Hercule Poirot met his lifelong friend, Captain Arthur Hastings, and solved the first of his cases to be published, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles". It is clear that Hastings and Poirot are already friends when they meet in Chapter 2 of the novel, as Hastings tells Cynthia that he has not seen him for "some years". Particulars such as the date of 1916 for the case and that Hastings had met Poirot in Belgium, are given in "Curtain: Poirot's Last Case", Chapter 1. After that case, Poirot apparently came to the attention of the British secret service and undertook cases for the
Hercule Poirot with Death" (1988). Christie's daughter Rosalind Hicks observed Ustinov during a rehearsal and said, ""That's" not Poirot! He isn't at all like that!" Ustinov overheard and remarked "He is "now!"" He appeared again as Poirot in three made-for-television movies: "Thirteen at Dinner" (1985), "Dead Man's Folly" (1986), and "Murder in Three Acts" (1986). Earlier adaptations were set during the time in which the novels were written, but these TV movies were set in the contemporary era. The first of these was based on "Lord Edgware Dies" and was made by Warner Bros. It also starred Faye Dunaway, with David Suchet