MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS: Mystery's Moral Compass (Ep. 16)

When a murder occurs of an American tycoon on the luxurious Orient Express train on which he’s traveling, detective Hercule Poirot is recruited to solve the case. But does solving the murder really close the case, especially for Poirot’s conscience? It’s been said that murder mysteries satisfy our need to feel that there is justice in the world and a moral order, which is expressed in the character of Agatha Christie’s genius detective Hercule Poirot. In episode 16 we talk about three film/tv movie adaptations and themes of Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS: The 1974 film, directed by Sidney Lumet, as a story of revenge and vigilante justice. The 2010 film (for the Poirot television series directed by Philip Martin), a story of a murder perpetrated by persons who feel that the rule of law and even God have failed to deliver justice. Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 film where Hercule Poirot describes the crime of murder as an act carried out by “wounded souls,” and concludes that the scales of justice cannot always be evenly weighed. Spoiler Alert: Some of the suspects and conclusions are revealed. Time Stamps :58 Intro to Episode 3:35 MOTOE film recap 6:40 Crime Novels -- Psychological Truth and Moral Ambiguity 8:40 Agatha Christie Novel -- fact informs fiction (Christie, Lindberg Baby Kidnapping, Orient Express) 12:55 Morality, Conscience and Justice 14:33 1974 Revenge Story (Albert Finney/Sidney Lumet) version 21:09 Setting and costume 22:43 Albert Finney monologue 26:56 2010 Moral Ambiguity in Poirot (David Suchet/Philip Martin) version 32:33 2017 Broken Lives and Wounded Souls (Kenneth Branagh) version 49:26 Wrap up 50:40 Let Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters Know Your Thoughts More information about Agatha Christie and her characters are available on the official Agatha Christie website. Visit our MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS webpage for this podcast with a list of the full cast and links to additional resources. Subscribe to the podcast newsletter for updates, bonus content and activities related to the podcast and historical drama.