| Murder on the Orient Express | |
|---|---|
 original movie poster |
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| Directed by | Sidney Lumet |
| Produced by | John Brabourne |
| Written by | Novel: Agatha Christie Screenplay: Paul Dehn Uncredited: Anthony Shaffer |
| Starring | Albert Finney Lauren Bacall Sean Connery Ingrid Bergman Michael York Vanessa Redgrave Jacqueline Bisset Richard Widmark John Gielgud Anthony Perkins Martin Balsam Rachel Roberts Wendy Hiller Denis Quilley Colin Blakely Jean-Pierre Cassel George Coulouris |
| Music by | Richard Rodney Bennett |
| Cinematography | Geoffrey Unsworth |
| Editing by | Anne V. Coates |
| Distributed by | EMI Films (UK) Paramount Pictures (U.S.) |
| Release date(s) | November 24, 1974 |
| Running time | 128 min. |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Murder on the Orient Express is a 1974 feature film directed by Sidney Lumet and based on the 1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. The film (and the book) features the detective Hercule Poirot. Albert Finney starred as Poirot, investigating the murder of Richard Widmark and having an all-star cast of suspects, including Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, John Gielgud and Anthony Perkins. The screenplay was penned by Paul Dehn and an uncredited Anthony Shaffer. The film's tagline was: "The greatest cast of suspicious characters ever involved in murder." The film was the first 'all-star' adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel, and paved the way for similar films (Death on the Nile, The Mirror Crack'd and Evil Under the Sun). It is the only occasion on which Albert Finney portrayed Poirot, with Peter Ustinov portraying the detective in subsequent films. Richard Rodney Bennett's memorable Orient Express theme has been reworked into an orchestral suite and performed and recorded several times. It was performed on the original soundtrack album by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden under Marcus Dods. The piano soloist was the composer himself.
Contents |
Plot
The murder
Detective Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney) is traveling on the Orient Express. During the journey, Poirot encounters his friend Bianchi (Martin Balsam), a director of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, which owns the line. The train is unusually crowded for the time of year, every first class berth has been booked. On the second night out from Istanbul the train is caught in heavy snows in the Balkans. The next morning a wealthy American passenger, Ratchett (Richard Widmark), is found stabbed to death in his cabin. Poirot and Bianchi work together to solve the case. They enlist the help of Dr. Constantine (George Coulouris), a Greek medical doctor who was traveling in second class and thus not a suspect. Pierre Michel (Jean-Pierre Cassel), the middle-aged French conductor of the car, also assists the investigation. Poirot soon discovers that Ratchett was not who he claimed to be. The victim's secret past indicates a clear motive for murder, but who was the killer?
Clues
Dr. Constantine's examination of the body reveals that Ratchett was stabbed 12 times. Some wounds were slight, but at least three of them could have resulted in death. Some wounds were made by a right hand and some by a left hand. The stopped watch in the victim's pocket, as well as Poirot's reconstructed timeline of passenger activities the night before, indicate that Ratchett was murdered at about 1:30 am. The train had stopped, surrounded by fresh snow, before that time. There were no tracks in the snow and the doors to the other cars were locked, so the murderer is almost certainly still among the passengers in first class. Most importantly of all, Poirot realises that Ratchett was in fact a gangster called Cassetti. Years ago, Cassetti and a henchman kidnapped and murdered Daisy Armstrong, the baby daughter of a wealthy British colonel who had settled in America. The body was found after the ransom had been paid. Overcome with grief, the pregnant Mrs Armstrong went into labor early and died while giving birth to a stillborn baby. A maidservant named Paulette who was wrongly suspected of complicity in the kidnapping committed suicide. Colonel Armstrong, consumed by these tragedies, later killed himself as well. Cassetti's accomplice was arrested and executed, but Cassetti himself fled the country. (The fictitious Armstrong case was inspired by the real-life kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh's baby son.)
Suspects
The thirteen suspects are:
- Hector McQueen (Anthony Perkins), a tall, young American man, the victim's secretary and translator.
- Edward Beddoes (Sir John Gielgud), the victim's British valet.
- Mary Debenham (Vanessa Redgrave), a young British woman, returning home to England after working as a teacher in Baghdad.
- Colonel Arbuthnot (Sean Connery), a British army officer returning to England on leave from India.
- Princess Natalya Dragomiroff (Wendy Hiller), an elderly Russian grande dame.
- Hildegarde Schmidt (Rachel Roberts), a middle-aged German woman, the Princess' personal maid.
- Count Rudolf Andrenyi (Michael York), a Hungarian diplomat with English manner and clothing, on his way to France.
- Countess Elena Andrenyi (Jacqueline Bisset), née Gründwald, his beautiful young wife.
- Greta Ohlsson (Ingrid Bergman), a middle-aged Swedish missionary returning to Europe on a fund-raising trip for her mission in Africa.
- Mrs. Harriet Belinda Hubbard (Lauren Bacall), an older, very talkative American woman returning to the United States.
