Murder in Three Acts

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

Murder in Three Acts
GenreCrime
Drama
Mystery
Written byAgatha Christie
Scott Swanton
Directed byGary Nelson
StarringPeter Ustinov
Tony Curtis
Emma Samms
Fernando Allende
Diana Muldaur
Jonathan Cecil
Theme music composerAlf Clausen
Country of originUnited Kingdom
United States
Original language(s)English
Production
Producer(s)Paul Waigner
Production location(s)Acapulco
CinematographyDonald R. Rode
Editor(s)Neil Roach
Running time94 minutes
Production company(s)Warner Bros. Television
DistributorCBS
Release
Original networkCBS
Picture formatColor
Audio formatMono
Original releaseSeptember 30, 1986 (1986-09-30)
Chronology
Preceded byDead Man's Folly
Followed byAppointment with Death

The film is based on Christie's book Three Act Tragedy (1934).

Synopsis

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.

Changes to the original story

The main change 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 long 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 of the 1986 version

References
  1. "Murder in Three Acts". TCM database. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved February 23, 2016.


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