Goofs for
Murder on the Orient Express (1974) More at IMDbPro »

• Errors in geography: While passengers are boarding the train, you can hear through the speakers in several different languages where the train is going to stop. Sofia, Belgrade, Zagreb, Brod, Trieste. The city of Brod between Zagreb and Trieste is in Slovenia and not on the railway line. The train halt is at Slavonski Brod located between Belgrade and Zagreb.
  
  
• Continuity: When the conductor's uniform is discovered in a suitcase, the hat changes positions between shots.
  
  
• Anachronisms: In Istanbul we hear a muezzin giving the standard Muslim azan (call to prayer) in Arabic: "Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!" However, the movie is set during the 1930s when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was in power. During this time, the Arabic azan was outlawed, and a Turkish one ("Tanri Uludur!") had to be used instead. After Ataturk's death in 1938 the law was repealed.
  
  

• Errors in geography: In the train station we see Ataturk's (founder of independent and modern Turkey) poster on the wall. But in the 1930s, Ataturk was alive and had great power. Posters of him were only put on the walls years after his death.
  
  
• Continuity: When Poirot uses the hat box to decode the burnt paper, in one shot Poirot places his small burning lamp to his right in the next shot the lamp is in the center ready for the hat frames to be placed over it.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Continuity: As Poirot goes to leave the car after announcing his solution to the murder, Pierre is shown opening the salon door, and holding it open as Poirot pauses in the doorway, turns and watches as the various passengers make toasts to one another. Pierre is the first to step up and raise a toast with his glass of champagne. But when all the toasts have been made, Poirot is shown still standing in the doorway, then turning to exit, even as Pierre (actually just his arm is visible, but it couldn't have been anyone else) is seen in the exact same position, still holding open the door for Poirot.
  
  
• Anachronisms: The film takes place in 1935, but many of the extras (in the Turkish restaurant, at the railway station, etc.), and even actor Michael York (playing Count Andrenyi), have long, 1970s hairstyles.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When the rescue locomotive arrives to push the snow away, (time frame 2:04:17) you can see the snow is flowing smoothly like a liquid, some even floating in the air, it is quite obvious that the snow is really foam from soapy liquid.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: Early in the film, when the Count and Countess walk past the window of the train car, the scenery outside moves vertically for a quick second, as only a film playing outside a set would do.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Just after Poirot sips his liqueur (the green drink) in the dining car, a blurry white sedan can be seen zipping across the landscape in a way that cars do not move in the 30s. It appears to be a sedan from the 70s.
  
  
• Factual errors: At the train station, the oriental women wearing kimonos are clearly made up as Japanese, but can be heard speaking Cantonese.
  
  

• Revealing mistakes: SPOILER: After Mr Beddoes stabs Ratchett, the knife is seen to be clean and shiny.
  
  

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