Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writer:

Paul Dehn (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

24 November 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

The greatest cast of suspicious characters ever involved in murder.

Plot:

In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.

Plot Keywords:

Hercule Poirot | Detective | Train | Orient Express | Snow

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 8 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Albert Finney	...	Hercule Poirot
Lauren Bacall	...	Mrs. Hubbard
Martin Balsam	...	Bianchi
Ingrid Bergman	...	Greta
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Countess Andrenyi
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Pierre (as Jean Pierre Cassel)
Sean Connery	...	Col. Arbuthnot
John Gielgud	...	Beddoes
Wendy Hiller	...	Princess Dragomiroff
Anthony Perkins	...	McQueen
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Mary Debenham
Rachel Roberts	...	Hildegarde
Richard Widmark	...	Ratchett
Michael York	...	Count Andrenyi
Colin Blakely	...	Hardman
George Coulouris	...	Doctor
Denis Quilley	...	Foscarelli
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Concierge
Jeremy Lloyd	...	A.D.C.
John Moffatt	...	Chief Attendant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David de Keyser	...	Turkish Ticket Collector (voice) (uncredited)
Leon Lissek	...	Dining Car Steward (uncredited)
Robert Rietty	...	Various Tannoy's (voice) (uncredited)
George Silver	...	Orient Express Chef (uncredited)
Vic Tablian	...	Hawker (uncredited)
Nubar Terziyan	...	Traveling Salesman (uncredited)

Directed by
Sidney Lumet

Writing credits
Paul Dehn		(screenplay)
Agatha Christie		(novel) uncredited

Produced by
John Brabourne	....	producer
Richard B. Goodwin	....	producer (as Richard Goodwin)

Original Music by
Richard Rodney Bennett

Cinematography by
Geoffrey Unsworth		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Anne V. Coates

Casting by
Dyson Lovell		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Tony Walton

Art Direction by
Jack Stephens

Costume Design by
Tony Walton

Makeup Department
Stuart Freeborn	....	makeup artist
Ramon Gow	....	hairdressing supervisor
John O'Gorman	....	makeup artist
Charles E. Parker	....	makeup artist (as Charles Parker)

Production Management
Jim Brennan	....	unit manager
Jack Causey	....	production manager
Louis Fleury	....	production manager: French

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ted Sturgis	....	first assistant director
Richard Jenkins	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
E.W. Brister	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Tony Strong	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jonathan Bates	....	sound editor
Peter Handford	....	sound
Bill Rowe	....	sound
Jeremy Hume	....	assistant dialogue editor (uncredited)
David Stephenson	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Charles Staffell	....	process photography

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter MacDonald	....	camera operator (as Peter Macdonald)
Steve Birtles	....	gaffer (uncredited)
John Campbell	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Cedric James	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Joe Pearce	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Brenda Dabbs	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Richard Hiscott	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Marcus Dods	....	conductor

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	continuity
Nat Cohen	....	presenter
Richard du Vivier	....	production associate (as Richard Du Vivier)
Norton Knatchbull	....	location manager
Elisabeth Woodthorpe	....	production secretary
François Guillaume	....	stand-in: Anthony Perkins (uncredited)
Catherine O'Brien	....	unit publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• EMI Film Distributors (as Nat Cohen presents for EMI FIlm Distributors Ltd.)
• G.W. Films Limited (made by) (as G.W. Films Ltd.)

Distributors

• Anglo-EMI Film Distributors (1974) (UK) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Filmipaja (1974) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Gloria (1975) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1977) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Fotomat (Drive-Thru Movies) Video (1979) (USA) (VHS)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2008) (United Arab Emirates) (DVD) (Middle East)
• Future Film (2002) (Finland) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (Germany) (DVD)
• Leader Music (2011) (Argentina) (DVD) (as Leader Vision)
• Lumière Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1984) (Finland) (TV) (as MTV1)
• Nelonen (1997) (Finland) (TV)
• Oy Europa Vision AB (????) (Finland) (video)
• Paramount Home Video (2004) (Canada) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• TV3 (1990) (Finland) (TV)
• Thorn EMI Video (????) (Finland) (video)
• Universal Pictures Finland (2007) (Finland) (DVD) (6-disc The Agatha Christie's Collection)
• Universal Pictures Finland (2008) (2011) (Finland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Leonard of London  Miss Bergman's and Mr. Finney's hair by
• Richard Williams Studio  montage sequences and titles by (as Richard Williams' Studio)
• Wartski  the Princess's jewellery by
• Panavision  cameras and lenses by
• Technicolor  colour by

Also Known As:

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French | German | Turkish | Italian | Swedish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG (video rating) (1989) (2002) (2006) | Australia:M (TV rating) | Iceland:12 | Ireland:PG | West Germany:12 (f) | USA:PG (certificate #24034) | Brazil:14 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (tv rating)

Filming Locations:

EMI Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

EMI Film Distributors

Trivia:

As shooting went on, five of the actors were involved in West End stage plays at the same time. John Gielgud and Denis Quilley in "The Tempest". Vanessa Redgrave, Albert Finney and Ingrid Bergman were also performing in other productions.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: During the interrogation of Colonel Arbuthnot, the reflection of a boom mic can be seen in the glass room divider behind the Colonel.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ferry conductor:Your ticket, please.
Mary Debenham:Oh, yes.
Ferry conductor:Welcome aboard, Miss Debenham.
Mary Debenham:Thank you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Red Sails in the Sunset

A well executed murder in every sense of the word.

Murder on the Orient Express started a nice trend in filming some of the most stylish of Agatha Christie novels by producer John Brabourne. Although Albert Finney who does a fine job as the Belgian Sleuth Hercule Poirot declined to do further films with Poirot, Peter Ustinov more than amply took up the slack in later productions.

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.