Murder in Three Acts (Three Act Tragedy)
Author: Agatha Christie
I have been happily meandering my way through Agatha Christie's writing in publication order for a couple of years now. I was very happy when Murder in Three Acts came up next on the list because I hadn't read this one before.
Murder in Three Acts is the US publication title of Three Act Tragedy. This story was first published in the Saturday Evening Post in six installments using the American Title in 1934. And, the book was published in the United States about a year before it was published in England. I discovered that the English version of the story actually differs somewhat from the American version, and I was incredibly curious. So, I got an audio version of Three Act Tragedy and a paperback version of Murder in Three Acts. At first, the differences were slight - a maid's first name was changed from Doris to Alice; some paragraphs were added and some left out with very little effect on the overall plot; the chapters are numbered differently, and some basic wording here and there was changed. But, when you get to the last chapter....the reveal.....the culmination of Hercule Poirot's investigation....the motivation of the killer is totally different. While the change didn't require vast changes in earlier chapters, it surprised me that the US and British copies of the story would really need to change the killer's reason for killing. Seems an odd choice.
I had to think for awhile on which version I liked better. My guess is that the British version is what Agatha Christie preferred, so I'm going to go with that one. Most of the changes were in the last half of the book and most changes were minor, but if Agatha preferred her story told a certain way, I'm going to side with her. My guess is the publisher had something to do with the way the book was introduced, and after all, a writer lives by selling their work so she went with the flow.
I'm glad I read both versions. Very interesting to compare the two. I didn't realize at first there was a reason for the changes so I had to stop and read up on the book before continuing to read/listen. At least I was able to stop fuming regarding editing of Christie's book....it explained why there were minor differences between the audio book and the paperback I was reading!
I had such a great time reading/listening to this story! Not only was it fun to find the differences in the two versions but the story is very much classic Hercule Poirot. Even though Poirot doesn't really play a part in the first half of the book, he comes in later with true Poirot style and finishes up with flair. Very enjoyable classic Christie!
The audiobook I listed to is from Harper Audio and narrated by Hugh Fraser who played Captain Hastings in the series Agatha Christie's Poirot. His voice is quite pleasant, he reads at a good pace and is easily understandable. Definitely an entertaining listen, as usual!
There are a few sentences in this book that caused me some concern....little jabs at races / classes of people I have found are sprinkled through Christie's writing. Things that were ok to say 100 years ago do not necessarily translate into being ok today. Examples: Servants being stupid, commentary on Jews or Latins, or upper class characters being quite outspoken regarding their superiority. Most of the things that concerned me were done for character building not social commentary, but it makes me wonder if some have been removed or edited in more modern releases of the book. I noticed a couple sentences regarding race were not in the 2012 audio book version. My paperback is from 1961. I don't mind edits to freshen up certain things like this. When it fundamentally changes the story I have an issue with it.
I did learn that Christie's stories were only different between the American and British versions twice -- in this book, and in The Moving Finger. I'm glad I know about The Moving Finger ahead of time....I will be sure to read both versions of that story as well!
This book has been adapted for film twice. In 1986, a movie version starring Peter Ustinov was released. And in 2010, the story was included as an episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot with David Suchet playing the detective (Season 12, episode 1). It has also been adapted for French television, BBC Radio did an audio play in 2003, and in 2022 a Swiss publisher came out with the tale in graphic novel format.
Murder in Three Acts movie: Oh dear. This 1986 movie starring Peter Ustinov as Poirot is just almost unwatchable, in my opinion. Too many liberties taken with the story. Hastings is in the cast, even though he does not appear in the book. The setting is moved to Acapulco for whatever silly reason and the main characters are all Americans. Character names are changed. The chemical used to kill the victims is changed. The story is set in the 1980s. And, the acting is really bad. Hastings is made to look like an idiot. The main characters are in Mexico, but can't speak Spanish. The costumes are ridiculous. Just....terrible. I tried to watch the whole thing but gave up and skipped to the reveal which was horrid. Bleck. Why film an Agatha Christie story if you are going to make it ridiculous?Some of the 1980s made-for-tv movies based on Christie's stories are enjoyable. This one is just garbage, in my opinion. They ruined the story.
Agatha Christie's Poirot: The episode makes some changes.Because the show is about Hercule Poirot, a main character in the book, Mr. Satterthwaite, is removed and Poirot is there investigating from the start. In the book, Poirot really doesn't enter into the story much until the last half. It also adds some commentary/characterization of some key players that isn't in the book and moves some key parts of the investigation to earlier in the story. I think this was to build the story quickly as the time frame from start to finish was only 90 minutes, so things had to move along at a faster pace. The episode does remain true to the main story and uses the British ending mixed with just a hint of the American version.
BBC Audio Play: Out of all of the adaptations, the radio play by BBC Radio is by far the most true to the original story. I loved hearing some of the exact lines from the book included. The radio drama is just a bit over 2 hours long and is available online here:https://fourble.co.uk/podcast/bbcradio7 along with a list of other Agatha Christie audio dramatizations from the BBC. The voice actors were all wonderful and I liked the sound effects. Just enough effects to add to the story and not enough to detract from it.
I enjoyed this story immensely! I had an old paperback copy of this book on my Christie shelf for years and never read it. I'm so glad I finally read this Poirot mystery!
On to the next: Death in the Clouds!
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