Murder on the Orient Express Trivia

1. Daisy Armstrong is kidnapped with a demand for ransom from her wealthy parents - Sonia Armstrong is the daughter of the famous tragic actress Linda Arden, while Colonel Hamish Armstrong was a distinguished officer in which Scottish regiment?

From Quiz Too Many Clues: "Murder on the Orient Express" '74

Answer: Royal Scots

The Royal Scots was founded in 1633 by Sir John Hepburn, who was given a warrant by Charles I to recruit 1200 Scots to fight on behalf of the French. The regiment remained part of the French establishment until 1679, when the peace treaty with the Dutch required all English and Scottish troops to be repatriated. The regiment was then made part of the English Army as the "First Regiment of Foot, or Royal Scots", becoming the senior infantry regiment of the line. The regiment remained, unamalgamated or altered, until 2006, when it was united with the five other remaining Scottish line infantry regiments to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland. In the film, Colonel Arbuthnot mentions while being interrogated that Armstrong won the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross during the First World War while serving in the regiment; Poirot notes with interest how Arbuthnot was able to recall these decorations accurately, as Arbuthnot's regiment (12th Gurkha Rifles) and Armstrong's were unlikely to have interacted.

From Quiz Too Many Clues: "Murder on the Orient Express" '74

Answer: Sirkeci station

Sirkeci is one of two major railway termini in Istanbul, and is located in the Fatih district, close to the bank of the Golden Horn, on the European side of the Bosphorus. The station was opened in 1890 to replace a previous, temporary station that had been in place since 1873. The station served as the eastern terminus of the Orient Express from its opening, and is the main railway connection between Turkey and the rest of Europe. In addition to the main terminal, there is also has an underground station serving the Marmaray line, which travels in tunnel underneath the Bosphorus, and connects Sirkeci with Haydarpaşa station, the other major terminus in the city, located on the Asian side. In the film, we first see Poirot on the Bosphorus ferry awaiting its departure; he has been called to London from Jordan, and is making the next leg of his journey from the Asian side of Istanbul to reach Sirkeci station and connect with the Orient Express.

From Quiz "Murder on the Orient Express", 1974 Film

Answer: Richard Rodney Bennett

A graduate of London's Royal Academy of Music, Bennett had earlier provided the scores for the films "Far From the Madding Crowd" (based on the Thomas Hardy novel) and "Nicholas and Alexandra" prior to his work on "Orient Express". A prolific jazz composer, Bennett has also penned symphonies, concertos, sonatas, and operas. Bennett's score for "Orient Express" won him an Academy Award nomination for best score. It is one of the most celebrated film scores of all time, and has been made into an orchestral suite. The sinister and evocative opening theme, the eerie music underpinning the opening montage, and the glorious music accompanying the train's departure from the station are among the many elements that make this film so memorable.

From Quiz Too Many Clues: "Murder on the Orient Express" '74

Answer: St Christopher

St Christopher is a saint venerated by a number of Christian denominations. According to legend, he was a man of considerable size and strength who sought to serve 'the greatest king'. He was advised by a hermit that he could serve by helping people to cross a dangerous river. One day, a small child asked for his help in crossing the river - during the attempt, the child felt incredibly heavy on Christopher's shoulders, and upon reaching the other bank, he said to the child that he "did not think the whole world could have been as heavy on my shoulders as you were". The child replied that "he had on his shoulders not the whole world, but Him that made it", as he was Christ the king. In later life, Christopher traveled to Lycia, and converted many of its occupants to Christianity, leading to his martyrdom. His role in carrying Christ across the river led to his becoming the patron saint of travelers, with medals often worn as pendants by those going on long journeys. In the film, Miss Ohlsson has arrived at Sirkeci station and been given the number of her compartment on the train. As she moves to board, she begins to panic that she has misplaced her St Christopher medal, at which she is surrounded by a number of peddlers offering her medals of other saints. However, she locates her own medal, to the bemusement of the sellers, who move off to find other potential buyers.

From Quiz Too Many Clues: "Murder on the Orient Express" '74

Answer: Amber Moon

The Amber Moon is a particular type of cocktail that is often taken as the 'hair of the dog', an alcoholic drink intended to be taken as a hangover remedy, or alternatively as a morning pick-me-up. The drink is primarily a whiskey cocktail, although it can also be made with vodka. The other main ingredient is a raw egg, while Tabasco sauce is added to taste. To make it, the egg has to be cracked into a highball glass, without the yolk breaking; to this is added three fluid ounces (89 ml) of whiskey or vodka, with a dash of Tabasco added finally. It is then taken straight down in one. While there is no evidence as to why such a concoction might work, theories include the idea that the raw egg restores proteins that alcohol has broken down; the amino acid cysteine, which is found in eggs, helps break down alcohol; and the capsaicin found in the Tabasco serves as a painkiller. In the film, the murder is discovered when Ratchett's valet, Beddoes, brings his regular Amber Moon. Beddoes explains to Poirot that the cocktail is Ratchett's 'breakfast', and that he would never rise from his bed until it had taken full effect.

