by Patrice Downing, Contributing Writer
Did you know the largest pumpkin ever weighed topped the scale last year at 2,749 pounds? To put that into perspective, that’s the same weight as five Siberian tigers, four leopard seals, three dairy cows, two polar bears, or one adolescent walrus in a pear tree (assuming the pear tree is only four to five years old… yes, I actually verified the average weights). Heck, a Toyota Prius only weighs 2,500. Why do I know this gargantuan gourd’s record breaking weight? Buckle up, Buttercup, because this is the most convoluted quest for facts yet. If I follow the breadcrumbs backwards, it all actually started after watching It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown last year. I followed up with YouTube videos on the history of carving Jack-o’-lanterns, which led to video of a giant pumpkin trebuchet, then a Discovery Channel special hosted by Adam and Jaime from Mythbusters on pumpkin chuckers, and finally a documentary (Rise of the Giants) about growing the enormous gourds. That doc was from 2014, so of course I looked up the current record and as per the results of last year’s national competition, learned of the 2,749 pound behemoth (almost 700 pounds larger than the 2014 winner). Also (because I’m full of a plethora of frivolous pumpkin facts), I came across an equally eccentric competition where giant pumpkins are carved out and used as canoes to see which can float and tread water in a race to raise money for charity. If it’s your first time here, I’m sure you’re thinking, “What do any of these squash centric shenanigans have to do with movies?!” A valid question, and easily answered. This column is a place to come each month, peel back the layers, dig up the dirt, and carve out the details used to inspire new releases hitting theaters or streaming. Come along and dive down the rabbit hole in a quest to discover the truth behind the fabricated, the verity in the invention, and ultimately the Fact on Fiction.
This month, following the release of A Haunting in Venice (and in honor of spooky month), we’re going to take a deeper look at the woman behind the creation of one of the world’s most famous detectives, the queen of mystery, Agatha Christie. Christie’s prolific literary career is second only to Shakespeare and the Bible in terms of copies sold and worldwide recognition. Her works have been converted into hundreds of translations and have been read on all seven continents (I was actually able to verify copies of her works are part of the collection in the library located on the McMurdo Research Station in Antarctica… while the library works on the honor system and does not actually track who checks out what, they traveled there with somebody who I have to assume read them before donating to the collection). Her play, The Mousetrap, opened in 1952 on London’s West End and is the longest continuously running play in history, even before stopping in 2020 due to the pandemic, and has since continued in its epic run. Christie’s short stories and novels have been adapted into series, specials, and feature-length films starring some of the most notable actresses of all time, including Dames Judi Dench, Angela Lansbury, Maggie Smith, Joanna Lumley, and Margaret Rutherford, as well as leading men Rock Hudson, Bill Nighy, Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, and of course David Suchet. That’s really only the tip of the iceberg given the number of interpretations her works have spawned over the past 70 years.
Truly bestowed with an amazing gift for detailing gruesome murders and evoking an equally intelligent protagonist, capable of unraveling the mysterious threads that lead to the killer, Christie wove a tale like no other. The popularity of her works, and interest into her life and background, have unsurprisingly generated a multitude of biographical documentaries, podcasts, books, and articles detailing the events of her life both personal and professional. This made it a little more challenging to pick just one specific documentary to recommend this time around. There is a science-based documentary, The Agatha Christie Code, that uses mathematical and psychological methods to attempt to determine exactly why her works are so popular (and for an added bonus, it’s hosted by Lumley). I almost went with Super Sleuths: Agatha Christie, as it focuses on the translation of her works into film and television, both past and present. There is also an episode of Decoding the Unknown dedicated to the grand dame of detectives that goes into depth covering a specific experience from 1926 (we’ll get back to this). Ultimately, there was really only one choice: The Mystery of Agatha Christie with David Suchet.
The title is actually twofold, as the film delves deep into both her professional and early life, but also explores the infamous event that took place in 1926 (I promise, we’re almost there). While an obvious choice of host, Suchet (Poirot in over 70 Christie adaptations) hosting adds an extra layer of expertise, as he lived in the shoes of her creation for over 25 years, and hence offers a one of a kind perspective. Because of his close association with Christie’s creation, he is granted unprecedented access to her home, albums, and family films as well as personal journals. Together with her grandson, Mathew Prichard, they take us through her childhood, exploring poems and stories she wrote as a girl, as well as her relationship with her parents, all the way through her later years focusing on the turbulent times leading up to her disappearance and divorce, and her remarriage to her second husband.
If you’re unfamiliar with her life history, I’m guessing that last sentence got your attention… I know, she was married twice… crazy! Just kidding… her disappearance, of course! Yes, one of the most recognizable and popular people in the entire world (at the time) actually disappeared completely for 11 days. I won’t go into too much detail, as Suchet explains it better than I ever could, but it does blow my mind how somebody with her level of global notoriety could just vanish without a rush of sightings. Today, that would be the same as someone universally recognizable like Beyoncé or Tom Hanks disappearing on their way home for the weekend, and then nobody sees them for the next two weeks. It was the largest scale search the U.K. had ever seen, employing the use of planes, mediums, the military, police, civilian volunteers, and Peter. Who’s Peter? Why, Christie’s wire-haired terrier of course, but by most accounts he just kind of ran around the area where her car was found. Obviously, not all of the search was formally sanctioned, and several interviews from the time, emphasize that the use of an aeroplane (it’s so fun to read these old documents and see a spelling like this outside of a Smashing Pumpkins boxed set) was done by a private entity aiding in the search and not an expense to the public. The press coverage is mentioned briefly in the film, but the actual typed police reports, Daily Mirror newspaper pages, and more are all available on the U.K.’s National Archive website in surprisingly well preserved detail for paperwork pushing 100 years old.
Following the details of her disappearance, the documentary goes on to detail her subsequent divorce from Archie Christie, and eventual second marriage to archaeologist Max Mallowan. The second marriage enabled her to have experiences around the world on dig sites, which clearly seeped into her later works with Poirot visiting many of the same locations throughout his adventures. Much like her earlier works being influenced by her pharmacological knowledge gleaned from her service during World War I, her later works are brimming in a deluge of details picked up during her travels with Mallowan.
The Mystery of Agatha Christie is by far the most edifying and efficient (a breezy 57 minutes) way to get background on the queen supreme of mystery. Whether you’re a fan of her original novels and short stories, or their visual interpretations on stage and screen, this documentary is a great way to gather context behind her work. She truly had a gift for creating characters and contriving scenarios to challenge even the most perceptive of detectives. Her ability to interpret intrigue onto the page continues to delight new audiences, and hopefully, due to her diligence in developing timeless dialogue, that trend will continue. And with that, my dear readers, we come to the end of another month’s fact-finding journey. I hope you were able to gain some insight and are inspired to keep digging for details, chasing clues, pursuing perspective, and finding the Fact on Fiction.
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