Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express is a classic whodunnit. Hercule Poirot, “little gray cells” and all, is traveling from Istanbul to Calais on the exotic Orient Express. After the train gets stuck in a snowdrift, a nasty American named Edward Ratchett is murdered, stabbed 12 times. (Christie got the idea from the 1932 Lindbergh kidnapping case when the child of aviator Charles Lindbergh was kidnapped and murdered.)
Poirot is on the case. Of course, he solves it, but what happens next is a classic Christie twist. Over the decades since its publication, Murder on the Orient Express has taken many forms, from films to stage to video game and more. Here is a selection of some of the adaptations this classic has gone through. Some are good. Some are bad. And some are just weird.
1933/34 Book - The Murder That Started It All
The book was the tenth outing for Poirot. Aboard a snowbound train, twelve vigilante killers murder a man who had, some years before, kidnapped and murdered a child, Daisy Armstrong. Each killer is connected to the tragedy in some way. The victim Ratchett (real name Cassetti) was the kidnapper and killer who escaped justice. Poirot, mais oui, discovers the truth but decides to blame the murder on an intruder, letting the killers walk free. A classic Christie twist.
Of course, the book did well. To date, Christie has sold more than one billion books worldwide. That’s a lot of royalties. In 1934, one critic congratulated the fictional murderers, saying that had Poirot not been on the train, they would have pulled off the perfect murder.
1974 Film - A Distracting Cast And An Angry Poirot
Just about anybody who was anybody in the acting world was in this film. Albert Finney as Poirot was supported by the likes of Ingrid Bergman, Vanessa Redgrave, and Sean Connery. There were simply too many famous faces on show. Oh look, it’s Vanessa Redgrave talking to John Gielgud . . .
On the plus side, the script is faithful to the book and the signature theme tune is to die for — even if Finney’s Poirot can be a little on the angry side. But there are nice comic touches, like the sleeping Belgian detective wearing a hairnet that holds up his mustache.
2001 - CBS’ Modern Update
What was the pitch for this CBS version of the classic tale? Was it: “I’ve got this great idea. We do Murder on the Orient Express, but freshen it up a little and bring it up to date. Twelve killers are too many. Let’s cut some out altogether. And Poirot? Let’s have him use computers to speed up his investigations. And wouldn’t it be great to give him a love interest?
Actor Alfred Molina as Poirot looks and sounds more like an insurance salesman than an iconic detective. The whole point of Murder on the Orient Express is that it was right for its time. This CBS version got some bad, bad reviews.
2006 - A Video Game?
Well, it is what the reviewers called merely decent. Lots of talk. Very little action. Poirot has a sidekick named Antoinette (the player) who runs the investigation after Poirot sprains his ankle. Don’t think zapping action; think of conversation and puzzle-solving.
It never really picks up much speed. As IGN said, “Playing Murder on the Orient Express at many times feels like reading a novel as extended dialogue exchanges with multiple characters eat up numerous gameplay hours.”
2007 - Or A Graphic Novel?
In 2007, François Rivière wrote a French-language graphic novel version of Murder on the Orient Express. It was brief, telling the complicated story over some 44 pages. It was also translated into English.
Although it got a 4.1 (out of 5) on Goodreads, many readers found it confusing. We’re not surprised. It took Christie around 250 pages to tell the story. Rivière tried to do it in 44. He did just about manage to get the plot twist in at the end. Barely.
2010 Television Version - Back Story Add-Ons
Beginning in the late 1980s, UK commercial channel ITV churned out a number of Marple and Poirot mysteries. To keep the well-known stories “fresh,” ITV decided to invent a number of backstories. Miss Marple was given a married lover who was killed during the First World War.
The opening scene of David Suchet’s 2010 Murder on the Orient Express is pure add-on. Poirot is shown confronting a soldier, accusing him of lying. The soldier commits suicide. Fade to Istanbul and the train journey. Poirot starts out the embodiment of angry justice, condemning the vigilante murder of Cassetti. In the end, he softens and, with tears in his eyes, lets them off the hook, motivated by the soldier’s death. Was the soldier plot really necessary?
2015 - A Cult Following In Japan
Who knew Agatha Christie had such a cult following in Japan?. Case in point: Filming on the ITV Poirot series with David Suchet had been halted when in 2000, the producers learned that the show had an extraordinarily large following in Japan. That helped to save the show.
In 2015, a Japanese TV version of Murder on the Orient Express hit the airwaves. The fans loved it and the mustached Japanese Hercule. The film kept the basic plot, with the story now taking place in Japan. There are also many anime and manga versions of Agatha Christie’s work.
2017 - The Play’s The Thing
Playwright Ken Ludwig is known for his farces. So, in 2017 when his play Murder on the Orient Express premiered in Washington D.C., many wondered what they were in for. They needn’t have worried. With a cracking set and just enough humor, it was a joy. There were some quibbles. Some minor suspects had been eliminated and Ludwig threw in a second crime, which many thought unnecessary.
But the play was such a hit, that they took it on the road. It’s still playing all over the country.
2017 Film - More Branagh Than Christie
Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express. It smashed it at the box office, but fans and critics weren’t so sure. Roger Ebert’s website said that while the script was good and true to the novel and Branagh a reasonable Poirot, that he just could not stop staring at his monster mustache.
The film was more Branagh than Christie. Even with stars such as Johnny Depp and Judi Dence, the only important character in the whole thing was Poirot.
Who’s The Best Poirot?
Albert Finney did it in 1974. Kenneth Branagh took a stab at it in 2017. In 2001 Albert Molina struggled with a lousy script. And in 2010, David Suchet climbed aboard the train and cracked the case. Can we point to a “best” Poirot as far as productions of Murder on the Orient Express is concerned?
Albert Finney was an angry and aggressive Poirot. And a pretty good one. Albert Molina, despite his best efforts, never stood a chance. Kenneth Branagh, lumbered with a back story, smolders a little and delivers just enough campiness to make it work. But if sheer acting skills and faithfulness to Christie’s vision are the criteria, we have to give a nod to Suchet.
