DL078: Hercule Poirot: The Case of the Careless Victim — Act 2: Scene 1 & 2 CSI – Crime Scene Investigation: Poirot, Inspector Stevens, and Miss Fletcher all go upstairs to the room above Miss Fletcher’s room — the room where Poirot says the murder took place. No one is there. It gives them a chance to investigate the room and learn what they can about Mr. Parrish, the important man who needed a bodyguard because of death threats. Pay attention to the details they learn here from the clues. Jittery Threats: While there, they are surprised by the return of Mr. Parrish. It’s quite a relief that the murderer hasn’t carried out his threat yet, but they don’t seem very friendly with each other. The situation is tense, so maybe that explains the unfriendly atmosphere. Laura's Whereabouts: Mr Parrish is packing his things, getting ready to leave New York. Before he goes, he expects his daughter to come visit him, but she hasn’t shown up yet. I wonder what is keeping … [Read more...]
DL077: Poirot — Careless Victim — Police protection!
DL077: Hercule Poirot: The Case of the Careless Victim — Act 1: Scene 4 Police Protection Inspector Stevens arrives at the hotel already predicting who the victim and the murderer are. However, he is in for a bit of a surprise. After identifying the body, Stevens and Poirot have the dual task of arresting the murderer all the while giving police protection to an important man who has had death threats. The man they are after likes to tease the police by giving them clues. He’s out to prove he’s smart enough to get away with murder…even with the police ‘hot on his trail.’ Come Up with a Theory Well, he has outwitted the police before, but what he doesn't realise is that this time, he has Poirot after him too... and you! Maybe you can outwit this egomaniac — this crazy murderer who is so proud of himself. Do your best to piece the clues together into a theory that makes sense, and try to pick up on more clues — especially ones that aren't even mentioned by Stevens or … [Read more...]
DL076: Poirot — The Careless Victim — Sounds Suspicious
DL076: Hercule Poirot: The Case of the Careless Victim — Act 1: Scene 3 A Logical Explanation Poirot wants to take the elevator down to the hotel lobby to meet Inspector Stevens of the New York police force. While waiting for the elevator, he explains to Miss Fletcher how he knows her room was not the actual crime scene — how it is that he knows the murder took place upstairs in the room one floor above hers. A Long Wait He has time to explain in detail because the elevator is a long time in coming. He tells Miss Fletcher all the clues he noticed that led him to this conclusion. Together, these clues made him suspicious that his first assessment was wrong. Sounds Suspicious Poirot asks the elevator attendant what took him so long. Although Johnny has an explanation, it sounds suspicious. It doesn't fit with the evidence Poirot observed. You'll have to listen and decide for yourself whether you believe Johnny or not. After listening, let me know in the comments below … [Read more...]
DL075: Poirot — Careless Victim — The Name is Poirot
Hercule Poirot: The Case of the Careless Victim — Act 1: Scenes 1 & 2 Apartment Hunting Hercule Poirot is the famous French-speaking detective from Belgium. As the story opens, he has just moved to New York and is looking for an apartment. He's told he'll be lucky to find one, but Poirot doesn't believe in luck. He believes in "employing the little gray cells" -- that is to say, he believes in using his brain to solve problems. While apartment hunting, he ends up helping a woman with her door. It is stuck. She cannot open it. Well, one thing leads to another, and he is soon involved in solving a murder. Agatha Christie, the author Poirot is the fictional detective created by Agatha Christie. She was fond of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writings about Sherlock Holmes so she patterned her detective after his. There are many differences of course, but both are intellectuals who use their heads, not their muscles, to solve crimes. These are both good examples of the … [Read more...]
DL044: Unravel the Mystery
Philip Marlowe and "The Feminine Touch" — Part 6: The unraveling: This is where the detective explains what happened and how he figured it out, so if you couldn’t keep up with Marlowe in scene 5, Eureka, then you can at least find out all about it after the fact. When you unravel something, like a sweater, you pull the wool thread until the whole sweater has come apart. In explaining the prime suspect, motives, and details of the case, Marlowe unravels it for us. Stop the show! At the end of scene 5, you’ll remember, Marlowe was desperate to stop the trick-riding act. He was sure that if the show went on, there would be another murder. He was desperate to stop Adrienne. Did he want to stop her from riding in the act, or stop her from committing murder? Whatever he knew, stop her he must! So he shot out the lights to end the show. Adrienne's Last Act: That was risky, and it brings us to the setting of today’s scene. We’re in a hospital. We have to assume that Adrienne and … [Read more...]
DL043: Eureka!
