On Murder On the Orient Express

Agatha Christie's Murder On the Orient Express is a Hercule Poirot mystery. The little Belgian detective with the egg-shaped head and fearsome moustache boards a train traveling from Stamboul (Istanbul, Turkey, I presume) across Europe. Among the other passengers on the train there is a rich American gentleman by the name of Ratchett. Poirot, as well as nearly everyone else on the train, takes an instant dislike to Ratchett. However, it still comes as a surprise when Ratchett is found murdered one morning... stabbed twelve times with a knife. Poirot must put his "little grey cells" to work to catch the killer - or is it "killers"?

Pros: This story is another example of how one can have no idea of the solution the first time through, but groan at how obvious it is the second time through. I don't know how she did it, but Christie was definitely the queen of crime.

Cons: There's a fuzzy moral ending, though I'm not sure if it actually is moral or not. It's hard not to sympathize in this case.

My Rating: T (a couple sexual references, one mild, one not. Very annoying.)

Concerning Sad Cypress

In Agatha Christie's Sad Cypress, Elinor Carlisle starts out immensely happy. She's engaged to marry her cousin, Roddy Winter, whom she's loved since she was a little girl. Granted, she has a few financial problems, but they're not serious, and she'll inherit her Aunt Laura's estate as soon as the old lady dies. Then Elinor receives an anonymous note warning her that a woman is worming her way into the aunt's affections. Aunt Laura had a stroke a few months ago, and is particularly vulnerable. So Roddy and Elinor decide to go for a visit to find if there's any truth in the note. They soon discover that the truth can be deadly.

Pros: I really like Dr. Peter Lord, Aunt Laura's physician. Although I must say I was surprised about his red hair and freckles - I've seen the movie version and he looks completely different than his description in the book! The story is really very good - quite a head-scratcher!

Cons: I hate the way euthanasia is brought up time and again throughout the book. It's rather necessary to the story (although the movie did just fine without it), but considering my views on the subject, I think its very presence is dreadful. Putting old people out of their misery, indeed! As if their lives were worthless!

My Rating: T (thematic elements including euthanasia)

Regarding The Mystery of the Blue Train

In Agatha Christie's The Mystery of the Blue Train, the little Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is hard at work again. The only daughter of an American millionaire has been murdered and robbed of a fabulous ruby necklace on board the Blue Train in France. Her husband, who she was about to divorce, is immediately suspected of the crime. After all, he was on board the train at the time. He has pressing debts, and would have been cut off without a cent if his wife had lived to divorce him. But Poirot is unsatisfied and suspects there's more to this case than meets the eye.

Pros: I like any redemption story, and I believe this is a redemption story.

Cons: The beginning got on my nerves a bit, what with the wife and her boyfriend, the husband and his girlfriend, and the talk about a divorce.

My Rating: T (unfaithful spouses)

Regarding They Came to Baghdad

In Agatha Christie's They Came to Baghdad, Victoria Jones is an indifferent shorthand typist who has just gotten fired. Then she meets a young man in a park. During the course of their conversation, Victoria discovers his name is Edward and he's about to go to Baghdad to take up a secretarial job. Determined to follow him, she uses her talent for telling lies to finagle her way to the far-off city, blissfully unaware of the trouble that awaits her there.

Pros: There are Christian themes at the end of the book that I liked very much. I love Christie's spy stories! (Although I must admit I didn't like Passenger to Frankfurt at all.)

Cons: I don't really like Victoria; she lies too much. I also don't think that the Cold War happened simply because Americans and Soviets didn't understand each other - Americans knew only too well how evil the Soviet Union really was.

My Rating: T (murder, conspiracy)

In Relation To Murder On the Orient Express

Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) boards the Orient Express, a train bound west from Istanbul, with a little help from the director of the line. There he meets the American businessman named Samuel Ratchett (Toby Jones), who offers him thousands of dollars in exchange for protection. Since he doesn't like Ratchett, Poirot refuses him. That very night Ratchett is murdered in his bed. The murderer couldn't possibly have left the train, which is stuck in a snowdrift. Which of the thirteen people besides Poirot in the Calais coach committed the murder?

Pros: There are cool Catholic elements. Poirot holds a rosary as he's saying a beautiful night prayer in one scene, and prays the rosary (albeit while smoking a cigarette) when he needs guidance later in the movie. There's also a neat contrast scene where Poirot's night prayer (the hopeful one of a good person) is juxtaposed with the night prayer of Ratchett (the pleading one of a person who needs forgiveness and protection). The final scene is thought-provoking, though I can't explain here because it will give it away! The story has been simplified from the book.

Cons: One or two things were much more obvious than in the book.

My Rating: T (violent murder)

Regarding Marple: The Blue Geranium

Can pink geraniums on wallpaper ever turn blue? Are fortune tellers shams or can they predict the future? Was Eddie Seward (Jason Durr) murdered or did he commit suicide? And who killed Mary Pritchard (Sharon Small)? Was it Phillipa (Claudie Blakley), Mary's jealous sister who was once in love with Mary's husband George (Toby Stephens)? Or perhaps George tired of such a nagging, whining wife and decided to be rid of her once and for all. The wrong person is on trial for murder and only Miss Marple can stop an innocent person from being hung.

Pros: Another example of a fine Agatha Christie work, though not as good as many I've read/seen. The acting was very good. I rather liked the inspector. There was a theme of the seven deadly sins woven into the story (though they only dealt with three or so), which I found very refreshing if not quite Catholic.

Cons: Agatha Christie's version was a short story, so the filmmakers naturally had to flesh out the storyline. The things they added were, in my opinion, very obviously not a part of the original story.

My Rating: T (the usual scandalous behavior)

On Marple: The Secret of Chimneys

Marple: The Secret of Chimneys, based on one of Agatha Christie's books, begins with a flashback. A young maid is murdered on the night of a party - and a priceless jewel disappears that same night. Twenty-three years later another murder is commited in the same house. How do the pieces fit together? Only Miss Jane Marple (Julia McKenzie) has the wit to complete the puzzle.

Pros: As always, there were twists and turns before the story finally reached its conclusion. I thought Inspector Finch (Stephen Dillane) was a great character. I rather liked one of the other men and really liked one of the women (I won't say which - it may give the story away).

Cons: This story had its usual measure of the scandalous (though not too bad - at one point in the movie I thought it was going to get much worse than it actually did). The morals are, as is usual with a Christie story, rather muddled. I guessed the murderer, though the motive was a complete surprise.

My Rating: T (violent murders, various scandalous behavior - nothing explicit)

Concerning Marple: The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side

In Marple: The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side, American movie star Marina Gregg (Lindsay Duncan) has just made a brilliant comeback after her nervous breakdown. She moves into a manor house near Saint Mary Mead with her boyish husband, Jason Rudd (Nigel Harman). But when a woman drops dead at a charity event held in Marina's house, only Miss Marple (Julia McKenzie) can connect the dots and find the killer.

Pros: In my opinion, this is one of Agatha Christie's best whodunits. The solution seems so very obvious, but somehow is exceedingly difficult to figure out. I won't say another word!

Cons: There's one character who is really annoying. She, uh, wears pretty low-cut dresses in two scenes. There's also evidence of Agatha Christie's questionable views on "death is better than being tried and hanged". Marina has been married five times. She also has a child who has a severe mental disability. He isn't quite discussed like he's actually a person - one character goes so far as to call him a "wretched little creature."

My Rating: T (immodesty, murder mystery)