- Gino Foscarelli (Denis Quilley), an exuberant Italian car salesman from Chicago.
- Cyrus "Dick" Hardman (Colin Blakely), a Pinkerton's detective masquerading as a talent agent.
- Pierre Michel (Jean-Pierre Cassel), the French conductor of the sleeping car.
Motive
Poirot soon comes to realise that all the suspects were connected to the Armstrong family and had reason to seek revenge for the tragedies that followed the kidnapping. Some openly admit their connections to the Armstrongs, while other ties must be uncovered by Poirot.
- McQueen was the son of the District Attorney who prosecuted the case. He was very fond of Mrs Armstrong.
- Miss Debenham was Mrs Armstrong's secretary.
- Beddoes was Colonel Armstrong's army batman.
- Col. Arbuthnot was an army friend of Col. Armstrong.
- Princess Dragominoff was Mrs Armstrong's godmother.
- Miss Schmidt was the Armstrong's cook, and had a close relationship with their maid Paulette.
- Miss Ohlsson was Daisy's nursemaid.
- Foscarelli was the Armstrong's chauffeur.
- Hardman was, at the time, a policeman who was in love with Paulette.
- Michel was Paulette's father.
- Countess Andrenyi was Mrs Armstrong's sister.
- Mrs Hubbard was Mrs Armstrong's mother.
Ratchett was sedated by Beddoes and McQueen. Each of the passengers then stabbed him in turn. Poirot presents this explanation for the murder to the assembled passengers, describing it as the "complex" solution to the crime. Yet he first offers another explanation, a "simple" one. In the course of the inquiry evidence has been found of an intruder on the train, who may have murdered Ratchett and then escaped. Poirot suggests that Ratchett/Cassetti may have been involved with the Mafia and murdered as the result of a feud. He leaves it to Bianchi, director of the line, to decide which explanation to present to the local police. Bianchi decides that this "simple" solution will be enough for the local police and that Ratchett deserved everything he got. A cover-up is therefore instigated. Poirot is satisfied that justice has been done, though he does admit to a "struggle with my conscience".
Differences between novel and film
- The novel introduces Poirot to two of the suspects on a train bound for Istanbul. The ferry crossing from one side of the city to the other is barely mentioned. On film, Poirot becomes aware of Debenham and Arbuthnot on the ferry across the Bosporus, and the ferry crossing is the real start of the narrative.
- Several characters, notably Beddoes, Princess Dragomiroff, Miss Debenham, and Greta Ohlsson, are played by actors who do not match the ages or physical descriptions given in the book.
- In the novel the valet character is named Masterman rather than Beddoes. This name change for the film was likely to avoid confusion with the character named Hardman.
- The character of the railroad official in the book is a Belgian named Bouc. He and Poirot converse in Belgian French and share an affinity due to the shared nationality. On film he is an Italian named Bianchi.
- The development of the plot and gradual solution to the case is streamlined. The novel introduces the revenge motive for the killing of Ratchett in dialog during the course of the investigation. The film lays some of this ground work with a short, atmospheric prologue.
- In the book, the Countess does not partake in the murder. Her husband stabs Ratchett in her place. In the movie, they grasp the dagger together to make one stab.
- The novel had the Orient Express run right into a snowdrift, so the murderer wouldn't have gotten off the train without getting buried in snow. It takes a few days for men to dig out the train. The movie had the Orient Express stop before hitting the snowdrift. While Poirot is stating the passengers' involvement in the murder, we see a steam engine with a snowplough breaking through the pile of snow. The movie ends with the Orient Express following the rescue engine to the next station while the credits are rolling.
- In the novel at the end Poirot shows Ratchett's pistol to the suspects and proclaims that it is not only fully loaded but that Rachett was prepared to use it to protect himself. In the movie, Poirot has the pistol on a sidetable with the other evidence but does not explain its significance.
- In the novel the first theory as to Ratchett's death is that he was killed by a stranger for unknown reasons. In the movie the first theory is that he was killed by a disguised member of an (organized crime) group as a result of a vendetta.
Notes
Lumet had previously directed Connery and Balsam in The Anderson Tapes.
Academy Awards and nominations
- Academy Award: Best Supporting Actress, Ingrid Bergman
- Academy Award Nomination: Best Actor in a Leading Role, Albert Finney
- Academy Award Nomination: Best Cinematography, Geoffrey Unsworth
- Academy Award Nomination: Best Costume Design, Tony Walton
- Academy Award Nomination: Best Music, Original Dramatic Score, Richard Rodney Bennett
- Academy Award Nomination: Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted from Other Material, Paul Dehn
Other versions
A made-for-television movie was made in 2001.
See also
External links
- Murder on the Orient Express at the Internet Movie Database
- Murder on the Orient Express at All Movie Guide
- Murder on the Orient Express at the TCM Movie Database
- Murder on the Orient Express at Rotten Tomatoes
- Murder on the Orient Express - Photos
