Hercule Poirot available to solve mysteries at an English country house. At the time of Christie's writing, it was considered patriotic to express sympathy towards the Belgians, since the invasion of their country had constituted Britain's "casus belli" for entering World War I, and British wartime propaganda emphasised the "Rape of Belgium". Poirot first appeared in "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" (published in 1920) and exited in "Curtain" (published in 1975). Following the latter, Poirot was the only fictional character to receive an obituary on the front page of "The New York Times". By 1930, Agatha Christie found Poirot "insufferable", and, by
Hercule Poirot of the story, set in modern times, was played for comedy, with Poirot investigating the murders while evading the attempts by Hastings (Robert Morley) and the police to get him out of England and back to Belgium. Albert Finney played Poirot in 1974 in the cinematic version of "Murder on the Orient Express". As of today, Finney is the only actor to receive an Academy Award nomination for playing Poirot, though he did not win. Peter Ustinov played Poirot six times, starting with "Death on the Nile" (1978). He reprised the role in "Evil Under the Sun" (1982) and "Appointment