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Who killed the tenant in the flat below that of Patricia (Suzanne Burden) and Mildred Amanda Elwes) while the ladies were out at a play? If I were going to murder someone I wouldn't choose a building where Hercule Poirot resides.

"The Third Floor Flat" is a story that needed plumping out and this time the writers did a good job.

Suffering from sniffles, Poirot is dragged to a detective play by Hastings. Infuriated when new clues are turned up by the stage detective at the last moment, our Belgian detective has a miserable evening. Until his pretty neighbors and their dates discover a body.

Additional extraneous material includes some nonsense about Hastings' new car.

Hugh Fraser's Hastings (one of the delights of "Poirot") has a truly noble bit of work here.

Overall, despite the massive overhaul of the (too) short story, this is one of my favorite early "Poirot" episodes. Sometimes, change is necessary.

"The Train Robbers" features Ann-Margaret, whom I've always liked; John Wayne, whom I don't mind; and Rod Taylor, Ben Johnson and Christopher George, none of whom I've ever taken to.

The premise: one-named Ann-Margret, looking not at all like herself as a blonde, is a widow who wants to find some gold her late husband stole. She wants to return it for the reward.

John Wayne is the westerner she acquires to help her, and who recruits the gang.

Unlike "True Grit" Wayne is already on the lady's side when the movie opens. Unlike "The Magnificent Seven" (a far better movie) the gang of seven is already recruited.

The are pursued by lots of faceless horsemen.

So far, all is perfectly straightforward. But who is the stranger played by Ricardo Montalban, and what is he up to? His character is both the most interesting yet the most disappointing, as I really like him but he has little to do and almost no dialogue.

Not a bad little western, but the bad guys need to be better defined. And Ricardo Montalban's character needed to be pumped up. Why engage an actor of his talent and charm, then not use it?

Director Burt Kennedy did a couple of my favorite western spoofs ("Support Your Local Sheriff/Gunfighter") and he later took a line from this movie for a later film, "Where the Hell's that Gold?"

Though the movie opens to silence, the score is solid.