''Murder in Three Acts'' is a 1986 British-American
made-for-television
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
mystery film
A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...
produced by
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...
, featuring
Peter Ustinov
Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...
as
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
's Belgian detective
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...
. Directed by
Gary Nelson,
it co-starred
Jonathan Cecil
Jonathan Hugh Gascoyne-Cecil (22 February 1939 – 22 September 2011), known as Jonathan Cecil, was an English theatre, film, and television actor.
Early life
Cecil was born in London, England, the son of Lord David Cecil and the grands ...
as Hastings,
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...
, and
Emma Samms
Emma Elizabeth Wylie Samuelson MBE known professionally as Emma Samms, (born 28 August 1960) is an English actress and TV host, known for her role as Holly Sutton on the American daytime soap opera '' General Hospital'' and as the second actre ...
.
The film is based on Christie's book ''
Three Act Tragedy
''Three Act Tragedy'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1934 under the title ''Murder in Three Acts'' and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in ...
'' (1934), published in the US under the title ''Murder in Three Acts''.
Cast
*
Peter Ustinov
Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...
as
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...
*
Jonathan Cecil
Jonathan Hugh Gascoyne-Cecil (22 February 1939 – 22 September 2011), known as Jonathan Cecil, was an English theatre, film, and television actor.
Early life
Cecil was born in London, England, the son of Lord David Cecil and the grands ...
as Captain
Arthur Hastings
Captain Arthur J. M. Hastings, OBE, is a fictional character created by Agatha Christie as the companion-chronicler and best friend of the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. He is first introduced in Christie's 1920 novel '' The Mysterious Af ...
*
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...
as Charles Cartwright
*
Emma Samms
Emma Elizabeth Wylie Samuelson MBE known professionally as Emma Samms, (born 28 August 1960) is an English actress and TV host, known for her role as Holly Sutton on the American daytime soap opera '' General Hospital'' and as the second actre ...
as Jennifer "Egg" Eastman
*
Dana Elcar
Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as on the 1980s and 1990s television series ''MacGyver'' as Peter Thornton, MacGyver's immediate ...
as Dr Strange
*
Lisa Eichhorn
Lisa Eichhorn (born February 4, 1952) is an American actress, writer and producer. She made her film debut in 1979 in the John Schlesinger film '' Yanks'', for which she received two Golden Globe nominations. Her international career has includ ...
as Cynthia Dayton
*
Nicholas Pryor
Nicholas Pryor (born Nicholas David Probst; January 28, 1935) is an American actor. He has appeared in various television series, films, and stage productions.
Life and career
Pryor was born Nicholas David Probst in Baltimore, Maryland, the son ...
as Freddie Dayton
*
Fernando Allende
Luis Fernando Allende Arenas (born November 10, 1952) is a Mexican singer, actor, painter, film producer, and film director.
Early life
Allende was born in Mexico. His father is Mexican, and his mother is from Cuba. Allende's grandfather on his f ...
as Ricardo Montoya
*
Pedro Armendáriz, Jr. as Colonel Mateo
*
Frances Lee McCain
Frances Lee McCain (born July 28, 1943) is an American actress.
Early life and education
McCain was born in York, Pennsylvania and grew up in New York, Illinois and Colorado in addition to California. She graduated from Ripon College with ...
as Miss Milray
*
Marian Mercer
Marian Ethel Mercer (November 26, 1935 – April 27, 2011) was an American actress and singer.
Career
Born in Akron, Ohio, Mercer was the daughter of Samuel and Nellie Mercer. She graduated from the University of Michigan, then spent several ...
as Daisy Eastman
*
Diana Muldaur
Diana Muldaur (born August 19, 1938) is an American film and television actress. Muldaur's television roles include Rosalind Shays on ''L.A. Law'' and Dr. Katherine Pulaski in the second season of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. She also ...
as Angela Stafford
*
Concetta Tomei
Concetta Tomei (born December 30, 1945) is an American theatre, film and television character actress, best known for her roles as Major Lila Garreau on the ABC series ''China Beach'' (1988–1991) and as Lynda Hansen on the NBC series ''Provi ...
as Janet Crisp
*Philip Guilmant as Rev. Mr Babbington
*
Jacqueline Evans
Jacqueline Evans (1914–1989) was a British-born Mexican film actress.Murphy p.75 Evans was born on the 17th of January 1914 in Islington, London. She made her first film appearance in the 1946 film ''Walking on Air'' in a minor role. Her first ...
as Mrs Babbington
*
Martin LaSalle
Martin LaSalle (10 August 1930 – 17 October 2018) was a French-Uruguayan actor. LaSalle first appeared in the Robert Bresson film ''Pickpocket'' (1959). Previously unknown, and in line with the director's mature practice, not then an actor, he ...
as Doctor
*Alma Levy as Nurse
*Julio Monterde as Manager
Premise
Poirot joins his assistant
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
in
Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
, Mexico, where Hastings is staying. They go to a party at which the other guests include the writer Janet Crisp, the American actor Charles Cartwright, a
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
man called Babbington, Daisy Eastman and her daughter Egg, Dr Strange, and Ricardo Montoya. Babbington dies of poisoning, then Strange is poisoned, too, and Poirot hunts the murderer.
Changes to the original story
The main change is the relocation of the action from London to Acapulco. In the book, Poirot's assistant is Satterthwaite, replacing Hastings, but in the film Hastings is reinstated in his usual role. Christie's English theatrical actor Sir Charles Cartwright turns into Charles Cartwright, an American
movie star
A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and w ...
.
A version made in 2010 in the long
''Poirot'' series starring
David Suchet restored the title "
Three Act Tragedy
''Three Act Tragedy'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1934 under the title ''Murder in Three Acts'' and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in ...
", as well as reinstating Sir Charles Cartwright (played by
Martin Shaw
Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition as Doyle in ITV (TV network), ITV crime-action television drama series ''The Professionals (TV series), The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable ...
) as an English stage actor.
Prequels & Sequels
In 1974,
''Murder On The Orient-Express'' was released, starring Albert Finney as
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...
. As Finney was unable to reprise his role in 1978, for the sequel,
''Death On The Nile'',
Peter Ustinov
Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...
was cast. He reprised the role for ''
Evil Under The Sun'' in 1982 and later committed to several
made-for-television-films. Apart from ''Murder In Three Acts'', ''
Thirteen At Dinner'' and ''
Dead Man's Folly
''Dead Man's Folly'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in October 1956 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 5 November of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.9 ...
'' were released. Another screen adaption of one of Christie's novels in 1988,
''Appointment With Death'', marked Ustinov's final portrayal of the
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
detective.
References
External links
*
*
*
1986 television films
1986 films
1980s mystery films
American mystery films
British television films
British mystery films
Films based on Hercule Poirot books
CBS network films
Warner Bros. films
Films directed by Gary Nelson
1980s American films
1980s British films
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