Review of Murder on the Orient Express (1974) by Jonathan H — 01 Sep 2007

I was browsing the TV paper looking for something fun to watch this evening when I spotted that ?Murder on the Orient Express? was on TCM (one of my favorite channels because, thanks to Ted Tuner?s grotesque wealth, it?s commercial-free).

I was only able to catch the last forty-five minutes, yet even that short time was enough to remind me why this delightful film is one of my favorites, and perhaps one of the best mysteries in cinematic history.

The plot: a man with a past is brutally stabbed to death aboard the luxurious Orient Express. Luckily for us, by sheer chance the man in the berth next door is none other than Hercule Poirot, the peculiar, loveable sleuth of many an Agatha Christie novel.

What makes this film adaptation of Christie?s 1934 detective story so notable is how well it?s executed. The filmmakers were able to take a book that is essentially 100% dialogue (most of that being exchanges between Poirot and the passengers-turned-suspects) and make it an exciting, engaging movie.

There are a number of people responsible for this achievement. The director, the great Sidney Lumet, is certainly one of them. Lumet has the amazing ability to make talky, claustrophobic screenplays fully satisfying on the screen.

A prime example is his early ?12 Angry Men?, which takes places in a single room with the same twelve characters yet is never slow or boring. Lumet applies this taut directing here. A second component of the film?s greatness is the memorable all-star cast, which includes Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Michael York, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Jacqueline Bisset, Richard Widmark, John Gielgud, Jean-Pierre Cassel, and one of my personal favorites, the late character actor Martin Balsam.

But the great Albert Finney steals the show in the surprisingly demanding role of Poirot. With his slick hair, handlebar mustache, and sometimes unintelligible Belgian accent, Finney plays the great literary sleuth as a very bright and very excitable character, an endearing little man with a quick and discerning mind.

Finney?s Poirot is an absolute joy to watch, and he is able to carry the film with aplomb. Also worthy of mention is Richard Rodney Bennett?s beautifully atmospheric score. But the real praise must go to Christie herself, for creating a brilliantly twisted mystery with an assortment of great characters.

She is often heralded as the Queen of Crime, and ?Murder on the Orient Express? certainly demonstrates why. In the end, this is the sort of a film that causes me to hold a smile the entire way through.

Finney and the cast is one reason; picking up clues and trying to solve the case is the other. By the finale, which features the devilishly clever solution and a tender, heart-warming reunion (of sorts), I feel not only entertained, but also intellectually jogged.

Thankfully, it takes a while for the smile and warm feeling to subside.