Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

Sidney Lumet directed this star-studded murder mystery thriller; Paul Dehn (Seven Days to Noon (1950)) wrote the screenplay adapting the Agatha Christie novel to earn his second (and last) Oscar nomination. Albert Finney (Tom Jones (1963)) earned his second of five (four for Best Actor one for Supporting) unrewarded Academy Award nominations for expertly playing Christie’s protagonist Hercule Poirot and Ingrid Bergman won her third (and last) Oscar first for Supporting Actress out of her seven career nominations. Richard Widmark plays the disagreeable victim of the crime (he’s stabbed to death twelve times!) case that the famed detective must solve. Lauren Bacall Martin Balsam Jacqueline Bisset John Gielgud Wendy Hiller Anthony Perkins Vanessa Redgrave Michael York Colin Blakely and George Coulouris are among the others and murder suspects aboard the titled train who complete the cast. I wouldn’t want to spoil it by telling much of the plot because of what transpires during Poirot’s denouement gathering (to determine-reveal "who done it"); it may surprise you. Cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth (Cabaret (1972)) costume designer Tony Walton (Mary Poppins (1964)) and composer Richard Rodney Bennett (whose Scores for Far from the Maddening Crowd (1967) & Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)) were also nominated.

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