Philip Marlowe and "The Feminine Touch" — Part 5 || Discovery: When you figure something out, you might shout, “Eureka!” meaning, “I’ve got it! I’ve found the answer! 找到了!” In detective fiction, the detective often gets hit on the head and knocked out. But since he’s a hardboiled detective, he can take it; he’s tough. In fact, when he comes to, he is no longer in a fog. His thoughts are very clear, very lucid, 明朗. Everything comes into sharp focus, and he is able to come to an unmistakable explanation of the crime that took place. He’s able to put things together and crack the case. That’s what happens to Marlowe in today’s episode. It’s his eureka moment. Let’s get caught up on our story: First, Lou Bryant the stunt rider got killed, and at the end of our last episode, we heard a gunshot. Marlowe was questioning Moon, the mechanic, when it happened. Moon was about to tell Marlowe everything. Marlowe doesn’t get killed, but he does get knocked out. It looks like somebody is … [Read more...]
DL042: Micky’s Lead
Philip Marlowe and The Feminine Touch, Part 4 || It Couldn't Be Pepper! In this episode, Marlowe gets Micky talking. He tries to find out how she feels about her ex-boyfriend, Pepper Riggs, and what her take (her point of view) is on the tragic event of Lou's death. Does she see the tragedy as an accident or does she suspect murder? Although willing to consider the murder angle, she sees it as ‘out of character’ for Pepper to have committed the murder. But, she’s quite willing to finger someone else! The Give and Take of Getting a Lead Why does Marlowe trust Micky with his theory and hunches? He must not think she's involved. He has to take the risk that he is right about this in order to get more information, more leads. What he really needs now is a tip to point him in the direction of Moon's whereabouts.Moon is looking quite suspicious in this case since he left the Wall of Death right after Lou's fall. He drove away with his headlights off hoping no one … [Read more...]
DL041: Tough Break
Philip Marlowe: The Feminine Touch — Part 3 || Trust No One! So far in our story, Marlowe has heard several points of view. He got Pepper Riggs talking by pretending to be a journalist writing up Pepper's act on the Wall of Death for Spot magazine. It seems that Pepper would like to bring Adrienne into the act, so the other stunt drivers could definitely be feeling expendable — like they could easily be replaced by Adrienne. That makes Adrienne a threat to them, whether she sees herself that way or not. Marlowe also overheard a conversation between Jess Hadley, who runs the show, and Moon, the motorcycle mechanic. Through that talk, he learned that there was a lot of mistrust and suspicion within the group. No one knew who to trust. Excess Baggage In today's scene, Marlowe gets Adrienne talking. He tries to find out what her motives are and how far she is willing to go to achieve her goals. Marlowe finds out that Adrienne sees Lou Bryant, one of the other stunt drivers, as … [Read more...]
DL040: Interview with a stuntman
Philip Marlowe: The Feminine Touch — Part 2 || Not much to go on Marlowe is on a mission. He has agreed to protect Adrienne Granville from whatever it is that is threatening her. In order to carry out his assignment, he first of all has to find her and see what she is involved in. Pepper Riggs Defies Death He tracks down Pepper Riggs, the boyfriend. Pepper has moved on from racing dirt bikes to being a motorcycle stuntman. Will he take Adrienne into his act? Maybe. Well, that could certainly be life threatening, but Marlowe is sure there is more to it than that. Otherwise, why the letter threatening her father to make her lay off Pepper Riggs? What kind of harm does someone have in store for her? Lou Blames the Bike In finding Pepper Riggs, Marlowe also finds Lou Bryant. He too is a stuntman in the motorcycle act on the Wall of Death. But trouble is brewing and trust is breaking. Lou seems to fear his own teammates. Has anyone got his back? The Mechanic Blames the … [Read more...]
DL039: Marlowe, don’t let me down
The Adventures of Philip Marlowe: The Feminine Touch, Part 1 Who is Philip Marlowe? I really enjoy the Philip Marlowe character. Marlowe was created by Raymond Chandler, a hard-boiled detective story writer who followed in the footsteps of Dashiell Hammett. Hammett is the father of the hardboiled sub-genre of detective fiction. He’s the one who took the detective story from the streets of London to the dark mean streets of American cities. Raymond Chandler then perfected the hardboiled detective character. Like Dashiell Hammett’s “Sam Spade” character, Chandler’s “Philip Marlowe” is tough — he can use a gun and can take a beating, but he is also ethical and won’t take a job if it doesn’t meet his standards. He’s seen so much of the bad side of human nature that he is cynical — he doesn’t trust people to have pure motives. He sees people as being selfish and dishonest, motivated by self-interest. And yet, when he sees something genuine in someone, he responds to that. It fits with … [Read more...]