1974 - Murder on the Orient Express
Murder Mystery Monday takes us back to the 1930s and another case for the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express is one of the rare instances where I prefer the Kenneth Branagh version than the classic telling we received in 1974. Director Sidney Lumet assembles a well-known cast who all board a train for murder. However, from the very beginning of the film I have issues with how Lumet chose to frame the story revealing the importance of the Armstrong tragedy in several scenes and newspaper front pages that go on ad nauseam.
Far less stylized than the 2017 film, this Orient is a perfunctory retelling of one of Christie's most popular mysteries. Even stuck in that ridiculous mustache, I prefer Branagh's Poirot to Albert Finney who feels a bit too inspired by Columbo, the most popular detective of the day. And although there are standouts such as Vanessa Redgrave, Jacqueline Bisset, and John Gielgud, the cast of the more recent film is far stronger top to bottom and lacks some of the more problematic performances which we get here. Ingrid Bergman would earn an Oscar for her role as the affectatious Swede, but I think its fairly easy to say this is a year the Academy got it wrong not awarding Madeline Kahn or Talia Shire.
The film picks up following the murder of Ratchett (Richard Widmark) but we never really see Poirot struggle in what was one of his most famously difficult cases. There are certainly some moments in his interrogations of the suspects, but the final reveal feels more like a book report recital, needing to describe every detail to the dim audience it never trusts to work with Poirot to put the pieces together, than a climactic moment. I also quite prefer the Poirot from Branagh's film struggling with a decision to allow a dozen murderers to go free (which doesn't seem to bother Finney, or Lumet, at all).
- Title: Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
- IMDb: link
