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Saturday 4th December 2010***
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ITV Studios is proud to present the highly anticipated television adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express directed by Philip Martin.
David Suchet makes a welcome return as the famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, to lead a star studded international cast which includes Dame Eileen Atkins (BAFTA Best Actress winner for Cranford), Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, Iris, Lost in Austen), Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life, Jolene), Marie-Josée Croze (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Serge Hazanavicius (I’ve Loved You So Long), Barbara Hershey (Oscar nominated for The Portrait of a Lady, Emmy winner for A Killing in a Small Town), Toby Jones (W, Frost/Nixon), Susanne Lothar (The Reader, Nemesis), Joseph Mawle (The Passion, Soundproof), Denis Ménochet (Inglorious Basterds), David Morrissey (Thorne, Red Riding, State of Play), Elena Satine (Melrose Place, Don’t Look Up), Brian J Smith (Stargate Universe), Stanley Weber (Figaro, The Lady of Monsoreau), Sam Crane (Desperate Romantics) and Samuel West (Enron, Desperate Romantics).
David Suchet says: “It's an honour to have such a wonderful international cast on board for this world famous murder mystery. Writer, Stewart Harcourt, has created an exquisite script. His attention to detail is impeccable.”
Producer Karen Thrussell says: “We’re all incredibly delighted that 22 years after David Suchet first played Hercule Poirot he is now starring in arguably the most ingenious and best loved Agatha Christie title of all time.”
Chairman of Agatha Christie Ltd, Mathew Prichard says: “It’s high time that Agatha Christie fans had another interpretation of my grandmother’s wonderful Murder on the Orient Express to enjoy, and I’m delighted that this one has attracted so many well known names.”
World-famous sleuth Hercule Poirot has just solved a complex case in Istanbul for the British Army, when he witnesses an act of brutal injustice on the streets. Relieved when a new case calls him back to London, Poirot’s old acquaintance Xavier Bouc (Serge Hazanavicius), secures him a last minute ticket on the luxurious Orient Express.
Among the eclectic range of passengers are Princess Dragomiroff (Dame Eileen Atkins) and her nervous maid Hildegard Schmidt (Susanne Lothar), English Governess Mary Debenham (Jessica Chastain) and Swedish missionary Greta Ohlsson (Marie-Josée Croze).
Whilst aboard the train Poirot is approached by ruthless American businessman Samuel Ratchett (Toby Jones) who offers him $10,000 to watch his back. Could Ratchett be fearful of the Italian Antonio Foscarelli (Joseph Mawle), English Colonel John Arbuthnott (David Morrissey), pushy American Mrs Hubbard (Barbara Hershey) or Hungarian diplomat Count Andrenyi (Stanley Weber) and his wife, Countess Andrenyi (Elena Satine)? Poirot awakes the following morning to find the train stuck in a snowdrift and Ratchett dead in his compartment.
With nothing but a scrap of paper to go on, Poirot must piece together Ratchett’s identity before he can establish which of his fellow passengers murdered him and their motive.
Adapted by Stewart Harcourt (Agatha Christie’s Marple, Dracula) and produced by Karen Thrussell (Agatha Christie’s Marple), Murder on the Orient Express was filmed at Pinewood studios and on location in Malta.
Philip Martin directed the television drama Hawking which was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for best single drama; the final instalment of the ITV drama Prime Suspect: The Final Act, which was nominated for a BAFTA and won him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Drama Special. More recently, Philip was the lead director on Wallander, which won the BAFTA for Best Drama Series and gave him another Emmy nomination.
The Poirot films are co-produced by ITV Studios and Agatha Christie Ltd, a Chorion company, and US network WGBH. Mammoth Screen’s Michele Buck and Damien Timmer executive produce Poirot on behalf of ITV Studios. Rebecca Eaton is executive producer for WGBH, with David Suchet as associate producer. ITV Global holds international distribution rights.
