play in the home life of a private detective from Belgium... Except, of course, as a source of nourishment."

Hercule Poirot, "And please do not fraternize with that creature. I am still training him." Captain Hastings, "It's only a parrot." Poirot, "I was talking to the parrot."

Following my hunches

[ygwerin1 · 7/10 · 8 July 2023]

Agatha Christie is one of those authoresses, that for me remains well known though unread, her fictional characters are similarly well recognisable, but I am totally unfamiliar with the authors own description.

I continue to content myself with the various depictions, hitherto on the big screen but now lately on the box.

I had skipped the ITV television series with, David Suchet, as the eponymous Belgium sleuth, but of late I have been catching up with lost time, and going through all of the episodes.

I am discovering just what I have been missing all this while, and altogether I find it most entertaining, I have no way of knowing whether the episodes, bare any relation whatsoever to the written stories.

But to me that doesn't matter at all, what I get is the sense of place and time, with every facet of clothes and appearances, the housing and decor, the streets and surroundings.

The characters of Poirot, Hastings, Miss Lemon, and Chief Inspector Japp, and the perfect characterisations from all of the actors, makes each episode a joy to behold.

Something that I find particularly satisfying is the timescale, of each episode being encapsulated within an hour. This time constraint is crucial because they, have to be written and choreographed perfectly. And to my mind they are with absolutely, nothing whatsoever surplus to requirements, which is more than I can say for other television profferings.

Normally I find myself really non the wiser, in watching an episode as to who, may or not be the guilty party, but for possibly the first time I felt an inkling, within this episode.

I actually found myself have a questioning, thought about a totally unlikely character, through to roughly three quarters of the way, I found myself expressing my thoughts regarding the same person.

I fully confess to being like Hastings and Japp, about the cases particular perambulations, but nonetheless my well hunch was accurate. Which I found a particularly satisfying ending to another exemplary episode.

Incredibly Clever

[Warin_West-El · 10/10 · 2 May 2023]

This episode had everything that I haven't seen in other crime dramas. The most important of which was a wonderful sense of humor. Also a source of interest was Poirot's mastery of slight of hand. Which dovetailed with the criminal's legerdemain in this episode.

As the story progressed Poirot continued to do magic tricks and as others have said, if there were any cuts during those maneuvers the editing was flawless.

Many people have said this was a rather easy mystery to figure out, although I didn't. However, that's not what makes this episode such a great story. The tempo is measured but upbeat, the script is consistently humorous and the final scene is truly the icing on the cake. I loved it.

The mysterious yellow box

[schappe1 · 9/10 · 23 January 2008]

My DVD copy of this has a little yellow box flash on the left side of the screen when Poirot is doing the card trick, (the shot where they are standing with Ms. Lemon in the foreground). I think it's the misplaced leftover of a procedure, (I don't know the details of these things), for removing something from the image. I think what they removed was a wire that delivered the card to Mr. Suchet's hand and back.

I fully agree that this is one of the series' best episodes, except that it's obvious the actor playing the villain is playing a dual role. Perhaps if they did a little more make-up around the eyes and nose. The beard doesn't quite do it.

Parrots & detectives

[mirkobozic · 8/10 · 27 January 2019]

This delightful story is from season 2, and it has all the qualities that were the show's hallmark throughout all the seasons: David Suchet's iconic performance, great supporting characters with well-developed traits and backgrounds of their own, marvellous production design with equally good costume design. Here we're treated to the mystery of a missing wealthy banker, and Poirot and Hastings make a wager that the former can solve the case without leaving the house. Of course, Poirot delivers, but the charm of this episode is in the subplots, like uncomfortable relationship between Poirot and a parrot he's been given as a pet, where he says that something like that "has no place in the home of a Belgian detective". Some of the best lines in the whole series are indeed delivered here, like the one where Poirot says to Hastings "I'm not talking to the parrot". Unexpectedly fun to watch, some of the short episodes prove to be as remarkable as the longer formats. My sincere recommendations.

Good script

[SethSchorr · 8/10 · 26 February 2021]

I generally enjoy these mysteries but this one has some particularly good lines. I don't want to spoil the enjoyment of hearing them and certainly taken out of context would serve ill of them, but I would definitely say that one should watch this episode. It is not a great mystery, but I do think one should see it.

The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 19 August 2018]

The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim was adapted by David Renwick who would go on the create the television series Jonathan Creek. You can see Renwick's influence in this episode rather clearly. Poirot acquires an interest in conjuring and then there is the famous quip from a delivery man. A poirot for Mr Parrot!

Mr Davenheim (Kenneth Colley) is a wealthy banker living in a splendid house in the country. One day after listening to a record of the 1812 Overture, he tells his wife that he is going out for a walk. Davenheim is due to meet a man arriving by train for a business meeting at his house.

Mr Davenheim never returns. Inspector Japp wagers Poirot that he cannot solve this case in seven days without leaving his apartment. Poirot gets his tiny grey cells to whirl while Hastings does the legwork on his behalf.

The biggest problem with this episode is that the guest actor is distinctive looking having appeared in a Star Wars film and sent poor Bob Hoskins to the gallows in Pennies from Heaven. Therefore having him play dual roles was a bit of a giveaway and disappointing.

Disappearance mystery

[safenoe · 8/10 · 23 April 2024]

I'm enjoying very much watching the early episodes of Poirot, especially with the Scooby gang intact (I don't really care for the episodes when Captain Hastings, Chief Inspector Japp and Miss Lemon were unjustifiably sent to exile towards the end of the series). Here there's a friendly bet where Poirot is up against Japp to solve the mystery of the missing banker, whilst Poirot is stuck in his home with a parrot parroting his lines. Anyway, I never expected the ending, and it would have made M. Night Shyamalan proud for sure. Anyway, I look forward to seeing more of the early episodes of Poirot.