The Alphabet Murders (1965)

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)

Stars:

Tony Randall, Robert Morley, Anita Ekberg

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tony Randall	...	Hercule Poirot
Anita Ekberg	...	Amanda Beatrice Cross
Robert Morley	...	Hastings
Maurice Denham	...	Japp
Guy Rolfe	...	Duncan Doncaster
Sheila Allen	...	Lady Diane
James Villiers	...	Franklin
Julian Glover	...	Don Fortune
Grazina Frame	...	Betty Barnard
Clive Morton	...	'X'
Cyril Luckham	...	Sir Carmichael Clarke
Richard Wattis	...	Wolf
David Lodge	...	Sergeant
Patrick Newell	...	Cracknell
Austin Trevor	...	Judson

Storyline

The Belgian detective Hercule Poirot 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 and Inspector Japp.

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Plot Keywords:

hercule poirot character | slapstick | murder | investigation | swimming pool | 

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Taglines:

It's really no mystery why this girl is MURDER... it's as simple as ABC if you look hard enough!

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 May 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amanda

Filming Locations:

MGM British Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lawrence P. Bachmann Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The final film of Austin Trevor, the first Poirot.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Connections

Version of Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie: Les meurtres ABC (2009)

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Soundtracks

Rule Britannia
(uncredited)
Music by Thomas Augustine Arne
Arranged by Ron Goodwin

User Reviews

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 like…dare 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 Suchet…that's classic Christie; and classic Poirot.