Murder on the Orient Express
The who's who in the whodunnit!
Country
Production
Budget
$1 400 000
Revenue
$27 634 716
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
John Brabourne, Richard Goodwin
Operator
Composer
Artist
Tony Walton, Jack Causey
Audition
Editing
Short description
In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.
What's left behind the scenes
- There was a mistake in the opening credits of the original copy – Colin Blakely’s surname was written as “Blanckley”.
- The Orient Express was the first feature film to use radio microphones during its production. The idea to apply them belonged to sound engineer Peter Handford (1919-2007).
- Initially, the filmmakers planned to cast Alec Guinness (1914-2000) as the famous detective, but the actor was unavailable. The offer to play Poirot was then made to Paul Scofield (1922-2008), with the same result. Eventually, they turned to 37-year-old Albert Finney, who played Poirot, despite the character's age being close to 60.
- The princess Dragomirova’s maid is reading a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) which contains the line: “What have they done to you? And how has the unhappy child been wronged?”, which is a reference to the murder of the Armstrong child.
- By the time she worked on the film "Murder on the Orient Express", Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982) had already been filming in Hollywood for almost 40 years, and her Swedish accent was almost imperceptible. The filmmakers had to hire a linguist to teach the actress to speak with an accent again.
- Agatha Christie, who was 84 years old at the time, attended the film's premiere in November 1974. The writer was very pleased. She particularly liked the image of Hercule Poirot, embodied on screen by actor Albert Finney, although his mustache did not impress her much. The appearance at the premiere turned out to be the writer's last public outing. Christie died on January 12, 1976.
- In 1929, the Orient Express actually became stranded in the snow for five days, approximately 130 kilometers from Istanbul. This incident served as the basis for Agatha Christie's novel and its film adaptation.
- Initially, the filmmakers planned to cast Alec Guinness (1914-2000) as the famous detective, but the actor was unavailable. Paul Scofield (1922-2008) was then offered the role of Poirot – with the same result. Eventually, they had to turn to 37-year-old Albert Finney, who played Poirot, whose age was approaching 60.
- Applying Albert Finney's makeup took a long time, and the actor was also performing on stage. Such a dense work schedule left him with insufficient time for sleep, so the following routine was soon established: an 'ambulance' carriage would arrive at the actor's house. A sleeping Finney, still in his pajamas, would be carefully loaded into the carriage without waking him and driven to the set. The makeup artists began working on his face during the trip from his home to the studio. Upon arrival, the actor was again carefully carried out of the vehicle and placed on a sofa in the dressing room, where the makeup was finalized. Finney slept throughout the entire process.
- Applying makeup to Albert Finney took a long time, and the actor was also performing on stage. Such a demanding work schedule didn't leave him enough time to sleep, so the following procedure soon developed. An ambulance would drive up to the actor's house. The sleeping Finney would be carefully transferred into the ambulance, still in his pajamas, so as not to wake him, and taken to the set. Makeup artists would begin working on his face while en route from home to the studio. There, the actor would again be carefully carried out of the car, placed on a couch in the makeup room, and his makeup would be finalized. Finney slept through all of this.
- By the time she worked on Murder on the Orient Express, Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982) had been filming in Hollywood for nearly 40 years, and her Swedish accent was almost imperceptible. The filmmakers had to hire a linguist to teach the actress how to speak with an accent again.
- The food served on the train at the beginning of the film was stolen from the set just before filming began. Everything had to be urgently found and procured in Paris in the middle of the night to avoid disrupting the shooting day.
- Orient Express was the first feature film to use radio microphones during production. The idea to use them belonged to sound engineer Peter Handford (1919-2007).
- The final scene of the film, in which Poirot explains what happened, required shooting with more cameras simultaneously than the set could accommodate. Many takes were necessary, which was especially difficult for Albert Finney, who had to repeat his eight-page monologue again and again.
- An error was made in the opening credits of the original print—Colin Blakely's surname was misspelled as "Blanky".
- Upon receiving the Academy Award for her role in "Murder on the Orient Express", Ingrid Bergman apologized to actress Valentina Cortese, who had been nominated for an Oscar for her role in François Truffaut's "Day for Night" (1973). Bergman stated that Cortese deserved the award more.
- In 1929, the Orient Express was indeed stuck in the snow for 5 days approximately 130 kilometers from Istanbul. This incident formed the basis for Agatha Christie’s novel and its film adaptation.
- The final scene of the film, in which Poirot explains what happened, required more cameras filming simultaneously than the set could accommodate. This necessitated numerous takes, which was particularly grueling for Albert Finney, who had to repeat his eight-page monologue time and again.
- Agatha Christie, who was 84 at the time, attended the film's premiere in November 1974. The author was very pleased. She particularly liked the portrayal of Hercule Poirot by actor Albert Finney, although his mustache did not impress her much. The premiere turned out to be the writer's final public appearance. Christie passed away on January 12, 1976.
- While receiving the Academy Award for her role in Murder on the Orient Express, Ingrid Bergman apologized to actress Valentina Cortese, who had been nominated for an Oscar for her role in François Truffaut's Day for Night (1973). Bergman stated that Cortese was more deserving of the award.
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