The Mystery Of The Blue Train (film)

''The Mystery of the Blue Train'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by William Collins & Sons on 29 March 1928 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year.American Tribute to Agatha Christie
/ref> The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00. The book features her detective Hercule Poirot.

The novel features the murder of an American heiress on Le Train Bleu, the titular "Blue Train". The novel's heroine, Katherine Grey, comes from the fictional village of St Mary Mead, which just happens to be the name of the hometown of Agatha Christie's second most famous crime-solving sleuth, Jane Marple, whose character was introduced after this novel was published.

Plot summary

Poirot boards Le Train Bleu, bound for the French Riviera. So does Katherine Grey, who is having her first winter out of England, after recently receiving a relatively large inheritance. On board the train Grey meets Ruth Kettering, an American heiress leaving her unhappy marriage to meet her lover. The next morning, though, Ruth is found dead in her compartment, a victim of strangulation.

The famous ruby, "Heart of Fire", which had recently been given to Ruth by her father, is discovered to be missing. Ruth's father, the American millionaire Rufus Van Aldin, and his secretary, Major Knighton, persuade Poirot to take on the case. Ruth's maid, Ada Mason, says that she saw a man in Ruth's compartment but could not see who he was. The police suspect that Ruth's lover, the Comte de la Roche, killed her and stole the ruby, but Poirot does not think that the Comte is guilty. He is suspicious of Ruth's husband, Derek Kettering, who was on the same train but claims not to have seen Ruth. Katherine says that she saw Derek enter Ruth's compartment. Further suspicion is thrown on Derek when a cigarette case with the letter "K" is found there.

Poirot investigates and finds out that the murder and the jewel theft might not be connected, as the famous jewel thief "The Marquis" is connected to the crime. Eventually, the avaricious Mirelle, who was on the train with Derek -- with whom she had been having an affair but, now spurned, is seeking revenge against him -- tells Poirot she saw Derek leave Ruth's compartment around the time the murder would have taken place. Derek is then arrested. Everyone is convinced the case is solved, but Poirot is not sure. He does more investigating and learns more information, talking to his friends and to Katherine, eventually coming to the truth.

He asks Van Aldin and Knighton to come with him on the Blue Train to recreate the murder. He tells them that Ada Mason is really Kitty Kidd, a renowned male impersonator and actress. Katherine saw what she thought was a boy getting off the train, but it was really Mason. Poirot realised that Mason was the only person who saw anyone with Ruth in the compartment, so this could have been a lie. He reveals that the murderer and Mason's accomplice is Knighton, who is really the ruthless "Marquis". He also says that the cigarette case with the K on it does not stand for 'Kettering', but for 'Knighton'. Since Knighton was supposedly in Paris, no one would have suspected him. Derek did go into the compartment to talk to Ruth once he saw she was on the train, but he left when he saw she was asleep. The police arrest Knighton and the case is closed.

Characters

* Hercule Poirot, a private detective
*Rufus Van Aldin, the American millionaire, Ruth's father
*Ruth Kettering, Van Aldin's only daughter, Derek's wife
*Hon Derek Kettering, Van Aldin's son-in-law, Ruth's husband
*Mirelle, a Parisian dancer, Derek's gold-digging and later vengeful French lover
*Major Richard Knighton, Van Aldin's secretary
*Ada Mason, Ruth Kettering's maid
*Armand, Comte de la Roche, former lover of Ruth
*Monsieur Carrège, of French police
*Commissary Caux, of French police
*Mr Goby, Rufus's informant
*Katherine Grey, formerly companion to the recently deceased Mrs Harfield, who has left her entire estate to Grey
*Dr and Mrs Harrison, Katherine's friends in the village of St Mary Mead
*Amelia Viner, an elderly, terminally ill spinster and friend of Katherine Grey in St Mary Mead
*Rosalie, Viscountess Tamplin, cousin of Katherine, owner of a villa on the Riviera
*Hon. Lenox Tamplin, Lady Tamplin's daughter
*Charles Evans, Lady Tamplin's much younger husband
*Kyrios (Mr) Papopolous, jewellery dealer and an acquaintance of Poirot
*Zia Papopolous, his daughter
*Pierre Michel, the train's attendant
*Joseph Aarons, Poirot's acquaintance, an expert in people involved in the "dramatic profession" (acting) who advises Poirot about the skilled impersonator Kitty Kidd, known by a different name for most of the novel

Influence and significance

The novel's plot is based on the 1923 Poirot short story " The Plymouth Express" (later collected in book form in the US in 1951 in ''The Under Dog and Other Stories'' and in the UK in 1974 in '' Poirot's Early Cases'').

This novel features the first mention, in a novel, of the fictional village of St. Mary Mead, which had originally appeared in "The Tuesday Night Club" published in December 1927, which was the first short story of Christie's detective Miss Marple. It also features the first appearance of the minor recurring character, Mr Goby, who would later appear in ''After the Funeral'' and ''Third Girl''. The book also features the first appearance of Poirot's valet, George.

