By Richard Harland Smith
The Alphabet Murders
Brief Synopsis
Belgian detective Hercule Poirot investigates a series of murders committed in alphabetical order.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Frank Tashlin
Director
Tony Randall
Hercule Poirot
Anita Ekberg
Amanda Beatrice Cross
Robert Morley
Hastings
Maurice Denham
Inspector Japp
Guy Rolfe
Duncan Doncaster
Film Details
Also Known As
Amanda, The ABC Murders
Genre
Suspense/Mystery
Adaptation
Comedy
Crime
Release Date
Jan
1965
Premiere Information
Pittsburgh opening: 2 Mar 1966
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
Distribution Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
Country
United Kingdom
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel The A. B. C. Murders by Agatha Christie (London, 1936).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 30m
Sound
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Color
Black and White
Synopsis
Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective, learns that British Intelligence has assigned one of their men, Hastings, to follow him while he is in London visiting his tailor. Poirot seems to attract crime, and while in London, an aquaclown, Albert Aachen, is found murdered in a swimming pool. Killed by a poisoned dart, Aachen's body is found by police next to a copy of the A. B. C. guide to London. While Poirot and Hastings enjoy a Turkish bath, Amanda Beatrice Cross enters in a frenzy and declares that she is a compulsive murderer; then she vanishes, leaving behind a handbag bearing the initials A. B. C. and a bowling alley score card. Poirot's investigation leads him to Betty Barnard, a bowling instructress who is murdered shortly afterwards, again by a poisoned dart. Since the first two victims had the initials A. A. and B. B., Poirot deduces that the next victim will be C. C., and further inquiries convince him that the killer will strike Sir Carmichael Clarke. Inspector Japp believes the case is solved when Amanda Cross is cornered on a high crane and jumps into the Thames. Poirot, however, continues to investigate and finally proves that Amanda did not perish in her plunge. A schizophrenic, she committed the murders because of her obsession with the alphabet.
Director
Frank Tashlin
Director
Cast
Tony Randall
Hercule Poirot
Anita Ekberg
Amanda Beatrice Cross
Robert Morley
Hastings
Maurice Denham
Inspector Japp
Guy Rolfe
Duncan Doncaster
Sheila Allen
Lady Diane
James Villiers
Franklin
Julian Glover
Don Fortune
Grazina Frame
Betty Barnard
Clive Morton
"X"
Cyril Luckham
Sir Carmichael Clarke
Richard Wattis
Wolf
David Lodge
Sergeant
Patrick Newell
Cracknell
Austin Trevor
Judson
Alison Seebohm
Miss Sparks
Windsor Davies
Dragbot
Sheila Reid
Mrs. Fortune
Margaret Rutherford
Miss Marple
Stringer Davis
Mr. Stringer
Crew
Hardy Amies
Mr. Randall's clothes by
Bill Andrews
Art Director
Ben Arbeid
Associate Producer
Lawrence P. Bachmann
Producer
Albert Becket
Production Manager
Bill Creed
Sound Editing
Desmond Dickinson
Director of Photography
Brian Fahey
Composer
Sash Fisher
Sound Recording
Harry Gillam
Camera Operator
Ron Goodwin
Music comp & Conductor
Norman Newell
Composer
David Pursall
Screenwriter
Jack Seddon
Screenwriter
John Victor Smith
Film Editor
David Tomblin
Assistant Director
Fred Turtle
Dub mix
A. W. Watkins
Recording Supervisor
Jake Wright
Unit Manager
Videos
Movie Clip
Film Details
Also Known As
Amanda, The ABC Murders
Genre
Suspense/Mystery
Adaptation
Comedy
Crime
Release Date
Jan
1965
Premiere Information
Pittsburgh opening: 2 Mar 1966
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
Distribution Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
Country
United Kingdom
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel The A. B. C. Murders by Agatha Christie (London, 1936).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 30m
Sound
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Color
Black and White
Articles
The Alphabet Murders -
Stage and screen star Zero Mostel was so keen to play mystery writer Agatha Christie's inimitable Belgian detective Hercule Poirot that he relinquished his leading role in the mega-successful Broadway production of A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum to prepare for the opportunity. Dissatisfied with the adaptation of Christie's 1935 novel The A.B.C. Murders by David Pursall and Jack Seddon (who had already scripted three films around Christie's spinster sleuth Miss Jane Marple, starring Margaret Rutherford), Mostel demanded the right to rework the screenplay himself but Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer recast the part instead. Reinventing the meticulous/fastidious Poirot as an Inspector Clouseau-style bumbler (Blake Edwards' A Shot in the Dark, starring Peter Sellers in his second go-round as Clouseau, had been one of the most successful releases of 1964) was Tony Randall; best known at the time as the comic relief in a handful of Rock Hudson-Doris Day comedies, Randall was emerging as a tenable leading man in his own right, in such films as Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) and The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964). Even more so than had the Miss Marple films, The Alphabet Murders inclined sharply toward broad comedy, with director Frank Tashlin encouraging Randall and costar Robert Morley to ad lib their scenes together. Thrown in for an additional laugh is a cameo by an uncredited Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple but easily missed is the appearance of British character actor Austin Trevor, who had been thirty years earlier the first actor ever to portray Hercule Poirot on film.
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
The Alphabet Murders -
Stage and screen star Zero Mostel was so keen to play mystery writer Agatha Christie's inimitable Belgian detective Hercule Poirot that he relinquished his leading role in the mega-successful Broadway production of A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum to prepare for the opportunity. Dissatisfied with the adaptation of Christie's 1935 novel The A.B.C. Murders by David Pursall and Jack Seddon (who had already scripted three films around Christie's spinster sleuth Miss Jane Marple, starring Margaret Rutherford), Mostel demanded the right to rework the screenplay himself but Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer recast the part instead. Reinventing the meticulous/fastidious Poirot as an Inspector Clouseau-style bumbler (Blake Edwards' A Shot in the Dark, starring Peter Sellers in his second go-round as Clouseau, had been one of the most successful releases of 1964) was Tony Randall; best known at the time as the comic relief in a handful of Rock Hudson-Doris Day comedies, Randall was emerging as a tenable leading man in his own right, in such films as Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) and The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964). Even more so than had the Miss Marple films, The Alphabet Murders inclined sharply toward broad comedy, with director Frank Tashlin encouraging Randall and costar Robert Morley to ad lib their scenes together. Thrown in for an additional laugh is a cameo by an uncredited Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple but easily missed is the appearance of British character actor Austin Trevor, who had been thirty years earlier the first actor ever to portray Hercule Poirot on film.
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Released in Great Britain in July 1966; running time: 85 min. Working titles: Amanda and The ABC Murders.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in England July 1966
Released in United States December 21, 1965
Released in United States March 2, 1966
Released in United States Spring March 2, 1966
b&w
Released in United States March 2, 1966
Released in United States Spring March 2, 1966
Released in United States December 21, 1965 (Pittsburg, Pennsylvania)
