4.50 from Paddington<!--NOTE: "Four-fifty from Paddington"--in UK time notation, hours and minutes may be separated by a dot rather than a colon sign.--> is a mystery novel by Agatha Christie, first published in November 1957 in the United Kingdom by Collins Crime Club. This work was published in the United States at the same time as What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!, by Dodd, Mead. The novel was published in serial form before the book was released in each nation, and under different titles.<!-- The UK edition retailed for : need price and source --> The US edition retailed at $2.95.

Literary significance and reception

Philip John Stead's review in The Times Literary Supplement (29 November 1957) concluded that "Miss Christie never harrows her readers, being content to intrigue and amuse them." <!-- is page number correct? -->

The novel was reviewed in The Times edition of 5 December 1957, stating, "Mrs Christie's latest is a model detective story; one keeps turning back to verify clues, and not one is irrelevant or unfair." The review concluded, "Perhaps there is a corpse or two too many, but there is never a dull moment."

Fellow crime writer Anthony Berkeley Cox, writing under the pen name of Francis Iles, reviewed the novel in the 6 December 1957 issue of The Guardian, in which he confessed to being disappointed with the work: "I have only pity for those poor souls who cannot enjoy the sprightly stories of Agatha Christie; but though sprightliness is not the least of this remarkable writer's qualities, there is another that we look for in her, and that is detection: genuine, steady, logical detection, taking us step by step nearer to the heart of the mystery. Unfortunately it is that quality that is missing in 4.50 from Paddington. The police never seem to find out a single thing, and even Miss Marples (sic) lies low and says nuffin' to the point until the final dramatic exposure. There is the usual small gallery of interesting and perfectly credible characters and nothing could be easier to read. But please, Mrs Christie, a little more of that incomparable detection next time."

Robert Barnard said of this novel that it was "Another locomotive one – murder seen as two trains pass each other in the same direction. Later settles down into a good old family murder. Contains one of Christie's few sympathetic independent women. Miss Marple apparently solves the crime by divine guidance, for there is very little in the way of clues or logical deduction."

Publication history

In the UK the novel was first serialised in the weekly magazine John Bull in five abridged instalments from 5 October (volume 102 number 2675) to 2 November 1957 (volume 102 number 2679) with illustrations by K. J. Petts.

The novel was first serialised in the US in the Chicago Tribune in thirty-six instalments from Sunday 27 October to Saturday 7 December 1957 under title Eyewitness to Death.

The novel was published in the US under the title What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! by Dodd, Mead and Co. The UK version was to be titled 4.54 from Paddington until the last minute, when the title and text references were changed to 4.50 from Paddington. This change was not communicated to Dodd Mead until after the book was being printed, so the text references to the time show 4:54 rather than 4:50.

An abridged version of the novel was also published in the 28 December 1957 issue of the Star Weekly Complete Novel, a Toronto newspaper supplement, under the title Eye Witness to Death with a cover illustration by Maxine McCaffrey.

Adaptations

Film

The book was adapted into a 1961 film starring Margaret Rutherford in the first of her four appearances as Miss Marple.

Television

The 1987 BBC television series starred Joan Hickson (who also appeared as Mrs Kidder in the 1961 film adaptation, Murder, She Said).

  • Cast:
  • Joan Hickson – Miss Marple
  • Jill Meager – Lucy Eyelesbarrow
  • David Beames – Bryan Eastley
  • Joanna David – Emma Crackenthorpe
  • Maurice Denham – Luther Crackenthorpe
  • John Hallam – Cedric Crackenthorpe
  • Robert East – Alfred Crackenthorpe
  • Bernard Brown – Harold Crackenthorpe
  • Andrew Burt – Dr Quimper
  • David Waller – Detective Chief Inspector Duckham
  • David Horovitch – Detective Inspector Slack
  • Mona Bruce – Mrs McGillicuddy

ITV adapted the novel for the series Marple in 2004 starring Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple. The title What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw! was used when it was shown in the US.