From Quiz "Murder on the Orient Express", 1974 Film

Answer: Baby food

Poirot seems to be instinctively suspicious of Ratchett; perhaps he recognizes his true identity, or possibly he has dealt with enough criminals to be able to "sniff one out". In any case, his question catches Ratchett off guard, and he answers bluntly: "I'm retired.". Poirot replies "Retired from what?" Ratchett is evasive, and again answers bluntly "Business". Poirot is persistent: "What sort of 'business'?" Ratchett, after thinking for a moment replies "Baby food", and immediately changes the subject to the threats on his life. His answer is a particularly chilling one, coming from someone who ordered the kidnapping and murder of a small child. He shows Poirot a gun that he claims to sleep on at night (a claim that proves to be true when Poirot searches his cabin after the murder). He offers Poirot increasingly larger sums of money, presumably to act as his bodyguard. Poirot refuses, explaining that "I have made enough money to satisfy both my needs and my caprices. I take now only such cases as interest me and, to be frank, my interest in yor case is, er...dwindling." At this point, the train goes through a tunnel, and all is dark for a moment. When the lights return, Ratchett is gone, a swinging door indicating his swift (and, no doubt, angry) retreat from the dining car. Ratchett is played by American actor Richard Widmark, an old hand at playing tough guys and villains. His first such role was in the 1947 film noir "Kiss of Death", in which he played a psychopathic killer who pushes a wheelchair-bound Mildred Dunnock down a flight of stairs to her death. He went on to star in other classic "dark" films such as "Panic in the Streets" and "Night and the City". In 1955, he appeared alongside future "Orient Express" costar Lauren Bacall in the psychological drama "The Cobweb".In the later 1950s and '60s, Widmark played more sympathetic characters in Westerns and in the classic historical courtroom drama "Judgment at Nuremberg", alongside Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, and Marlene Dietrich. He admitted that he took the relatively small role of the gangster Ratchett/Cassetti in "Orient Express" largely because he wanted to meet the other actors in the film, many of whom he had never had the chance to work with before. Although he is mainly known for playing criminals and murderers, Widmark was by nature a shy family man, who hated guns and abhorred violence of any kind. His last film appearance was in the 1991 film "True Colors", starring James Spader and John Cusack; he died in 2008, at age 93.

From Quiz Too Many Clues: "Murder on the Orient Express" '74

Answer: Baghdad

Baghdad was originally founded in the 8th century, and was made the capital of what was known as the Abbasid Caliphate, after which it became a commercial, cultural and intellectual centre in the Islamic world. The city was eventually destroyed by the Mongols in 1258; although rebuilt, it suffered a decline over several centuries, until it became the capital of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia in 1920. During the succeeding period, first when under British rule, and then from 1932 when the territory gained independence as the Kingdom of Iraq, the city underwent an architectural rebirth, with a number of building projects designed and built to reinforce its status. The name 'Baghdad' is pre-Islamic in origin, although there are a number of theories as to its derivation - most favour the idea that the word comes from two old Persian words meaning 'bestowed by God'. The name was used for a number of settlements that existed on the site; even though the official name of the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate was Madinat al-Salaam, the name Baghdad continued to be used, until it became the city's exclusive name in the 11th century. In the film, Miss Ohlsson reveals that Miss Debenham had been working as a teacher of English shorthand in Baghdad. Miss Debenham herself refuses to reveal the reason for her journey on the train in the face of mounting pressure from Poirot, until an intervention from Colonel Arbuthnot brings out why they are both travelling to England.

From Quiz "Murder on the Orient Express", 1974 Film

Answer: In the book, M. Bouc disliked Italians.