Mere months after this novel was published, prolific French novelist Arthur Bernède published "Le mystère du train bleu" in late 1928. A murder mystery adventure featuring Bernède's own popular detective, Chantecoq, the story is set in Paris and the plot is completely different. It seems likely, however, that Bernède was hoping to benefit from Poirot's popularity.

Literary significance and reception

The '' Times Literary Supplement'' gave a more positive reaction to the book than Christie herself in its issue of 3 May 1928. After recounting the set-up of the story the reviewer concluded: "The reader will not be disappointed when the distinguished Belgian on psychological grounds declines to suspect the arrested husband and, by acting on the suggestion of an ugly girl who consistently derides her preposterous mother, builds up inferences almost out of the air, supports them by a masterly array of negative evidence and lands his fish to the surprise of everyone".

''The New York Times Book Review'' of 12 August 1928 said, "Nominally Poirot has retired, but retirement means no more to him than it does to a prima donna. Let a good murder mystery come within his ken, and he just can't be kept out of it."

British crime writer and critic Robert Barnard declared: "Christie's least favourite story, which she struggled with just before and after the disappearance. The international setting makes for a good varied read, but there is a plethora of sixth-form schoolgirl French and some deleterious influences from the thrillers. There are several fruitier candidates for the title of 'worst Christie'."

References or allusions

One of the characters in '' Death on the Nile'' recognises Poirot because of his involvement in ''The Mystery of the Blue Train'': "Miss Van Schuyler said: ' I have only just realised who you are, Monsieur Poirot. I may tell you that I have heard of you from my old friend Rufus Van Aldin." That line was retained in the television film, even though ''Death on the Nile'' was broadcast first.

The novel features a Wagon Lit conductor called Pierre Michel which is the same name of another Wagon Lit conductor who appears in '' Murder on the Orient Express'' — it is never revealed whether these two characters are one and the same or different.

The titular Blue Train appears again in '' Three Act Tragedy'' where Poirot boards the train with Sir Charles Cartwright to return to England.

Adaptations

Television

The novel was televised in 2006 as a special episode of the series '' Agatha Christie's Poirot'', and was aired by ITV on 1 January starring David Suchet as Poirot, Roger Lloyd-Pack as Inspector Caux, James D'Arcy as Derek Kettering, Lindsay Duncan as Lady Tamplin, Alice Eve as Lenox and Elliott Gould as Rufus Van Aldin.

The television film ''The Mystery of the Blue Train'' includes several changes from the original novel. To tie in with the rest of the series, the setting is changed to the late 1930s. Additionally, Ruth's lover is travelling on the train with her, and they are both fleeing her husband. Lady Tamplin, Corky and her daughter Lenox also travel on the blue train. Ruth becomes friends with Katherine Grey. They switch train compartments, and when Ruth is bludgeoned to death, making her features unrecognisable, Poirot speculates that the intended victim may have been Katherine. Rufus, Ruth's father, has a wife in the film, who became insane after Ruth's birth, and Rufus has ensured her (his wife's) safekeeping at a convent, where she has become a nun. The character of Mirelle is changed to be Rufus's mistress, who visits Rufus's wife. She is mistaken by Rufus's wife to be her daughter Ruth. Additional changes in the film include Ada Mason trying to kill Katherine (because Knighton had fallen in love with Katherine and Ada was jealous). Katherine is saved by Lenox jumping on Mason and biting her on the neck. At the end of the film, the murderer, Major Richard Knighton, commits suicide by having himself run over by an oncoming train, instead of just being arrested by the French police as in the novel. The television film also shows Lady Tamplin's fourth husband (Corky by name) acquiring a ruby for her. In the book, Lady Tamplin's fourth husband is named "Chubby", and he has nothing to do with the ruby.

In the end, Katherine expresses a desire to travel, saying that she intends to take the Orient Express from Vienna. She asks Poirot if he has taken that train, and he says he has not. However, in a bit of foreshadowing, Poirot says that he would like to take the Orient Express someday, while Katherine talks about the romance of the train.

Radio

''The Mystery of the Blue Train'' was adapted for radio by BBC Radio 4, with Maurice Denham as Poirot. It was broadcast in six parts weekly, 29 December 1985 - 2 February 1986. This was the first of the adaptations of Poirot novels by BBC Radio.

Graphic novel

''The Mystery of the Blue Train'' was released by HarperCollins as a graphic novel adaptation on 3 December 2007, adapted and illustrated by Marc Piskic (). This was translated from the edition first published in France by Emmanuel Proust éditions in 2005 under the title of ''Le Train Bleu''.

Publication history

* 1928, William Collins and Sons (London), 29 March 1928, Hardcover, 296 pp
* 1928, Dodd Mead and Company (New York), 1928, Hardcover, 306 pp
* 1932, William Collins and Sons, February 1932 (As part of the ''Agatha Christie Omnibus of Crime'' along with ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', ''The Seven Dials Mystery'' and '' The Sittaford Mystery''), Hardcover (Priced at seven shillings and sixpence)
* 1940, Pocket Books (New York), Paperback, 276 pp
* 1948, Penguin Books

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases