Review of Murder on the Orient Express (1974) by Sherry S — 04 Dec 2008

Sidney Lumet's adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express tells the story of a group of first class passengers aboard a train. One of them is murdered and the rest are suspects. The train is stuck in snow so nobody can leave or get on the train. Overall, the plot had potential, but I felt it was far too rushed and I never really got a chance to form opinions as to who I thought was the murderer.

The film stars Albert Finney as the famous detective who happens to be on the train and attempts to solve the case. Personally, I couldn't stand Finney or his character and found him irritating while on screen which was pretty much the entire film. The supporting cast and suspects includes an all-star cast including the likes of Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall, Anthony Perkins, and Sean Connery. These characters were all fairly interesting and it is a shame they all had such small parts. Ingrid Bergman won best supporting actress for her performance which I find somewhat puzzling as she had a very small role in the film whereas Lauren Bacall's supporting role seemed more memorable.

Overall, I didn't really care for this. It seemed like it could have been interesting, but investigating 12 murder suspects and explaining why they might be the murderer in addition to everything else the film has to do in just 2 hours and 7 minutes just isn't enough time. I haven't read the book, but it's probably a better option for anyone interested in this film.

68.5/100.

D+.

UP NEXT: West Side Story.