Thirteen at Dinner

Did You Know?

• Thirteen at Dinner was the first of three television films featuring Sir Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot.
• All three television films were given contemporary settings rather than being set in the era in which they were originally written.
• Ustinov had appeared as Poirot in two previous theatrical films: Death on the Nile (1978) and Evil Under the Sun (1982).

Synopsis

Hercule Poirot joins actor Bryan Martin on David Frost's talk show, where Martin's costar Jane Wilkinson also appears. That woman is actually an impersonator, Carlotta Adams, whose performance is so flawless it tricks even Martin. Later, at a dinner party with Martin, Poirot, and Captain Hastings, the real Jane Wilkinson asks Poirot to secure her a divorce from her husband, Lord George Edgeware. Poirot agrees, but learns Edgeware has already granted it. The next day, Lord Edgeware is found dead. Inspector Japp suspects Wilkinson, but she has an alibi: she was at a dinner with twelve others. After Carlotta Adams is murdered, Poirot investigates despite Japp's irritation. The truth emerges: Jane Wilkinson killed Edgeware, hired Adams to impersonate her at the dinner for an alibi, and then murdered Adams to keep her quiet.