Murder on the Orient Express
(B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
Sidney Lumet, director of some of the great heavy dramas of the 20th century, decided that it was time to lighten-up. And light-en up he did with 'Murder on the Orient Express', a stellar, glamorous, if somewhat over-plotted star-studded romp based on one of Agatha Christie's juiciest murder mysteries. The film is set in December, 1935 on the notorious Orient Express. It's leaving Istanbul for London with world-renown Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney) onboard; and he happens to be the guest of his friend Bianchi (Martin Balsam), the railroad's director.
Soon after departure, a wealthy, but hateful businessman named Ratchett (Richard Widmark) is found murdered in his berth while drugged & stabbed multiple times! The detective soon discovers that Ratchett is really an Italian-American who masterminded the kidnapping of the baby daughter of a famed aviatrix & killed her after getting the ransom; he had been on the run ever since. In normal circumstances, the police would handle the investigation, but the train has been stalled by a huge snow-slide in Yugoslavia. Therefore, it is up to the insufferable but brilliant Hercule Poirot to conduct an intense cross-examination to determine the guilty party.
Among the plentitude of suspects are an obnoxious chatterbox (Lauren Bacall) who just happens to be a twice widowed celebrated actress traveling incognito; a neurotic Swedish missionary worker (Ingrid Bergman); a conceited wealthy couple of Hungarian royalty (Michael York, Jacqueline Bisset); a hilariously snobby Russian aristocrat with a foggy memory (Wendy Hiller); the snobby aristocrat's loyal German maid (Rachel Roberts); an undercover agent (Colin Blakely); a dashing English officer (Sean Connery) returning from India & about to get a divorce to marry his secret lover/train-travelling dame (beautiful Vanessa Redgrave); the deceased Ratchett's fidgety secretary (Anthony Perkins); Ratchett's dignified man-servant (John Gielgud); the sad-eyed conductor (Jean-Pierre Cassel); & even the train physician (George Coulouris). ALL of these people are suspects for a plethora of reasons.
This is a tricky film to navigate for director Lumet. There are more than 12 characters to juggle in a very confined space. It's difficult to jam in everybody's subplots, as well as to make the film as cinematic (inside the train) as possible. This film also includes an intricate plot that is sometimes hard-to-follow and may not resolve in the exciting/thrilling way that you may expect. However, the last 5 minutes are beautifully rendered with an absolutely gorgeous accompanying music score that aids the visuals we see. And the film holds interest for other reasons. The story is set in a bygone era that evokes 1930s nostalgia & grandeur. I loved the look & feel of the film; the train, the wintry weather, period costumes, opulence, etc. Watching the Hollywood stars pop-up & do their thing is inherently fun to watch.
The performances are top-notch. Albert Finney is nearly unrecognizable as our sleuth Hercule Poirot. Changing his look (moustache, jet black hair) & speaking in a heavy Belgian accent, Finney does well to create his own spin on this character -- he's great. The other actors have fun hamming it up (quite enjoyed Lauren Bacall & the hilarious Wendy Hiller). The other major performance of note is that of Ingrid Bergman's, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. In her acceptance speech, she apologized for the win, saying that Day for Night's Valentina Cortese should have taken it.
'Murder on the Orient Express' offers many pleasures. It's atmospheric, elegant, humorous, colorful; and as mentioned, it's great fun spotting the star cast -- I just wish it weren't as intermittently confusing as it is. And the big reveal at the end just needed liiiiittle bit more of a punch. All that said, whether I think it's a masterpiece or not ... it was wildly popular at the box office & critics admired it, too. I liked it very much. It's entertaining. And it "paved the way" for some of those other enjoyable Agatha Christie adaptations (Death on the Nile, The Mirror Crack'd, Evil Under the Sun), as well.
Soon after departure, a wealthy, but hateful businessman named Ratchett (Richard Widmark) is found murdered in his berth while drugged & stabbed multiple times! The detective soon discovers that Ratchett is really an Italian-American who masterminded the kidnapping of the baby daughter of a famed aviatrix & killed her after getting the ransom; he had been on the run ever since. In normal circumstances, the police would handle the investigation, but the train has been stalled by a huge snow-slide in Yugoslavia. Therefore, it is up to the insufferable but brilliant Hercule Poirot to conduct an intense cross-examination to determine the guilty party.
Among the plentitude of suspects are an obnoxious chatterbox (Lauren Bacall) who just happens to be a twice widowed celebrated actress traveling incognito; a neurotic Swedish missionary worker (Ingrid Bergman); a conceited wealthy couple of Hungarian royalty (Michael York, Jacqueline Bisset); a hilariously snobby Russian aristocrat with a foggy memory (Wendy Hiller); the snobby aristocrat's loyal German maid (Rachel Roberts); an undercover agent (Colin Blakely); a dashing English officer (Sean Connery) returning from India & about to get a divorce to marry his secret lover/train-travelling dame (beautiful Vanessa Redgrave); the deceased Ratchett's fidgety secretary (Anthony Perkins); Ratchett's dignified man-servant (John Gielgud); the sad-eyed conductor (Jean-Pierre Cassel); & even the train physician (George Coulouris). ALL of these people are suspects for a plethora of reasons.
This is a tricky film to navigate for director Lumet. There are more than 12 characters to juggle in a very confined space. It's difficult to jam in everybody's subplots, as well as to make the film as cinematic (inside the train) as possible. This film also includes an intricate plot that is sometimes hard-to-follow and may not resolve in the exciting/thrilling way that you may expect. However, the last 5 minutes are beautifully rendered with an absolutely gorgeous accompanying music score that aids the visuals we see. And the film holds interest for other reasons. The story is set in a bygone era that evokes 1930s nostalgia & grandeur. I loved the look & feel of the film; the train, the wintry weather, period costumes, opulence, etc. Watching the Hollywood stars pop-up & do their thing is inherently fun to watch.
The performances are top-notch. Albert Finney is nearly unrecognizable as our sleuth Hercule Poirot. Changing his look (moustache, jet black hair) & speaking in a heavy Belgian accent, Finney does well to create his own spin on this character -- he's great. The other actors have fun hamming it up (quite enjoyed Lauren Bacall & the hilarious Wendy Hiller). The other major performance of note is that of Ingrid Bergman's, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. In her acceptance speech, she apologized for the win, saying that Day for Night's Valentina Cortese should have taken it.
'Murder on the Orient Express' offers many pleasures. It's atmospheric, elegant, humorous, colorful; and as mentioned, it's great fun spotting the star cast -- I just wish it weren't as intermittently confusing as it is. And the big reveal at the end just needed liiiiittle bit more of a punch. All that said, whether I think it's a masterpiece or not ... it was wildly popular at the box office & critics admired it, too. I liked it very much. It's entertaining. And it "paved the way" for some of those other enjoyable Agatha Christie adaptations (Death on the Nile, The Mirror Crack'd, Evil Under the Sun), as well.