The confined world of the stage also increases tension, for whenever a character exits to the kitchen or the cellar, one wonders whether that person will ever reappear. Written by Christie, Mousetrap is considered a classic whodunnit. The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. Hogben tells her that he is dispatching Sergeant Trotter to the guest house, and that the Ralstons must listen carefully to what Trotter has to tell them. Thus the plot of The Mousetrap is a snow storm that isolates a group of people, one of whom is a murderer. Trotter takes a gun out of his pocket and points it at Mollie, telling her that she had only assumed him to be a policeman based on the telephone call. In the United Kingdom, only one production of the play in addition to the West End production can be performed annually,[6] and under the contract terms of the play, no film adaptation can be produced until the West End production has been closed for at least six months. "The Mousetrap - Places Discussed" Critical Guide to Settings and Places in Literature The play, and Claudius's guilty reaction to it, give Hamlet corroboration for the Ghost's story. The Short Oxford History of English Literature, Clarendon Press, 1994. In The Mousetrap, why did Georgie Corrigan (sergeant Trotter) kill those victims and attempt to kill Mollie Ralston? 14 July 2023 , Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Notable milestones in the play's history include: In May 2001 (during the London production's 49th year, and to mark the 25th anniversary of Christie's death) the cast gave a semi-staged Sunday performance at the Palace Theatre, Westcliff-on-Sea as a guest contribution to the Agatha Christie Theatre Festival 2001, a twelve-week history-making cycle of all of Agatha Christie's plays presented by Roy Marsden's New Palace Theatre Company. No one has an alibi, since each person was alone when Mrs. Boyle was killed. While Trotter and Giles tour the house, Major Metcalf confronts Mrs Boyle, revealing that she was one of the magistrates who had assigned the children to the foster parents. More than a decade earlier, three Corrigan childrentwo boys and a girlwere sent to the Stannings at Longridge Farm, not far from Monkswell Manor. In a discussion that examines a new post-war literary tradition, Andrew Sanders maintains that Christie's play "tells us something about the resilience of certain theatrical conventions and styles." [42] In 1990, Russian film director Samson Samsonov directed a film titled (Myshelovka, English: The Mousetrap) at Mosfilm. Why is the play The Mousetrap so popular? The action then moves to Monkswell Manor, recently converted to a guesthouse and run by a young couple, Mollie and Giles Ralston. Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap: A Fact File 10. Giles sees them talking alone together and becomes jealous. Gale Cengage Funk's review provides an enthusiastic recommendation for the first New York City performance of Christie's play. A number of Christies own plays began as novels: Ten Little Indians, produced in 1943, is based on Ten Little Niggers (1939; also as And Then There Were None); The Hollow, which opened in 1951, had appeared as a novel five years earlier; Towards Zero, published in 1944, became a play in 1956. The presence of Giles, Christopher, and Miss Casewell continues to misdirect the audience, Major Metcalf bumbles about, and even the eccentrically irritating Paravicini attracts some suspicion by dropping a poker at a crucial moment. A mousetrap is a specialized type of animal trap designed primarily to catch and, usually, kill mice. Word Count: 540. What makes her the heroine of this mystery is an instinct for truth which is shaken only slightly and momentarily when she discovers that Giles was in London at the time of the murderbuying, as the audience learns later, an anniversary present. In a story loosely based on the real Dennis O'Neill case, the dead woman and her husband had mistreated their three foster children, resulting in the death of the youngest. Vol. This study guide cites the 1982 edition published by Samuel French Inc. Get access to this full Study Guide and much more! Larger traps are designed to catch other species of animals, such as rats, squirrels, other small rodents, or other animals. Before the curtain falls, the audience learns why the Ralstons had stolen away to Londonsimply to buy each other anniversary gifts. Two stumblebum inheritors are determined to rid their antique house of a mouse who is equally determined to stay where he is. The Mousetrap opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, he declares that everyone in the house had the opportunity to commit the murder, since each of them was alone at the time. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Christie creates an escape from the problems that plague England. It has the longest initial run of any play in history, with over 24,500 performances so far. Trotter again calls an assembly of the household, declaring that he now intends to check the alibis everyone provided to him after Mrs Boyle's murder. July 11, 2023 6:38 AM. [3], A whodunit, the play has a twist ending, which the audience are traditionally asked not to reveal after leaving the theatre. To which Christie replies, "It won't run that long. The Mousetrap begins in darkness, with only the music of Three Blind Mice playing. The representative British character types, such as the nave young couple on their first day as guest house managers or the aging woman who demands her creature comforts, are familiar types anywhere. The Mousetrap opened in the West End of London in 1952, and has been running continuously since then. A large number of these PBS films are now syndicated on the Arts & Entertainment (A & E) channel. Quite simply, suspense is the anticipation of an action occurring. Especially interesting are Bargainniers discussions of passages that parody the detective fiction of Christie and others and of Christies indirect comments on the contemporary sociological situation. The household obediently disperses, leaving Trotter alone onstage. 