Murder in Three Acts (1986)

Hercule Poirot 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 assistant, Hastings, calls him down to Acapulco in Mexico where he can write his memoirs but Hastings drags him to a party populated with Hastings' new friends. There's Janet Crisp - the writer, Daisy Eastman and her daughter 'Egg', Ricardo Montoya, Dr. Strange, Miss Milray the housekeeper and Charles Cartwright the famous American actor. But at the party another guest - Rev. Babbington - 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:

poisoning | hercule poirot | writer | memoir | dinner party | 

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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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie's Murder in Three Acts

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Ustinov and Tony Curtis had both previously appeared in Spartacus (1960).

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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: Have you ever noticed a secret passage that does not start in the library?

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Connections

Follows Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

User Reviews

Watching a less-engaging Agatha Christie movie adaptation is like watching an extended episode of Murder, She Wrote.

Watching a less-engaging Agatha Christie movie adaptation is like watching an extended episode of Murder, She Wrote. Like Hercule Poirot, Jessica Fletcher is a walking crime magnet, making you wonder if the world wouldn't be a safer place for the rest of us if people like them were put away for good.

Agatha Christie movies often host a potpourri of stars to be the suspects. Sometimes they're a mix of renowned actors, like Vanessa Redgrave, John Gielgud, Ingrid Bergman et al, in 1974's Murder on the Orient Express; and sometimes, like in Murder in Three Acts, they're a mix of actors you vaguely recall seeing on some TV show or other, like Emma Samms from Dynasty and Diana Muldaur from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Though the former makes for a more attractive package, even when they're the latter, they usually still turn out to be decent viewing, as this movie is.