The Alphabet Murders

19651965
1h 30min

The Alphabet Murders (1965)

Comedy Crime Mystery

Hercule Poirot investigates a series of murders in London in which the victims are killed according to their initials.Hercule Poirot investigates a series of murders in London in which the victims are killed according to their initials.Hercule Poirot investigates a series of murders in London in which the victims are killed according to their initials.

Director
- Frank Tashlin
Writers
- David Pursall(screenplay)
- Jack Seddon(screenplay)
- Agatha Christie(novel "The A.B.C. Murders")
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

The Alphabet Murders (1965)

Robert Morley and Tony Randall in The Alphabet Murders (1965)

Anita Ekberg in The Alphabet Murders (1965)

Tony Randall in The Alphabet Murders (1965)

Anita Ekberg in The Alphabet Murders (1965)

Anita Ekberg and Tony Randall in The Alphabet Murders (1965)

Tony Randall and Austin Trevor in The Alphabet Murders (1965)

Tony Randall in The Alphabet Murders (1965)

The Alphabet Murders (1965)

The Alphabet Murders (1965)

Grazina Frame and Tony Randall in The Alphabet Murders (1965)

Murder Most Foul

7.2

Murder Most Foul

Murder Ahoy

7.1

Murder She Said

7.4

Murder She Said

Murder at the Gallop

7.3

Murder at the Gallop

The Late Show

6.9

The Biggest Bundle of Them All

5.3

The Biggest Bundle of Them All

Out of the Blue

6.4

Out of the Blue

The Brasher Doubloon

6.5

The Brasher Doubloon

Appointment with Death

6.2

Appointment with Death

Bang! Bang! You're Dead!

5.7

Bang! Bang! You're Dead!

Island of Love

5.2

Dead Man's Folly

6.4

Dead Man's Folly

Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Tony Randall) investigates a series of murders in London in which the victims are killed according to their initials. The first victim is A.A., the second B.B., and so on. Poirot is assisted in his investigations by Captain Hastings (Robert Morley) and Inspector Japp (Maurice Denham). —Mike Hatchett <hatchetts13@webtv.net>

hercule poirot character man wrapped in a towel serial murder slapstick comedy murder 27 more

Taglines
- It's really no mystery why this girl is MURDER... it's as simple as ABC if you look hard enough!
Genres
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

Trivia
The official screenwriters of this movie, David Pursall and Jack Seddon, were greatly annoyed by the extensive re-writing of their script by Director Frank Tashlin and Robert Morley. Tashlin also encouraged Morley and Tony Randall to ad-lib lines and business.

Goofs
Albert Aachen climbs to the top of the diving boards during his aquaclown rehearsal, picking up a bottle with his right hand to take a swig from it, with the left theatrically outstretched. The shot changes to a close-up, and Aachen now has the bottle in his left hand. He smiles and the shot changes to a long one - where the bottle is now back a few steps behind him on the platform as he dives.

Quotes
Hastings: Where have you been? What have you been doing?
Hercule Poirot: Arranging a little extra insurance my friend.
Hastings: Oh really? Personally I always feel perfectly safe with British railways. Mind you its very different in France, isn't it?
Hercule Poirot: I wouldn't know. I am not French, I am Belgian.
Hastings: Well it's the same thing, you both eat horsemeat.

Crazy credits
Tony Randall emerges from Borehamwood Studios' Stage 4 to introduce the film and acknowledge his own starring credit, first as himself and then in full Poirot make-up and character.

Connections
Referenced in What's My Line?: Jill St. John (1965)

Top review

6/10

Better than some

The Wikipedia article speaks of the movie makers as going for comedy. I would say this was not the most well-advised decision. I first saw this in high school, when it came to TV a year or so after its release. We were studying Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot in English class. So I was psyched to see the flick.

It was a moderate disappointment. It looked like they tried to make Poirot slightly buffoonish. It looked like they tried to modernize the flick. It looked likedare I say it? It looked like camp. Moicy. One of the besetting sins of the 1960's cinematically (I think) was we all were postmodern and pretentious, and time-honored movies and stories were passé. This came off looking like a Rock Hudson / Doris Day flick in a way.

I like Tony Randall. I like Robert Morley. Anita Eckberg ain't too bad. But it isn't classic Poirot. The adaptation of the book to the Brit TV series Agatha Christie's Poirot with David Suchetthat's classic Christie; and classic Poirot.

helpful•11

7

rye-bread
Apr 3, 2011

Runtime
- 1h 30min
Color
- Black and White
Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1

France’s Charades and Italy’s I Wonder Pictures Join Forces on New Italian Cinema Voices (Exclusive)

France’s Charades and Italy’s I Wonder Pictures Join Forces on New Italian Cinema Voices (Exclusive)

Sep 6Variety Film + TV

New projects from ‘The Father’, ‘Born To Be Blue’ producers in Ontario Creates iff forum (exclusive)

New projects from ‘The Father’, ‘Born To Be Blue’ producers in Ontario Creates iff forum (exclusive)

Aug 30ScreenDaily

The Alphabet Murders (1965)

Top Gap

By what name was The Alphabet Murders (1965) officially released in India in English?

More to explore

View list

Best New and Upcoming Netflix Releases

See the full list

Image caption not available

The Best New Horror Movies for Halloween

Watch the video

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.