Murder in Three Acts

*Murder in Three Acts*
Murder in Three Acts
Genre	Crime; Drama; Mystery
Based on	Three Act Tragedy; by Agatha Christie
Written by	Scott Swanton
Directed by	Gary Nelson
Starring	Peter Ustinov; Tony Curtis; Emma Samms; Fernando Allende; Diana Muldaur; Jonathan Cecil
Theme music composer	Alf Clausen
Country of origin	United Kingdom; United States
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Paul Waigner
Production location	Acapulco
Cinematography	Neil Roach
Editor	Donald R. Rode
Running time	94 minutes
Production company	Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 30, 1986
Related
	Dead Man's Folly; Appointment with Death;

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.

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 sixth overall including the feature films that preceded the TV movies.

Background

In 1974, Murder on the Orient Express was released, starring Albert Finney as 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).^[2]

Another screen adaptation in 1988, Appointment with Death, was Ustinov's last portrayal of the Belgian detective.^[3]

Plot

Poirot joins his assistant 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 Strange, and Ricardo Montoya. Babbington dies of poisoning, then Strange is poisoned, too, and Poirot hunts the murderer.

The main change from the original story is the relocation of the action from London to Acapulco. In the book, Poirot's assistant is Satterthwaite, replacing Hastings, but in the film Hastings is reinstated in his usual role. Christie's English theatrical actor Sir Charles Cartwright turns into Charles Cartwright, 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.

Cast

The cast consisted of:^[4]

Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot
Jonathan Cecil as Captain Arthur Hastings
Tony Curtis as Charles Cartwright
Emma Samms as Jennifer "Egg" Eastman
Dana Elcar as Dr Strange
Lisa Eichhorn as Cynthia Dayton
Nicholas Pryor as Freddie Dayton
Fernando Allende as Ricardo Montoya
Pedro Armendáriz, Jr. as Colonel Mateo
Frances Lee McCain as Miss Milray
Marian Mercer as Daisy Eastman
Diana Muldaur as Angela Stafford
Concetta Tomei as Janet Crisp
Philip Guilmant as Rev. Mr Babbington
Jacqueline Evans as Mrs Babbington
Martin LaSalle as Doctor
Alma Levy as Nurse
Julio Monterde as Manager

References

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