In the novel M. Bouc suspects the Italian, Antonio Foscarelli (whose first name is changed to Gino in the film), of the murder of Ratchett because "...they use the knife. I do not like Italians." Thus, it is rather ironic that the character was made into an Italian for the film. The character or Signor Bianchi was played by Martin Balsam. Balsam was a veteran American actor who had an extensive career in television and film. Among his best-known movie roles were in "A Thousand Clowns", "On the Waterfront", "12 Angry Men", "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "Catch 22", and "Cape Fear" (he appeared in both the original 1962 production and Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake with Robert De Niro, as did Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum). His television work includes appearances on "The Twilight Zone" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", though he is probably best-known as Archie Bunker's sidekick Murray Klein in the latter years of "All in the Family" and its short-lived spinoff "Archie Bunker's Place". For "Orient Express", he adopted a convincing Italian accent. Regarding the wrong answers, Mr. Balsam was NOT French, so far as I could discover; "Bouc" and "Bianchi" do not have the same meaning, and Christie, so far as I know, did not intend to make Bouc an Italian.

From Quiz Too Many Clues: "Murder on the Orient Express" '74

Answer: Hungary

Until the end of the First World War, Hungary's monarchy was shared, as its King was also the Emperor of Austria. With the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a Bolshevik revolution led by Béla Kun attempted to establish Hungary as a Soviet Republic. The failure of this saw elections in 1920, with the new parliament re-establishing the monarchy, although without the last king, Charles IV, retaking the throne. Instead, Miklós Horthy, a nobleman and former commander of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, was elected as Regent. He established a new order of merit, whose members received the hereditary title 'Vitéz', while the Hungarian nobility dominated both the government and parliament. Following the Second World War, Soviet controlled elections saw a new parliament that abolished all ranks of nobility. In the film, Count Andreyni is a Hungarian diplomat travelling with his wife. While they are being interrogated by Poirot, the Countess mentions that they have never traveled to America together, instead meeting for the first time in Wiesbaden, after the Count had served at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington.

From Quiz "Murder on the Orient Express", 1974 Film

Answer: Mrs. Hubbard

In the novel. Mrs. Hubbard is portrayed as an extremely loquacious, rather dowdy middle-aged woman, who is always talking about her daughter and her grandchildren. She quotes her daughter extensively, beginning most sentences with "My daughter says...". Poirot describes her as a typical "American fond mother" She affects a fit of hysterics and a fainting spell upon announcing her "discovery" of the murder weapon. In the film, as played by Lauren Bacall, the character is still a middle-aged chatterbox, but otherwise she is significantly different. Bacall's Mrs. Hubbard is a flashy dresser, is much more aggressive that her counterpart in the novel, lies about her age (at one point expecting Pierre Michel to believe that she is only thirty!), and continually quotes her (presumably deceased) second husband, Mr. Hubbard (though never her first husband, Mr. Grunewald, the father of her two daughters). She does not mention a daughter, nor any grandchildren. In one of the film's most chilling moments, she dramatically appears with the murder weapon, standing in the window of the room where Poirot is interviewing Foscarelli, in a manner worthy of the character of Lady Macbeth (one of Linda Arden's greatest roles). Of course, both Mrs. Hubbards are creations of the great tragic actress Linda Arden (who, according to both novel and film, always wanted to play comic roles). Lauren Bacall memorably partnered her late husband, the great Humphrey Bogart, in "To Have and Have Not", "Dark Passage", "The Big Sleep", and "Key Largo". The first of these was made while Bogart was still married to his second wife, Mayo Methot, and contains the famous "You know how to whistle, don't you?" dialogue. On her own, Bacall showed her flair for comedy in "How To Marry a Millionaire" with Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe, and "Designing Woman" with Gregory Peck, as well as drama in "Young Man With a Horn", co-starring Kirk Douglas, and "Written on the Wind" with Rock Hudson and Dorothy Malone. She received her Academy Award nomination for her supporting role in Barbra Streisand's 1996 film "The Mirror Has Two Faces", but lost to Juliette Binoche in "The English Patient". Bacall has also enjoyed a career on Broadway, in the musicals "Applause" and "Woman of the Year". She has described her relatively brief role as Mrs. Hubbard in "Murder on the Orient Express" as one of her favorites.

From Quiz Too Many Clues: "Murder on the Orient Express" '74

Answer: Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth makes her first appearance in Act One, Scene Five, when she learns of the Witches' prophecy that her husband will become king. She is the one that plots the murder of King Duncan, and then bullies Macbeth into carrying it out. Subsequent to the murder, and Macbeth's appointment as king, Lady Macbeth begins to suffer profound torment - she is last seen sleepwalking, recalling the events and sensations leading up to Duncan's murder, before her death is announced while she is off-stage. Lady Macbeth is based on Gruoch, the wife of the real Mac Bethad, King of Scotland, who reigned from 1040 to 1057. Gruoch's first husband was Gille Coemgáin, King of Moray, with whom she had a son named Lulach. After the death of Gille Coemgáin, she subsequently married Mac Bethad, who then adopted Lulach. Lulach subsequently succeeded to the Scottish throne after the death of Mac Bethad in 1057. In the film, while questioning the Princess, he remarks that he saw Linda Arden twice as Lady Macbeth in London, to which the Princess replies that she was the greatest tragic actress of her day, but is now bedridden and unable to work.

