Agatha Christie Specials this month
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Fred Vigeant
This June WITF presents three one-night Agatha Christie mystery specials:
Sunday June 6 at 8pm –
Agatha and the Midnight Murders– As bombs fall on London in 1940 during the Blitz, Agatha Christie considers selling a manuscript that will kill off her most famous creation — Hercule Poirot. Christie reckons she should be a rich woman after writing 12 novels about the Belgian detective in six years. Instead, the author struggles with money and is under investigation by tax authorities in America and the UK. But she has a plan: sell the novel of Poirot’s death to a superfan private buyer who will pay an enormous sum to keep the fictional detective alive.
Thursday June 10 at 9:30pm –
Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar – In the late 1920s, author Agatha Christie, bruised from her divorce, traveled to the deserts of Iraq for an archaeological dig. There she unraveled a series of mysterious murders. Looking for escape and inspiration for a new career, Christie (Lyndsey Marshal) began writing romantic fiction instead of the detective novels that had made her a celebrity. Jonah Hauer-King (World on Fire) portrays Max Mallowan, a handsome archaeologist determined to win Agatha’s affection despite a 14-year age gap. Directed by Sam Yates, the film was created by Tom and Emily Dalton, the husband-and-wife team behind Agatha and the Truth of Murder. The film was shot on location in Malta.
Sunday June 13 at 8pm –
Agatha and the Truth of Murder – Written by Tom Dalton, this British alternative history drama explores how crime writer Agatha Christie became embroiled in a real-life murder case during her 11-day disappearance in 1926. The film depicts Christie investigating the murder of Florence Nightingale’s goddaughter and how her involvement in the case influenced her subsequent writing. The plot uses elements of classic detective novels and contains references to Christie’s books, such as The Man in the Brown Suit, which appeared as a headline in a newspaper clipping. The murder of Florence Nightingale Shore and the character of Mabel Rogers are based on real people and events.
All three programs are available for on-demand viewing through the PBS Video app for WITF Passport members.
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