In December 1935, when his transcontinental luxury train is stranded by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before, with a m... Read allIn December 1935, when his transcontinental luxury train is stranded by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before, with a multitude of suspects.In December 1935, when his transcontinental luxury train is stranded by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before, with a multitude of suspects.
- Director
- Writers
- Paul Dehn(screenplay)
- Agatha Christie(novel)
- Anthony Shaffer(uncredited)
- Stars
- Director
- Writers
- Paul Dehn(screenplay)
- Agatha Christie(novel)
- Anthony Shaffer(uncredited)
- Stars
- Won 1 Oscar
- 9 wins & 16 nominations total
Videos1
- Pierreas Pierre
- (as Jean Pierre Cassel)
- Director
- Writers
- Paul Dehn(screenplay)
- Agatha Christie(novel) (uncredited)
- Anthony Shaffer(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
- Taglines
- The greatest cast of suspicious characters ever involved in murder.
- Genres
- Certificate
- PG
- Parents guide
Did you know
- Trivia84-year-old Agatha Christie attended the movie premiere in November 1974. It was the only movie adaptation in her lifetime with which she was completely satisfied. In particular, she felt that Albert Finney's performance came closest to her idea of Poirot (though she was reportedly unimpressed with his too-subtle mustache). The premiere was her final public appearance. She died fourteen months later, on January 12, 1976.
- GoofsThe British officer who escorts Poirot on the ferry thanks him for saving the honor of the British garrison in Jordan. The Kingdom of Jordan did not exist until 1946. In 1935 it was the Emirate of Transjordan.
- Quotes
Foscarelli: Hey, what are you reading, Mister Beddoes?
Beddoes: I am reading "Love's Captive," by Mrs. Arabella Richardson.
Foscarelli: Is it about sex?
Beddoes: No, it's about 10:30, Mister Foscarelli.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Dumb Waiter (1979)
- SoundtracksOverture And Kidnapping
(uncredited)
Composed by Richard Rodney Bennett
Performed by Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden conducted by Marcus Dods
Richard Widmark is an American expatriate traveling on the famous Orient Express train and he's been receiving mysterious death threats. As it happens Poirot is on the train also and refuses Widmark's offer to be a bodyguard.
Widmark is later stabbed to death in his compartment and while the train is stranded somewhere in Yugoslavia due to snow drifts, Poirot investigates the murder in the best Agatha Christie tradition. Of course in that same tradition the plotters would have gotten away with it more than likely had Poirot and his little gray cells not been present.
Widmark as it also turns out was a gangster who had to flee America because he was named as the mastermind of a horrific crime that shocked the nation. There are a whole lot of people who had reason to want him dead.
Poirot conducts his inquiry of the other passengers and they are quite a crew consisting of among others, Lauren Bacall, Michael York, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Wendy Hiller, Rachel Roberts, Vanessa Redgrave, Jacqueline Bissett, etc.
Of course I won't tell you the solution, but here's a hint. Note what Sean Connery says while he's being grilled.
It's a great ensemble cast of course with a bunch of seasoned players doing their thing. Ingrid Bergman got a Best Supporting Actress award for her portrayal of a simple soul who is a missionary. I'm betting the critics noted that her part was offbeat casting for her which she pulled off. In any event she was surprised as all get out when her name was read at the Oscars in 1975. In accepting the award she got up and said quite matter-of-factly that fellow nominee Valentina Cortese deserved it. Of course she didn't turn it down.
As I said, this was one elaborately planned murder and I think you will enjoy seeing Poirot unravel it and what happens later.
- bkoganbing
- Dec 31, 2005
Details
Box office
- Budget
- £1,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $27,634,716
- Gross worldwide
- $27,659,517