Hercule Poirot is at his country cottage, his escape from London on the weekends. He is invited to dinner at the nearby mansion of Sir Henry and Lady Lucy Angkatell. Also present are Gerda Christow, Henrietta Savernake, Edward Angkatell and Midge Hardcastle - all related in some way to at least one of the Angkatells - and John Christow, Gerda's husband. Henrietta is secretly having an affair with John and John is looking for a good time to tell his wife. After the dinner a woman appears to ask for matches. She is Veronica Clay, a neighbour and famous actress, and someone who was engaged to John Christow 12 years earlier. The next day, John is found murdered, shot to death, with his wife standing over him with a revolver in her hand. She is the obvious suspect, but things aren't that cut and dried.
Interesting mystery with a good twist at the end. A few good red herrings along the way too. Ending doesn't quite have the tension and build-up of the usual Poirot mystery though.
No Chief Inspector Japp, Captain Hastings or Miss Lemon either and they always add colour to the proceedings, being a ying to Poirot's yang.
As always, some stars or stars-to-be in the supporting cast. This time we have Edward Fox and Sarah Miles. Fox must either have needed the money or did this for a laugh, as his role is quite small - playing the butler - and his lines quite limited. Seemed well below his capabilities and fame.
Sarah Miles plays Lady Angkatell, an incredibly irritating woman. Her character almost single-handedly wrecks the movie. Whether that it is the fault of the writer, director or Miles, I don't know, though I suspect Miles was simply overdoing the lunacy side of the character.