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Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

1981 Stage Adaptation

The book was adapted as a stage play in 1981, although without Poirot. This followed Christie's trend of adapting Poirot novels as plays, but without Poirot as a detective, as she did not feel that any actor could portray him successfully.

Agatha Christie's Poirot

ITV adapted the story into a television programme in the series Agatha Christie's Poirot starring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot and Zoë Wanamaker as Ariadne Oliver, which aired in the US on A&E Network in December 2005 and, in the UK, on ITV1 in March 2006. The portrayal strayed from the source material in the following respects:

• Superintendent Battle (in the novel) is replaced by Superintendent Wheeler, and Colonel Race by Colonel Hughes.

• The basic premise of the novel has been totally changed. The novel, as indicated by the author herself, is about four "sleuths" and four "suspects." It is also indicated fairly clearly in the novel that all the four suspects had committed murder or manslaughter at least once before. However, the ITV adaptation changes this basic premise completely.

• One of the sleuths, Superintendent Wheeler himself, has a shady past in the adaptation.

• Mrs. Lorrimer is shown to be the mother of Anne Meredith. Mrs. Lorrimer doesn't get murdered by Dr Roberts.

• Rhoda Dawes causes a rowing accident in which Anne Meredith falls into the water. In the novel, it is the other way around. Major Despard takes a fancy to Anne Meredith in the adaptation, whereas in the novel, he falls in love with Rhoda, while Anne dies of drowning.

• The motivations for the crimes committed are no longer about money but about sexuality, including homosexuality and lesbianism, subjects that would have been taboo in detective fiction in the 1930s.