From Quiz Too Many Clues: "Murder on the Orient Express" '74

Answer: Ur of the Chaldees

Ur of the Chaldees, called Urs Kaśdim in Hebrew, is a city mentioned in the Tanakh. The city is mentioned four times - it is explicitly named as the birthplace of Haran, the brother of Abraham, and is believed to also be Abraham's birthplace. Although the location of the city is not known, in 1927 archaeologist Leonard Woolley identified the ancient Sumerian city of Ur in southern Mesopotamia as Ur of the Chaldees. This links with the idea that Abraham's ancestors were moon-worshippers, as Ur was the sacred city of the moon-god Sin. Ur was located close to the modern city of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, with the Ziggurat of Ur excavated by Woolley during the 1920s and '30s. In the film, Colonel Arbuthnot is reluctant initially to reveal to Poirot his reasons for travelling to England overland, rather than by sea using P&O. When pressured, he tells Poirot that he has spent a day at the ruins of Ur of the Chaldees, followed by three days in Baghdad in the company of his friend, the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of British Forces in Iraq.

From Quiz Too Many Clues: "Murder on the Orient Express" '74

Answer: Pinkerton

In 1850, Allan Pinkerton founded the North-West Police Agency, a private security firm, in Chicago. The agency subsequently took Pinkerton's name, becoming the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Pinkerton agents served as personal bodyguards to Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War, and in 1871 was contracted by the Department of Justice to undertake "the detection and prosecution of those guilty of violating federal law". However, in 1893 the Anti-Pinkerton Act was passed, banning the federal government from hiring private agents and mercenaries. Pinkerton agents were hired by businesses to infiltrate unions and break up strikes, but they also took part in the apprehension of many notorious criminals including Jesse James, the Reno Gang and the Wild Bunch. From the 1930s onwards, with the falling away of criminal detection work thanks to the founding of the FBI, Pinkerton focused more on protection services, eventually dropping the word 'Detective' from its name in the 1960s. Today, the company focuses on threat intelligence, risk management, executive protection, and active shooter response. In the film, Hardman reveals that he is travelling on a fake passport produced under licence by Pinkerton, as he works in the Istanbul office and had been hired by Ratchett to act as a bodyguard for the duration of his journey on the train.

From Quiz "Murder on the Orient Express", 1974 Film

Answer: Princess Dragamiroff

At the conclusion of his interview with the Princess, Poirot notes "You never smile, Madame la Princesse!", to which she drily replies "My doctor has advised against it." The distinguished British actress Dame Wendy Hiller was cast as the frail, but autocratic and majestic Princess Dragamiroff. Hiller was a celebrated stage actress who also enjoyed success in films. George Bernard Shaw considered her one of the finest interpreters of his female characters, an she appeared onstage in "Saint Joan", "Pygmalion", and "Major Barbara", and she starred in the film versions of the latter two plays (alongside Leslie Howard in "Pygmalion" and Rex Harrison in "Major Barbara"). Her stage appearances included plays by Shakespeare and Ibsen. She portrayed an independent and materialistic woman who undergoes a life-altering experience on a Scottish Isle in the 1945 film "I Know Where I'm Going", and won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1958 film "Separate Tables". At the Academy Awards ceremony, she shocked many with her decidedly cold acceptance speech: "Never mind the honour," she said, "cold hard cash is what it means to me." Many were put off, but others found her candor refreshing; the fact was that Hiller didn't value film stardom very highly. In later years, she appeared in the films "A Man for All Seasons", "Voyage of the Damned", and "The Elephant Man", as well as "Orient Express". Hiller died in 2003 at her home in Beaconsfield, England, aged 90. Trivia Fact: Both Hiller and American cookbook author and TV chef Julia Child were born on the same date- August 15, 1912.

