In the Dickensblog Facebook group today, Herb Moskowitz and I were chatting about Poirot reading A Tale of Two Cities in the recent Murder on the Orient Express film. I pointed out something interesting that I caught when I watched it:
In the film, Poirot, as in the book, says "M. Harris will not arrive. I read my Dickens." The implication is that Harris is like Mrs. Harris in "Martin Chuzzlewit," a made-up character, and Poirot has intuited this because he is a reader of Dickens. But I think the screenwriter misinterpreted the line as "M. Harris will not arrive, so I'll just sit here and read my Dickens," and thus provided him with a Dickens novel to read!
No, this is just how Christie wrote the line.
Posted by: Adria Devereaux | May 27, 2020 at 09:42 PM
Yes, it is Christie's line. My argument is that the filmmakers misinterpreted the line.
Posted by: Gina | May 28, 2020 at 08:08 PM