Murder on the Orient Express

Director: Sidney Lumet Sidney Lumet

Overview

Like many of Agatha Christie's mysteries, Murder on the Orient Express is predicated on an actual event, in this case the Lindbergh kidnapping. In the movie, everyone on board the Orient Express seems to have concluded that hateful financier Ratchett (Richard Widmark) was behind the abduction and murder of the infant daughter of a famed aviatrix. Thus, when Ratchett is himself found murdered, everyone is suspect. Normally, the police would handle the investigation, but the train has been stalled by a snowslide halfway between Istanbul and Paris. Thus, it's up to the insufferable but brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (an unrecognizable Albert Finney) to activate his "little grey cells" and determine who's guilty. Among the suspects are colorful characters played by Lauren Bacall, Jacqueline Bisset, Sean Connery, Wendy Hiller, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, and Ingrid Bergman, whose performance won her a third Academy Award. (In her acceptance speech, Bergman apologized for her win, insisting that Day for Night's Valentina Cortese deserved the prize.) The first and best in a long line of contemporary Christie adaptations, the film scores on atmosphere, period detail, and richness of characterization.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/09/2018
UPC:	0032429304278
Original Release:	1974
Rating:	PG
Source:	PARAMOUNT
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:07:00
Sales rank:	3,308

Special Features

Closed Caption; Agatha Christie: A Portrait; Making Murder On the Orient Express

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Albert Finney	Hercule Poirot
Lauren Bacall	Mrs. Hubbard
Ingrid Bergman	Greta Ohlsson
Sean Connery	Col. Arbuthnot
Martin Balsam	Bianchi
Jacqueline Bisset	Countess Andrenyi
Jean-Pierre Cassel	Pierre Paul Michel
John Gielgud	Beddoes
Wendy Hiller	Princess Dragomiroff
Anthony Perkins	Hector McQueen
Vanessa Redgrave	Mary Debenham
Rachel Roberts	Hildegarde Schmidt
Richard Widmark	Ratchett
Michael York	Count Andrenyi
Colin Blakely	Dick Hardman
George Coulouris	Dr. Constantine
Jeremy Lloyd	A.D.C.
Vernon Dobtcheff	Concierge
John Moffatt	Chief Attendant
George Silver	Chef
Denis Quilley	Foscarelli
David De Keyser	Turkish Ticket Collector
Leon Lissek	Dining Car Steward
Robert Rietty	Loudspeaker
Vic Tablian	Hawker
Leslie Soden	Turkish pianist in the hotel
Nubar Terziyan	Traveling Salesman
Richard Rodney Bennett	Composer

Technical Credits

Paul Dehn

Agatha Christie

Anthony Shaffer

Sidney Lumet	Director
Paul Dehn	Screenwriter
John Brabourne	Producer
Richard Goodwin	Producer
Agatha Christie	Screenwriter
Anthony Shaffer	Screenwriter
Charles Staffell	Special Effects
Jonathan Bates	Sound Effects
Peter Handford	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Bill Rowe	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Jeremy Hume	Sound Effects
David Stephenson	Sound Effects
Lord John Brabourne	Producer

Editorial Reviews

This lavish adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express is uncharacteristic territory for director Sidney Lumet. The creator of socially conscious message movies (12 Angry Men, Fail-Safe), intense emotional dramas (The Pawnbroker), dark satires (Dog Day Afternoon, Network), and morally complex crime movies (Serpico), Lumet usually marks his films with a gritty, realistic edge. Rich and visually ornate, Murder is opulent in both style and pacing. The leisurely direction appears well-suited to most members of the large, talented cast. Albert Finney was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor in the lead role and Ingrid Bergman won her third Oscar as a Swedish missionary (though Lumet initially wanted her for Wendy Hiller's role as the Russian princess). The elegant cinematography and costume design were also nominated for Academy Awards. The success of Murder paved the way for a number of other Christie adaptations.