The story of this luxury train journey from Istanbul to Calais is just too familiar. But Neil Norman says that this adaptation from 1974 is "perhaps the best of any Agatha Christie novel". It certainly has one of the greatest casts ever assembled. Christina thinks that the director Sidney Lumet known for as a "New York street director" should take on such a British movie. But he did come out of the theatre as did Agatha. His film Twelve Angry Men had been a success. The producer was John Brabourne who was a cousin to the Queen. He had already produced Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet But he had hard work in convincing Agatha to adapt this one of her novels as she had suffered major disappointment with a number of early film adaptations. This was when (under financial pressure) she sold the rights of her books to MGM Although the 1957 film Witness for the Prosecution was very good with a superb cast.
We hear about Agatha's background, being so well travelled. In order to get the best possible cast, they first turned to Sean Connery on the basis that the rest would follow. "Glamour and fun". The characters in some ways take on the persona of their most famous movies. Anthony Perkins is almost Norman Bates. We hear about 37 year old Albert Finney playing Poirot, not entirely likeable. The train itself was built in Elstree Studios and we hear how they filmed in such confined spaces. Agatha actually attended the film's premier and loved what they had done. It was a big hit world wide, especially in America where it established her reputation. It gained nominations for six Academy Awards, including one for Albert Finney, and won best supporting actress for Ingmar Bergman.
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