{"id":2826,"date":"2007-03-22T12:35:40","date_gmt":"2007-03-22T19:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2826"},"modified":"2023-02-07T15:05:27","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T22:05:27","slug":"murder-on-the-orient-express-1974","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2826","title":{"rendered":"Murder on the Orient Express (1974)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Only by interrogating the other passengers could I hope to see the light.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Poster-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-22633\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Poster-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Poster-83x128.jpg 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nBelgian detective Hercules Poirot (Albert Finney) investigates the murder of a businessman (Richard Widmark) on the Orient Express.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Albert Finney Films<\/li>\n<li>Anthony Perkins Films<\/li>\n<li>Detectives and Private Eyes<\/li>\n<li>Ensemble Cast<\/li>\n<li>Ingrid Bergman Films<\/li>\n<li>Jacqueline Bisset Films<\/li>\n<li>John Gielgud Films<\/li>\n<li>Lauren Bacall Films<\/li>\n<li>Martin Balsam Films<\/li>\n<li>Michael York Films<\/li>\n<li>Murder Mystery<\/li>\n<li>Richard Widmark Films<\/li>\n<li>Sean Connery Films<\/li>\n<li>Sidney Lumet Films<\/li>\n<li>Trains<\/li>\n<li>Vanessa Redgrave Films<\/li>\n<li>Wendy Hiller Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nSidney Lumet&#8217;s adaptation of Agatha Christie&#8217;s celebrated mystery is a nostalgic throw-back to the early days of Hollywood, when all-star casts routinely graced the screen together in ensemble films such as <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=42854\"><em>Grand Hotel<\/em> (1932)<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2586\"><em>Dinner at Eight<\/em> (1933)<\/a>. Indeed, film buffs will have a field day watching some of their favorite actors (including Lauren Bacall, Wendy Hiller, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Perkins, and others) in supporting roles. However, it&#8217;s Albert Finney who truly runs the show here: as the determined (and occasionally obnoxious) Hercules Poirot, Finney is literally unrecognizable. Unfortunately, Lumet indulges his screenplay a bit: it takes quite a while for all the characters to be introduced, and the final scenes linger far longer than necessary. Nonetheless, <em>Murder on the Orient Express<\/em>, which inspired two future Christie adaptations &#8212; <em>Death on the Nile<\/em> (1978) and <em>Evil Under the Sun<\/em> (1982) &#8212; remains a well-made detective flick, and should be seen by all film fanatics. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Albert Finney &#8212; nearly unrecognizable as Belgian detective Hercules Poirot<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Finney2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Finney2-1024x569.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"356\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-63209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Finney2-1024x569.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Finney2-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Finney2-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Finney2-768x427.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Finney2-1536x854.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Finney2-486x270.png 486w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Finney2-1038x576.png 1038w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Finney2.png 1815w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine performances by a supporting cast of stars<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bergman.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bergman-1024x557.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"348\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-63212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bergman-1024x557.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bergman-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bergman-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bergman-768x417.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bergman-1536x835.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bergman-497x270.png 497w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bergman.png 1827w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bacall.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bacall-1024x562.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"351\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-63216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bacall-1024x562.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bacall-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bacall-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bacall-768x422.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bacall-1536x844.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bacall-492x270.png 492w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Bacall.png 1819w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Connery.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Connery-1024x551.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"344\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-63213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Connery-1024x551.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Connery-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Connery-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Connery-768x414.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Connery-1536x827.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Connery-501x270.png 501w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Connery.png 1829w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Lush, colorful 1930s set designs and costumes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Cast.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Cast-1024x556.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"348\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-63215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Cast-1024x556.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Cast-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Cast-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Cast-768x417.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Cast-1536x833.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Cast-498x270.png 498w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Cast.png 1819w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A satisfying and unexpected solution to the mystery <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes. While over-long, this Academy Award-nominated murder mystery is a rare return to the all-star format of earlier Hollywood dramas. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0071877\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1974\/11\/25\/archives\/crack-orient-express-clicks-as-film.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1343orie.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/4721\/murder-on-the-orient-express#articles-reviews?articleId=88882\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/segmFF7WQrc\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/73640.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Only by interrogating the other passengers could I hope to see the light.&#8221; Synopsis: Belgian detective Hercules Poirot (Albert Finney) investigates the murder of a businessman (Richard Widmark) on the Orient Express. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Albert Finney Films Anthony Perkins Films Detectives and Private Eyes Ensemble Cast Ingrid Bergman Films Jacqueline Bisset Films John Gielgud Films Lauren Bacall Films Martin Balsam Films Michael York Films Murder Mystery Richard Widmark Films Sean Connery Films Sidney Lumet Films Trains Vanessa&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2826\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2826"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89815,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2826\/revisions\/89815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}