Murder in Three Acts

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Murder in Three Acts
Murder in Three Acts.jpg
GenreCrime
Drama
Mystery
Based on Three Act Tragedy
by Agatha Christie
Written byScott Swanton
Directed by Gary Nelson
Starring Peter Ustinov
Tony Curtis
Emma Samms
Jonathan Cecil
Fernando Allende
Pedro Armendáriz, Jr.
Lisa Eichhorn
Dana Elcar
Frances Lee McCain
Marian Mercer
Diana Muldaur
Nicholas Pryor
Concetta Tomei
Theme music composer Alf Clausen
Country of originUnited Kingdom
United States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerPaul Waigner
Production location Acapulco
CinematographyNeil Roach
EditorDonald R. Rode
Running time94 minutes
Production company Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseSeptember 30, 1986 (1986-09-30)
Related

Murder in Three Acts is a British-American made-for-television mystery film of 1986 produced by Warner Bros. Television, featuring Peter Ustinov as Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot. Directed by Gary Nelson, [1] it co-starred Jonathan Cecil as Hastings, Tony Curtis, and Emma Samms.

Contents

The film is based on Christie's book Three Act Tragedy (1934), published in the US under the title Murder in Three Acts. It was Ustinov's third and last portrayal of Poirot on television, and fifth overall including the feature films that preceded the TV movies. [2]

Plot

Hercule Poirot joins his assistant Arthur Hastings in Acapulco, 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 clergyman called Babbington, Daisy Eastman and her daughter Egg, Dr Bartholomew Strange, and Ricardo Montoya. Babbington dies of poisoning, then Strange is poisoned, too, and Poirot hunts the murderer.

Cast

Background

In 1974, Murder on the Orient Express was released, starring Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot. As Finney was unable to reprise his role for the sequel, Death on the Nile (1978), Peter Ustinov was cast in the part and reprised it for Evil Under the Sun in 1982, Thirteen at Dinner (1985), Dead Man's Folly , and Murder in Three Acts (1986). [3]

The main change from the original story Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie is the relocation of the action from London to Acapulco. In the book, Poirot's assistant is Satterthwaite but in the film, Arthur Hastings (Jonathan Cecil) replaces Satterthwaite and is reinstated in his usual role. The novel's English theatrical actor Sir Charles Cartwright turns into Charles Cartwright (Tony Curtis), an American movie star.

A version made in 2010 in the Poirot series starring David Suchet restored the title "Three Act Tragedy", as well as reinstating Sir Charles Cartwright (played by Martin Shaw) as an English stage actor.

Another screen adaptation in 1988, Appointment with Death , was Ustinov's last portrayal of the Belgian detective. [4]

References

  1. "Murder in Three Acts". TCM database. Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  2. Matthew Bunson, The Complete Christie: An Agatha Christie Encyclopedia (2000), p. 413
  3. J. C. Bernthal, Agatha Christie: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction (2022), p. 398
  4. "Peter Ustinov" in Steven H. Gale, ed., Encyclopedia of British Humorists: Geoffrey Chaucer to John Cleese (1996), p. 1161