Teresa Reviews “The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim” (1990)
Fidelity to text: 4 thieves.
Every change enhanced existing story elements, including the parrot. After all, the text references a sparrow in passing. A visiting parrot is funnier.
Quality of movie on its own: 4 1/2 thieves.
Funny, fast-paced, action-filled, and a decent mystery considering the tiny pool of suspects.
A difficulty that all mystery writers experience, and Agatha was no exception, is how to begin a mystery in a way that’s new and different. There are only so many ways the detective can be called upon to solve the case.
In this case, the film opens with the mystery. Mr. Davenheim, wealthy financier, discusses his plans with his wife. He puts Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture onto the gramophone. He walks out into the fog to post a letter. His wife seems anxious. She has premonitions. Davenheim’s hated business rival, Gerald Lowen, shows up for their scheduled appointment but Davenheim does not return. Lowen storms off in a huff.
Davenheim never returns.
The disappearance of a noted, wealthy financier and bank owner is investigated. Mysteriously, he vanished into the fog without leaving behind a body or a clue.
Just when you’re wondering who will summon Poirot for a routine investigation, the story takes one of Agatha’s signature turns.
The scene shifts to Poirot, Hastings, and Japp enjoying a magic act. Or rather, Hastings and Japp are appreciating the show like normal people. They’re relishing being fooled. Poirot is working out how the magician did it, especially how the lovely assistant, wearing a large and fetching moth costume, flirts with a flame and then vanishes into thin air.
Over a nightcap in his apartment at Whitehaven Mansions, the conversation turns to disappearances. Where would Poirot go to investigate the disappearing Mr. Davenheim? He states all he needs are the facts and his little grey cells, and he can solve this case. Inspector Japp bets Poirot a fiver that he can’t solve the mystery without leaving his flat. They agree Poirot must solve the crime within seven days, and Hastings may ask questions for him.
Both Japp and Poirot are sure they’ll win; it’s like taking candy from a baby.
This setup adds a lot of action to an otherwise static plot. Japp and Hastings interview (separately and together) Mrs. Davenheim; the boatman, Gerald Lowen; the household staff; and a thieving tramp. They get in each other’s way in amusing fashion. Hastings sometimes manages to keep his mind on his work although it can be a near thing. When pursuing Lowen, Hastings discovers that they share a common interest: fast cars and racing. There are lovely scenes with vintage Bugattis, even some vintage racing footage. Poor Hastings is doomed to disappointment when he’s prevented, at the last moment, from actually driving one of those lovely, sleek racing machines.
7At other times, Hastings is forced to embarrass himself, asking impertinent questions and even trying to force open the already robbed safe. Why? Sometime during Davenheim’s disappearance, his safe stuffed full of cash, bearer bonds, and high-end jewelry was robbed. Could anyone in the house hear the thief at work?
Meanwhile back at Whitehaven, Poirot keeps busy. He spends his time teaching himself magic tricks using The Boy’s Book of Conjuring. (David Suchet performed all those tricks himself; what you see are not special effects.) Poirot shows off his new skills to Miss Lemon and to her unwanted house guest: a parrot.
Hastings dutifully reports back his findings to Poirot. The master entertains the parrot, serves a fine dinner (poultry, a visual joke the parrot does not appreciate) to Hastings and Japp, and works out the deception behind the disappearance. Like a magic trick, what you see is designed to fool you into seeing something other than what the magician actually did. The facts are obscured by flash and spectacle.
In this case, the facts are that a wealthy financier disappears at the same time his safe stuffed full of bearer bonds, cash, and expensive jewelry is robbed.
Well within the time limit, Poirot solves the mystery; he links together an extended trip to South Africa, bank failures, razor blades belonging to a man with a bushy beard, the 1812 Overture, and separate bedrooms. He insists that Mrs. Davenheim be brought into the station house to identify the tramp. And what do you know. Mrs. Davenheim is not fooled by the magician’s act. She sees through the deception. It was a decent deception too, and if you’re not paying close attention, you’ll be surprised just like Hastings and Japp were.
It’s true that no murder took place but it could have. If Poirot hadn’t solved the crime, the crown would have hanged an innocent man. Even without officially sanctioned murder, the stakes were high. The bank failure would ruin plenty of small depositors. With the criminal unmasked, at least some of the money was recovered.
I did have a few questions that Poirot did not answer. Who was the tramp’s companion? A roadside gypsy down on his luck? And who wrote the letters Mr. Davenheim must have mailed home during his trip to South Africa? Did he have an accomplice? There’s a strong scent of red herrings with Davenheim’s flirtation with a pert housemaid that could have gone somewhere but didn’t. That flirtation would have gone a long way to explaining why Mrs. Davenheim was so uneasy. Perhaps the housemaid was more than a flirtation. She might have been his accomplice. We never learn those pesky details.
This episode is a winner from start to finish. You’ll see the deepening friendship between Poirot, Hastings, and Japp. They are becoming a team. The only loss here was Miss Lemon, who didn’t have enough to do other than to feed the parrot.