  • Cast:
  • Geraldine McEwan – Miss Jane Marple
  • Amanda Holden – Lucy Eyelesbarrow
  • John Hannah – Inspector Tom Campbell
  • Michael Landes – Bryan Eastley
  • Niamh Cusack – Emma Crackenthorpe
  • David Warner – Luther Crackenthorpe
  • Ciarán McMenamin – Cedric Crackenthorpe
  • Ben Daniels – Alfred Crackenthorpe
  • Charlie Creed-Miles – Harold Crackenthorpe
  • Rose Keegan – Lady Alice Crackenthorpe
  • Griff Rhys Jones – Dr Quimper
  • Rob Brydon – Inspector Awdry
  • Pam Ferris – Mrs Elspeth McGillicuddy
  • Celia Imrie – Madame Joliet
  • Jenny Agutter – Agnes Crackenthorpe

The novel was adapted as a set of 4 episodes of the Japanese animated television series Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple, airing in 2005.

Le crime est notre affaire (released in the UK as Crime Is Our Business) is a French film directed by Pascal Thomas, released in 2008. It is named after the French title of Christie's short story collection Partners in Crime, which features Tommy and Tuppence as the detective characters. Although the film similarly features Tommy and Tuppence rather than Miss Marple, the plot matches that of 4.50 from Paddington. The film is a sequel to Thomas's 2004 film Mon petit doigt m'a dit... (By the Pricking of My Thumbs).

  • Cast
  • Catherine Frot – Prudence Beresford, based on Tuppence Beresford
  • André Dussollier – Bélisaire Beresford, based on Tommy Beresford
  • Claude Rich – Roderick Charpentier, based on Luther Crackenthorpe
  • Annie Cordy – Babette Boutiti, based on Mrs McGillicuddy
  • Chiara Mastroianni – Emma Charpentier, based on Emma Crackenthorpe
  • Melvil Poupaud – Frédéric Charpentier, based on Alfred Crackenthorpe
  • Alexandre Lafaurie – Raphaël Charpentier, based on Harold Crackenthorpe
  • Christian Vadim – Augustin Charpentier, based on Cedric Crackenthorpe
  • Hippolyte Girardot – Doctor Lagarde, based on Dr Quimper
  • Yves Afonso – Inspector Blache

TV Asahi adapted the novel in 2018 starring Yuki Amami and Atsuko Maeda, with the title Two Nights Drama Special: 4.50 from Paddington - Night Express Train Murder () as the first night.

  • Cast:
  • Yuki Amami – Toko Amano, based on Miss Jane Marple
  • Atsuko Maeda – Aya Nakamura, based on Lucy Eyelesbarrow
  • Sachie Hara – Keiko Tomizawa, based on Emma Crackenthorpe
  • Toshihiro Yashiba – Shin Furukawa, based on Bryan Eastley
  • Toshiyuki Nishida – Shinsuke Tomizawa, based on Luther Crackenthorpe
  • Kosuke Suzuki – Tetsuji Tomizawa, based on Cedric Crackenthorpe
  • Shinya Niiro – Seizo Tomizawa, based on Harold Crackenthorpe
  • Hiroyuki Matsumoto – Shiro Tomizawa, based on Alfred Crackenthorpe
  • Ken Ishiguro – Keiichi Saeki, based on Dr Quimper
  • Akio Mochizuki – Eiichi Tomizawa, based on Edmund Crackenthorpe
  • Mitsuko Kusabue – Suzume Amano, based on Mrs Elspeth McGillicuddy
  • Tomoka Kurotani – Reiko Kimura, based on Lady Stoddart-West
  • Ayumi Ena – Mamei Zhou, based on Anna Stravinska

Video game

On 17 June 2010, I-play released a downloadable hidden object game based on 4.50 from Paddington.

References

  • 4.50 from Paddington at the official Agatha Christie website
  • 4.50 from Paddington at the new Agatha Christie official website.
  • Agatha Christie:4:50 from Paddington game at I-Play website