From Quiz "Murder on the Orient Express", 1974 Film

Answer: Edward Beddoes

Beddoes, the quintessential English butler, shared a cabin with the talkative Italian Antonio (Gino) Foscarelli, a mismatch if ever there was one. He tells Poirot that he spent the evening reading, since he could not sleep, due to a bad toothache, and was disinclined to engage in conversation with Foscarelli. At one point, Foscarelli had asked what he was reading, whereupon Beddoes replied that he was reading a novel entitled "Love's Captive", by Mrs. Arabella Richardson. When the vulgar Foscarelli asks "Is it about sex?", Beddoes primly replies, glancing at his watch "No, it's about ten-thirty, Mister Foscarelli." Poirot laughes heartily at Beddoes account of this droll exchange. Beddoes (whose name was Masterman in the novel) is played by Sir John Gielgud. One of the greatest actors England has produced, Gielgud enjoyed a brilliant and distinguished career on both stage and screen during his long life. He was descended, on his mother's side, from the great actress Ellen Terry. As a Shakespearean actor, he was generally considered unsurpassed by all save Olivier (and, in the opinion of some, not even by him). He appeared with Olivier in productions of "Romeo and Juliet", in which they alternated the roles of Romeo and Mercutio. Earlier in his career, he had created a sensation on Broadway in the title role of "Hamlet", in a production starring Lillian Gish as Ophelia. Other great Shakespearean roles included the title role in "Richard II", Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice" and Prospero in "The Tempest". He appeared with equal distinction in the works of Chekhov, Sheridan, and Oscar Wilde. Gielgud didn't care for movie-making early in his career, and appeared in very few films. In his later career, however, he became a familiar fixture of the screen, albeit mostly in supporting roles. He won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a quintessential English butler in the 1981 film "Arthur", alongside Dudley Moore (a role not unlike his star turn in "Orient Express". His final film appearance was in the film version of Becket's play "Catastrophe", released in 2000, the year of his death at age 96.

From Quiz "Murder on the Orient Express", 1974 Film

Answer: Pipe

He pronounces it as "peep". Among the clues found in the victim's room was a used pipe cleaner; Poirot notes to Arbuthnot during the interview that "...you are the only passenger aboard the Calais Coach who smokes a peep." Arbuthnot agrees that he is, whereupon Poirot produces the pipe cleaner and asks "Then this must be your peep cleaner?" Arbuthnot allows that it is the same brand. When Poirot mentions that it was found in Ratchett's cabin, Arbuthnot explodes: "Then someone planted it there; it's a USED 'peep' cleaner! Or are you suggesting that I'm fool enough to have entered Ratchett's cabin, murdered him, cleaned my 'peep', and dropped it into the ash tray on my way out?" The role of Hercule Poirot was a challenging one for the English-born Finney. In order to appear shorter and more squat than he actually was, Finney wore body padding, and his hair had to be not only dyed and pomaded, but polished. He adopted a limp, in keeping with the description of the character in the early novels, and he wore a ring made from a bullet, according to one of Christie's novels Poirot wore a ring made from the bullet that had wounded him during World War I. Following his appearance in the film, Finney complained that he had become so associated with the character that "People really do think that I'm 300 pounds with a French accent." Unlike Peter Ustinov, who made several film appearances as Poirot, and David Suchet, who starred in numerous adaptions of Christie's novels in the British television drama series "Agatha Christie's Poirot", Finney never reprised the role, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award (he lost to Art Carney in "Harry and Tonto") . Albert Finney's long and distinguished career in films includes portrayals of American characters, in American-made films such as "Shoot the Moon", "Traffic", "Erin Brockovich", and the musical "Annie", in which he played Daddy Warbucks. Early in his career, he appeared in film versions of John Osborne's "The Entertainer" and Henry Fielding's "Tom Jones" (screenplay by Osborne), the latter in a stellar cast including Dame Edith Evans, Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Rachel Kempson, and a young Lynn Redgrave. He portrayed a psychopathic killer in "Night Must Fall", and the younger paramour of future "Orient Express" costar Rachel Roberts in "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning". In his later career, he portrayed an aging Shakespearean actor in "The Dresser" alongside Tom Courtenay, an Oscar Wilde-obsessed bus conductor in "A Man of No Importance", and Winston Churchill in "The Gathering Storm". Nominated several times for an Academy Award, with no success, at the 2000 Oscar ceremony, costar Julia Roberts, accepting a best actress award for her performance in "Erin Brockovich" warmly acknowledged Finney and offered to share her Oscar with him. Agatha Christie, who was frequently unhappy with filmed versions of her novels, was largely pleased with "Orient Express", and with Finney's portrayal; however she did not care for his mustache. She was quoted as having said "I wrote that he had the finest moustache in England- and he didn't in the film. I thought that a pity- why shouldn't he?"

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