1952: Elizabeth II succeeds her father George VI to the throne. On stage, the only concern about food is that caused by the snow storm, and Giles is confident that if the store of tins in the cupboards should prove inadequate, the hens in the outbuilding will meet any need. 10 things you didn't know about The Mousetrap - The Telegraph postwar continuation of World War II rationing, the detective solves the crime and exposes the remaining plot secrets, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "The Mousetrap at 60: why is this the world's longest-running play? Historic events that took place on 25 November - Firstpost Trewin, J. C. (20 December 1952). online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. Who is the murderer in The Mousetrap? The Mousetrap Summary and Study Guide | SuperSummary But the themes are those of insanity and revenge. 14 July 2023 , Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. In The Mousetrap, why did Georgie Corrigan (sergeant Trotter) kill The Mousetrap is the longest running play in the world. Such transformations from one medium to another provide both advantages and challenges to the writer. As Trotter, having isolated Mollie, is on the point of murder, the rest of the cast appears, Miss Casewell reveals herself as Trotters long-lost sister, and Metcalf proves to be the true policeman. Trotter returns, looking for his skis. Mollie Ralston is an ordinarily attractive, level-headed young woman with a perfectly reasonable and achievable goal: the development of Monkswell Manor into a pleasant livelihood for herself and her husband. Robyns, Gwen. Plot Word Count: 249. Presumably, someone in the house has hidden them. Christian H. Moe. He calls himself Sergeant Trotter and says he is a police investigator. In The Mousetrap, the second scene of Act I occurs the next afternoon and thus indicates the passage of time in the play. Latest answer posted November 03, 2018 at 12:50:22 PM. 1952- Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap premiered at London's West End. James Henry Atkinson - Wikipedia Her liking for Christopher, of whom even the audience has reason to be suspicious, never falters. As Trotter tours the Manor, Christopher whistles Three Blind Mice, which was also mentioned in the clues that the murderer left. Trotter does not accept illness as an excuse and is about to strangle the third mouse when Katherine Casewell and Major Metcalf appear. It is a two-act murder mystery play with a twist ending that subverts the traditional genre expectations of detective fiction, set in the early 1950s. New York: Free Press, 1990. Please provide evidence. It is revealed that he blames Mollie for the horrible fate of the Corrigan boys and intends to take his revenge on her. 2. Download the entire The Mousetrap study guide as a printable PDF! 1998 eNotes.com The giddiness that greeted the end of the war has been replaced by the realities of rebuilding the country. The murder victim was a foster parent at Longridge Farm where three Corrigan children were abused and one died. Despite their very best efforts, Mollie and Giles cannot please Mrs. Boyle, and she is almost comically. Fitzgibbon, Russell H. The Agatha Christie Companion, Bowling Green University Press, 1980. On the page the absent are likely to be forgotten, but in the theater absence is as noticeable as presence. Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime. There is a tradition of the retiring leading lady and the new leading lady cutting a "Mousetrap cake" together. Latest answer posted September 25, 2019 at 6:51:32 PM. Trotter questions everyone, but no one admits to being connected to Longridge Farm. Uncredited, enthusiastic review of the opening of The Mousetrap at Ambassadors Theatre on November 25,1952, Times of London, July 31,1991, p 13. The play ends with Mollie and Giles confessing that they were in London buying each other anniversary presents. The denouement is just long enough to accommodate an exchange of anniversary presents between Mollie and Giles, and Mollies amusing dash to the kitchen to save her burning pie. It is revealed that Trotter is no police officer at all. Many critics cite The Mousetrap as cathartic because Christie subverts the mystery genre by making the detective the murderer. 131-54. [4] The story drew from the real-life case of Dennis O'Neill, who died after he and his brother Terence suffered extreme abuse while in the foster care of a Shropshire farmer and his wife in 1945.[5]. Mollie inherited the house . Suspect everybody was a dictum of mystery writer Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christies contemporary, and Christie makes it credible that even husband and wife suspect each other. For instance, Trotter is likable and represents authority. Trotter gathers everyone one last time, asking that they reenact their movements during Mrs. Boyles murder. Eight months perhaps. Boston: Twayne, 1986. [24] Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial.