Murder on the Orient Express

Elegant, escapist entertainment at its stylishly European best. This Agatha Christie whodunnit boasts an incredible international cast of some of the most wonderfully eccentric characters ever created.

Ingrid Bergman won an Oscar for her role as the slightly dim-witted, Bible-quoting Swedish missionary. Albert Finney is the dapper detective, Hercule Poirot, for whom murder-solving is a precise, intellectual exercise. Poirot agrees to interview all aboard the famous train's Calais coach, hoping to find the killer of an American millionaire before the local police arrive. Packed with sparkling dialogue and visually rich in texture, this incomparable thriller received six Academy Award nominations.


AMG Plot: Like many of Agatha Christie's mysteries, Murder on the Orient Express is predicated on an actual event, in this case the Lindbergh kidnapping. In the movie, everyone on board the Orient Express seems to have concluded that hateful financier Ratchett (Richard Widmark) was behind the abduction and murder of the infant daughter of a famed aviatrix. Thus, when Ratchett is himself found murdered, everyone is suspect. Normally, the police would handle the investigation, but the train has been stalled by a snowslide halfway between Istanbul and Paris. Thus, it's up to the insufferable but brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (an unrecognizable Albert Finney) to activate his "little grey cells" and determine who's guilty. Among the suspects are colorful characters played by Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Jacqueline Bisset, Sean Connery, Wendy Hiller, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, and Ingrid Bergman, whose performance won her a third Academy Award. (In her acceptance speech, Bergman apologized for her win, insisting that Day for Night's Valentina Cortese deserved the prize.) The first and best in a long line of contemporary Christie adaptations, the film scores on atmosphere, period detail, and richness of characterization. — Hal Erickson

AMG Review: This lavish adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express is uncharacteristic territory for director Sidney Lumet. The creator of socially conscious message movies (12 Angry Men, Fail-Safe), intense emotional dramas (The Pawnbroker), dark satires (Dog Day Afternoon, Network), and morally complex crime movies (Serpico), Lumet usually marks his films with a gritty, realistic edge. Rich and visually ornate, Murder is opulent in both style and pacing. The leisurely direction appears well-suited to most members of the large, talented cast. Albert Finney was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor in the lead role and Ingrid Bergman won her third Oscar as a Swedish missionary (though Lumet initially wanted her for Wendy Hiller's role as the Russian princess). The elegant cinematography and costume design were also nominated for Academy Awards. The success of Murder paved the way for a number of other Christie adaptations. — Brendon Hanley