Murder in Three Acts (1986)

Hercule Poirot (Sir Peter Ustinov) attends a dinner party in which one of the guests clutches his throat and suddenly dies. The cause seems to be natural until another party with most of the same guests produces another corpse.

Director:

Gary Nelson

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel), Scott Swanton (teleplay)

Stars:

Peter Ustinov, Tony Curtis, Emma Samms

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Ustinov	...	Hercule Poirot
Tony Curtis	...	Charles Cartwright
Emma Samms	...	Egg
Jonathan Cecil	...	Hastings
Fernando Allende	...	Ricardo Montoya
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Col. Mateo (as Pedro Armendariz)
Lisa Eichhorn	...	Cynthia Dayton
Dana Elcar	...	Dr. Strange
Frances Lee McCain	...	Miss Milray
Marian Mercer	...	Daisy Eastman
Diana Muldaur	...	Angela Stafford
Nicholas Pryor	...	Freddie Dayton
Concetta Tomei	...	Janet Crisp
Jacqueline Evans	...	Mrs. Babbington
Ángeles González	...	Housekeeper (as Angeles Gonzalez)

Storyline

Hercule Poirot's (Sir Peter Ustinov's) assistant, Captain Arthur Hastings (Jonathan Cecil), calls him down to Acapulco, Mexico, where he can write his memoirs, but Hastings drags him to a party populated with Hastings' new friends. There's Janet Crisp (Concetta Tomei), the writer, Daisy Eastman (Marian Mercer) and her daughter "Egg" (Emma Samms), Ricardo Montoya (Fernando Allende), Dr. Strange (Dana Elcar), Miss Milray (Frances Lee McCain) the housekeeper, and Charles Cartwright (Tony Curtis) the famous American actor. But at the party another guest, Reverend Babbington (Philip Guilmant), dies from poisoning and when Dr. Strange also dies from poisoning, Poirot must swing into action before the serial killer strikes again.

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Plot Keywords:

man kisses a woman's hand | crying woman | woman wears a bikini | poisoning | hercule poirot | 

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Taglines:

Movie Stars. Martinis. Murder. All in Romantic Acapulco.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The setting has been transferred to Acapulco, and the character of Mr. Satterthwaite was replaced by Hercule Poirot (Sir Peter Ustinov) regular Captain Arthur Hastings (Jonathan Cecil).

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Goofs

Approximately 59:30 into the movie, Charles Cartwright (Tony Curtis), Angela Stafford (Diana Muldaur), and Janet Crisp (Concetta Tomei) are having a conversation on the balcony. The cup of coffee Muldaur is holding throughout the conversation changes from right hand to left hand repeatedly throughout the various shots of the conversation.

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Quotes

Hercule Poirot: Porot is only on the side of one thing... and that is the truth.

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Connections

Follows Thirteen at Dinner (1985)

User Reviews

While I like Agatha Christie,

I cannot say the same about this film. Poirot dotters about...Hastings is a wimp! Quite frankly, the whole thing put me to sleep. Read the book instead.

Details

Country:

USA Mexico

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Убийство в трёх актах

Filming Locations:

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1