Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writer:

Paul Dehn (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

24 November 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The greatest cast of suspicious characters ever involved in murder.

Plot:

In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.

Plot Keywords:

Hercule Poirot | Train | Detective | Snow | Orient Express

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 7 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Albert Finney	...	Hercule Poirot
Lauren Bacall	...	Mrs. Hubbard
Martin Balsam	...	Bianchi
Ingrid Bergman	...	Greta
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Countess Andrenyi
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Pierre (as Jean Pierre Cassel)
Sean Connery	...	Colonel Arbuthnot
John Gielgud	...	Beddoes
Wendy Hiller	...	Princess Dragomiroff
Anthony Perkins	...	McQueen
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Mary Debenham
Rachel Roberts	...	Hildegarde
Richard Widmark	...	Ratchett
Michael York	...	Count Andrenyi
Colin Blakely	...	Hardman
George Coulouris	...	Doctor
Denis Quilley	...	Foscarelli
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Concierge
Jeremy Lloyd	...	A.D.C.
John Moffatt	...	Chief Attendant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David de Keyser	...	Turkish Ticket Collector (voice) (uncredited)
Leon Lissek	...	Dining Car Steward (uncredited)
Robert Rietty	...	Various Tannoy's (voice) (uncredited)
George Silver	...	Orient Express Chef (uncredited)

Directed by
Sidney Lumet

Writing credits
Agatha Christie		(novel) uncredited
Paul Dehn		(screenplay)
Anthony Shaffer		uncredited

Produced by
John Brabourne	....	producer
Richard B. Goodwin	....	producer (as Richard Goodwin)

Original Music by
Richard Rodney Bennett

Cinematography by
Geoffrey Unsworth

Film Editing by
Anne V. Coates

Casting by
Dyson Lovell		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Tony Walton

Art Direction by
Jack Stephens

Costume Design by
Tony Walton

Makeup Department
Stuart Freeborn	....	makeup artist
Ramon Gow	....	hair styles supervisor
Leonard	....	hair stylist: Ms. Bergman and Mr. Finney (as Leonard of London)
John O'Gorman	....	makeup artist
Charles E. Parker	....	makeup artist (as Charles Parker)

Production Management
Jim Brennan	....	unit manager
Jack Causey	....	production manager
Louis Fleury	....	production manager: France

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ted Sturgis	....	first assistant director
Richard Jenkins	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
E.W. Brister	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Tony Strong	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jonathan Bates	....	sound editor
Peter Handford	....	sound
Bill Rowe	....	sound
Jeremy Hume	....	assistant dialogue editor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Charles Staffell	....	process photography

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter MacDonald	....	camera operator
Steve Birtles	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Cedric James	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Joe Pearce	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Brenda Dabbs	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Richard Hiscott	....	assistant editor
Richard Williams	....	montage

Music Department
Marcus Dods	....	conductor
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House	....	orchestra

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	continuity
Nat Cohen	....	presenter
Richard du Vivier	....	production associate
Norton Knatchbull	....	location manager
Richard Williams	....	title designer
Elisabeth Woodthorpe	....	production secretary
François Guillaume	....	stand-in: Anthony Perkins (uncredited)
Catherine O'Brien	....	unit publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• G.W. Films
• EMI Films

Distributors

• Anglo-EMI Film Distributors (1974) (UK) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Gloria (1975) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1977) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Fotomat (Drive-Thru Movies) Video (1979) (USA) (VHS)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (Germany) (DVD)
• Lumière Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Leonard of London  Ms. Bergman's and Mr. Finney's hair styles
• Richard Williams Films  montage sequences
• Richard Williams Films  montage titles
• Wartski  princess's jewellery

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (UK) (complete title)
Mord im Orient Express (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Asesinato en el Expreso de Oriente (Venezuela) [es]
Asesinato en el Orient Express (Spain) [es]
Assassinato no Expresso Oriente (Brazil) [pt]
Assassinato no Orient Express (Brazil) [pt]
Assassinio sull'Orient Express (Italy) [it]
Crimen en el Expreso de Oriente (Argentina) [es]
Eglima sto Orient Express (Greece) [el]
Gyilkosság az Orient expresszen (Hungary) [hu]
Idän pikajunan arvoitus (Finland) [fi]
Le crime de l'Orient-Express (France) [fr]
Meurtre de l'Orient Express (Canada: French title) (TV title) [fr]
Morderstwo w Orient Ekspresie (Poland) [pl]
Mordet i Orient-ekspressen (Denmark) [da]
Mordet på Orientexpressen (Sweden) [sv]
Oriento kyûkô satsujin jiken (Japan) [ja]
Sark ekspresinde cinayet (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Um Crime no Expresso do Oriente (Portugal) [pt]
Vrazda v Orient-expresu (Czechoslovakia) [cs]

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Turkish | French | German | Italian | Swedish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M (TV rating) | Iceland:12 | Ireland:PG | West Germany:12 (f) | USA:PG (certificate #24034) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

EMI Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

G.W. Films

Trivia:

Three of the cast - Colin Blakely, Denis Quilley and George Silver - would appear in other Agatha Christie films by the the same producers (Richard B. Goodwin and John Brabourne). George Silver would have a minor part in The Mirror Crack'd (1980), while Blakely and Quilley would have more prominent roles in Evil Under the Sun (1982).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The British officer who escorts Poirot on the ferry thanks him for saving the honor of the British garrison in Jordan. The Kingdom of Jordan did not exist until 1946. In 1935 it was the Emirate of Transjordan.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ferry conductor: Your ticket, please.
Mary Debenham: Oh, yes.
Ferry conductor: Welcome aboard, Miss Debenham.
Mary Debenham: Thank you.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Chinjeolhan geumjassi (2005)

Soundtrack:

On the Good Ship Lollipop

Sheer perfection, with a once in a lifetime cast!

Whatever happened to the all star movie? Are they just too expensive now? I know a lot of the great stars are no longer with us, but there are enough to make another gem like this one. I just wish this movie was longer, so I could relish the performances of these brilliant people even more. What a magic moment it is when LAUREN BACALL and INGRID BERGMAN clink champagne classes - you can almost hear "As Time Goes By" playing in the background. Come on Hollywood, give us another all star movie, before we lose even more Hollywood royalty!