Murder on the Orient Express (1974) - Colonel Arbuthnot Scene (6/10) | Movieclips
Best Movie: Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
We’re skipping over David Suchet, but only on a technicality. The actor played Poirot in 70 episodes of the eponymous 1989 to 2013 TV series that adapted each and every Agatha Christie-written TV series. More than volume, though, he flawlessly captures Poirot’s blend of uptight fussiness and charm, playing a character who absolutely knows that he’s the smartest man in the room, but also knows that it’s rude to say so until he can’t help himself. Though it may sound blasphemous, I’d place Kenneth Branagh’s version in second place for very nearly capturing that same balance, but Sidney Lumet’s multiple-Oscar-nominated take on Murder on the Orient Express remains the star-studded gold standard to which Branagh’s adaptation, and even the Knives Out movies, are compared. Albert Finney’s Poirot plays up the character’s more cartoonish ticks, but that works in such a heightened film, and sets up moments of deadly seriousness.
Where to stream: Fubo, Kanopy, Pluto
Honorable Mentions: As controversially noted, the 2017 Murder on the Orient Express is quite good in its own right, while the entertaining 1978 Death on the Nile (steaming on Tubi) launched Peter Ustinov’s run with the character, leading a cast including Angela Lansbury, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, and Maggie Smith.
