Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Murder in Three Acts

  • TV Movie
  • 1986
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 34m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
Murder in Three Acts (1986)
CrimeDramaMystery

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 produce... Read allHercule 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.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
    • Scott Swanton
  • Stars
    • Peter Ustinov
    • Tony Curtis
    • Emma Samms
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    2.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Gary Nelson
    • Writers
      • Agatha Christie
      • Scott Swanton
    • Stars
      • Peter Ustinov
      • Tony Curtis
      • Emma Samms
    • 28User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
      • 1 nomination total

    Photos

    Bette Davis, Peter Ustinov, and Helen Hayes in Murder Is Easy (1982)
    Peter Ustinov in Thirteen at Dinner (1985)
    Tony Curtis, Peter Ustinov, and Emma Samms in Murder in Three Acts (1986)
    Peter Ustinov, Jonathan Cecil, and Diana Muldaur in Murder in Three Acts (1986)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Peter Ustinov
    Peter Ustinov
    • Hercule Poirot
    Tony Curtis
    Tony Curtis
    • Charles Cartwright
    Emma Samms
    Emma Samms
    • Egg
    Jonathan Cecil
    Jonathan Cecil
    • Hastings
    Fernando Allende
    Fernando Allende
    • Ricardo Montoya
    Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
    Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
    • Col. Mateo
    • (as Pedro Armendariz)
    Lisa Eichhorn
    Lisa Eichhorn
    • Cynthia Dayton
    Dana Elcar
    Dana Elcar
    • Dr. Strange
    Frances Lee McCain
    Frances Lee McCain
    • Miss Milray
    Marian Mercer
    Marian Mercer
    • Daisy Eastman
    Diana Muldaur
    Diana Muldaur
    • Angela Stafford
    Nicholas Pryor
    Nicholas Pryor
    • Freddie Dayton
    Concetta Tomei
    Concetta Tomei
    • Janet Crisp
    Jacqueline Evans
    • Mrs. Babbington
    Ángeles González
    • Housekeeper
    • (as Angeles Gonzalez)
    Philip Guilmant
    • Rev. Babbington
    Claudia Guzmán
    • Rosa
    • (as Claudia Guzman)
    Rodolfo Hernández
    • Miguel
    • (as Rodolfo Hernandez)
    • Director
      • Gary Nelson
    • Writers
      • Agatha Christie
      • Scott Swanton
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Dead Man's Folly
    6.3
    Dead Man's Folly
    Thirteen at Dinner
    6.2
    Thirteen at Dinner
    Appointment with Death
    6.1
    Appointment with Death
    Evil Under the Sun
    7.0
    Evil Under the Sun
    Death on the Nile
    7.2
    Death on the Nile
    Murder with Mirrors
    6.3
    Murder with Mirrors
    A Caribbean Mystery
    6.3
    A Caribbean Mystery
    Murder Is Easy
    6.1
    Murder Is Easy
    The Mirror Crack'd
    6.2
    The Mirror Crack'd
    Peter Ustinov on the Orient Express
    7.8
    Peter Ustinov on the Orient Express
    Murder on the Orient Express
    7.2
    Murder on the Orient Express
    Murder Most Foul
    7.1
    Murder Most Foul

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Originally published under the title "Three Act Tragedy" in 1934.
    • Goofs
      In the end of the movie as Poirot is explaining how the police will prove the murderer crossed into Mexico from the US he states they can prove when he crossed the border by using his passport. At the time this movie was made Americans could enter Mexico without a passport. You only had to show proof of valid US citizenship (US driver's license, I. D. card, or birth certificate) and there was no record of you entering or leaving Mexico.
    • Quotes

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

    • Connections
      Followed by Appointment with Death (1988)

    User reviews28

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    a lesser TV adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel
    Having read all of the Agatha Christie books, I have to say that David Suchet was the ultimate Hercule Poirot as written by Agatha Christie. But my favorite Poirot, having nothing whatsoever to do with either Poirot or what Ms. Christie wrote, is Peter Ustinov. It always reminds me of what someone once said about Zero Mostel in "Fiddler on the Roof" - "He's fabulous...but what he does has nothing to do with Fiddler." Ustinov is a sheer delight in every way - he's funny, he's charming, he's warm, he's relaxed - all things that, frankly, Agatha's Hercule just wasn't.

    "Murder in Three Acts" is a slapped together TV movie without the usual star power except for Tony Curtis and several TV actors - the gorgeous Emma Samms, who was a big TV star in the '80s, Diana Muldaur, Concetta Tomei, Dana Elcar, Nicholas Pryor, and several others. The characters have been Americanized, and though set in Acapulco, aside from a few exterior shots, you don't get much atmosphere.

    Though the story is very interesting (it is, after all, based on an Agatha Christie novel), the production has a certain blandness to it. You know there's a problem when Diana Muldaur announces that she and the Tony Curtis character did "Private Lives" together. Now, I happen to be very fond of Tony Curtis - I did research for his autobiography, he's on the cover of a book I wrote, I found him a very charming man - but come on, PRIVATE LIVES? With that New York accent? I don't think so. He does, however, look really fabulous, and if you watch the scenes in his house carefully, you'll catch some fantastic photos of him on the wall.

    It's an okay way to pass the time, and the plot is intriguing, Tony's Tony, Emma's beautiful and sexy, Nicholas Pryor is funny, and Ustinov is - well, he's Poirot even if he's not what Dame Agatha had in mind.
    helpful•26
    4
    • blanche-2
    • Sep 11, 2005

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 30, 1986 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Mexico
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Tödliche Parties
    • Filming locations
      • Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros. Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 34 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Murder in Three Acts (1986)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Murder in Three Acts (1986) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.