In the 1974 film Murder on the Orient Express, which actor plays Hercule Poirot?

Albert Finney plays Hercule Poirot in the 1974 film Murder on the Orient Express. Directed by Sidney Lumet, the adaptation is based on Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel about a murder aboard the famous international train.

Finney was 33 when he portrayed Poirot, using heavy makeup, elaborate facial hair, and a carefully controlled manner to present Christie’s Belgian detective as an older and highly formal figure. His performance earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

The film features a large ensemble cast, including Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, and Vanessa Redgrave. The crowded cast reflects the novel’s central puzzle: nearly every passenger has a possible connection to the victim.

Other major screen Poirots include Peter Ustinov, David Suchet, and Kenneth Branagh. Ustinov first played the detective in 1978’s Death on the Nile, while Suchet portrayed him in the long-running television series Agatha Christie’s Poirot.