The Seven Dials Mystery
                                                                        
The Seven Dials Mystery (1981) - 6.0

This film is based on a 1929 Agatha Christie novel that involves neither Poirot nor Miss Marple. The detective is Superintendent Battle who was to show up in a few of her other books. A Scotland Yard man. But in the book and its adaptation, he stays very much in the background as a few amateurs go after the murderer. It is very unlike any other Christie book I have read. It is as if she had read a florid tale from Edgar Wallace who was very popular at the time. It has a secret cabal of men who meet secretly with masks on in a private club, a few murders, people not who they seem to be, secrets and spies. And what was truly surprising was that Christie was at times very amusing in her descriptions of the characters. I chuckled more than a few times. It is a witty side of Christie that she kept undercover. And the critics hated it. Thought her change of style was a terrible mistake. I thought it was quite engaging and found out that there was a previous book - The Secret of Chimneys - with a few of the same characters. Like most Christie novels, the characters are all upper class. She was never one to dirty her hands on low life's.



This was a British TV production in 1981 with basically a TV cast of actors that I have no clue of - with a few nice exceptions - John Gielgud who is quite funny in his smallish role and Harry Andrews as Battle. I was also familiar with James Warwick who I know from the Christie TV series Tommy and Tuppence - Partners in Crime. The production values are very much TV circa 1980. It runs for two hours and does a fine job of following the book closely to the extent of using a lot of the dialogue but at the same time taking some well edited shortcuts that were not needed.  It is well done and zips along. And keeps the identity of the killer well closeted till the final moments.



It is one of those lovely weekend gatherings at an estate where the younger adults all sleep late, play card games at night and go punting on the river in the daytime. Until one of them dies. Considered an accidental overdose.  By all but three of them. The victim's half-sister, a friend Jimmy (Warwick) and another one of the victim's friends. They feel suspicious. Then the friend is shot and killed but not before telling Bundle who almost ran over him - "Seven Dials. Tell Jimmy". And She is dragged into the mystery. Happily. She is the daughter of the Marquis who owns the estate - played with good humor by Gielgud - and loves intrigue. Now it is Bundle, Jimmy and the sister who decide to find out about the Seven Dials and identify who they are. Someone tries to steal a formula for improving steel and are barely stopped. Battle (Andrews) watches everything from a distance and solves it in the end.  He was way ahead of me.


Agatha Christie's Seven Dials (2026) - 6.5

I almost feel like I can just copy and paste my review of the 1981 adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel into this one. Or at least until the last 25-minutes of this three-part, three hour miniseries from Netflix. It very much follows that version which very much followed the book. Netflix adds an hour, better production values, a gender switch, a couple big names and a very different ending from either the book or the other adaptation. I am not sure what I think of this ending. More forceful and exciting but also rather absurd. I have my doubts if Agatha would approve. I have seen many comments on social media suggesting that this is the antidote to insomnia, but after a slow beginning, I thought it picked up speed and I ended up watching all three episodes in a sitting. And I knew who the murderer was.



Lady Caterham (Helena Bonham Carter) is giving a large soiree at her huge estate in the country. Her grown daughter Bundle (Mia McKenna-Bruce) has invited a few of her pals to spend the weekend. When one of them doesn't come to breakfast, they find him dead. The police call it an accidental overdose or suicide. Bundle refuses to accept this and begins to investigate on her own. This throws her into the middle of espionage; more murder and a secret society. The actress is quite appealing as she plunges ahead into danger and nice to see to see Martin Freeman as Superintendent Battle. Battle was in a few Christie novels. The very ending almost begs for a sequel but alas Christie did not write one.