Black Coffee
A lost British adaptation of Agatha Christie's play.
Black Coffee is a lost 1931 British quota quickie film directed by Leslie Hiscott. It stars Austin Trevor, Adrianne Allen, and Elizabeth Allan. The screenplay, by Brock Williams and H. Fowler Mear, adapts Agatha Christie's 1930 play of the same name.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Leslie Hiscott
- Producer
- Julius Hagen
- Screenplay
- Brock Williams; H. Fowler Mear
- Editing
- Jack Harris
- Starring
- Austin Trevor
- Adrianne Allen
- Elizabeth Allan
- Cinematography
- Sydney Blythe
- Studio
- Twickenham Film Studios
- Released
- 14 December 1931
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Inventor Sir Claud Amory is found dead shortly after hiring detective Hercule Poirot to recover a stolen formula for high explosives. Suspects include his financially troubled son Richard, Richard's wife Lucia whose father was an international spy, and the mysterious Dr. Carelli. Poirot uses his deductive skills to identify the least expected culprit.
Reception
Kine Weekly found the treatment dilatory for the genre, noting the picture contains surprises and diverting by-play, but that Leslie Hiscott's sound direction lacked speed and imagination, allowing viewers to solve the plot. Picture Show called it a workmanlike adaptation, well acted and directed, and finely recorded. Film Weekly deemed it an average thriller. Variety wrote that while not a great film, it would play well, with occasionally amusing dialogue and a good supporting cast.
Elsewhere in Hercule Poirot
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