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:

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.

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