Agatha Christie's Poirot

Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989)

3 factual errors in The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim

(5 votes)

The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim - S2-E5

Factual error: At Poirot's, Hastings browses a copy of Speed magazine - but it's the August 1936 issue. The story is set in mid-October 1935 (not just for consistency with the rest of the season, but also because the newspaper brought by Hastings towards the end mentions Duff Cooper as Financial Secretary for the treasury, which is a position held in that year before the elections - which are also mentioned). (00:18:30 - 00:43:40)

Sammo

The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim - S2-E5

Factual error: Poirot reads a fake copy of the Daily Express with a big article about the mystery disappearance. What makes it a not so believable fake, besides the odd artwork instead of a picture (a clash of style with the real Express first pages), is that you can make out of the words of the article closest to the camera, and like it happens to other props used this season, it mentions the Abyssinian crisis...but saying that "Mr. Churchill himself made the only speech." Churchill was not in office in the 30s. (00:17:05)

Sammo

The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim - S2-E5

Factual error: It is shown explicitly that The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim includes the fact that before going to his study at 4:30 PM, he starts the record player, with Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture", and that the record stops at 4:45 PM. The problem with it is that Mrs. Davenheim during the whole 15 minutes stayed in the same spot, absent-minded, and in 1935 a recording of that song would have been on a three sided 72 rpm record, since 33 rpm LPs were introduced in 1948. (00:03:15)

Sammo

The Mysterious Affair at Styles - S3-E1

Plot hole: Can't fault this massive plot hole to the adaptation, but to the source material; the culprit (forgetting the stupidity of writing an incriminating letter detailing the plan to murder someone, and put it in a desk he shares with her) since there are people outside the room that are about to enter, tears the letter in 3 neat vertical strips, rolls them, puts them in the vase on the mantlepiece, and then opens the side door to slip away...instead of simply pocketing the letter and going through that same door. Nobody was going to search him or anything and could have burned it, torn it into confetti, anything, later. It takes way way longer to do what he did, which needed him to stay there in the room increasing the chances of being found out. And of course he and his accomplice do not retrieve the letter after.

Sammo

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Problem at Sea - S1-E7

Trivia: Poirot in the ship's lounge is reading the actual May 1st 1935 issue of Bystander (recognizable by the cover and with the correct page order, does not seem to be a simple movie prop), roughly consistent with the time frame of the first season and a contest taking place on the 14th. (00:07:50)

Sammo

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Answer: He definitely says "Belgian", but the subtitles get it wrong and show him saying "American."

Wblank71

Answer: It sounds a bit like "American", but listen very closely and you will hear "Belgian".

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