Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Vitals
Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, meticulous Belgian detective
The Orient Express, December 1935
Film: Murder on the Orient Express
Release Date: November 21, 1974
Director: Sidney Lumet
Costume Designer: Tony Walton
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Ladies and gentlemen, you are all aware that a repulsive murderer has himself been repulsively, and, perhaps deservedly, murdered…
The first prominent—and arguably still definitive—adaptation of Agatha Christie’s mystery Murder on the Orient Express premiered 50 years ago today on November 21, 1974. The star-studded cast was led by a nearly unrecognizable Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, the fastidious Belgian detective tasked with solving the baffling murder of a gangster on a luxury train stuck in a snow drift.
Murder on the Orient Express received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay (Paul Dehn), Best Cinematography (Geoffrey Unsworth), Best Costume Design (Tony Walton), Best Original Score (Richard Rodney Bennett), and Best Supporting Actress for Ingrid Bergman, whose award was the film’s sole win. Perhaps more important than any awards or accolades was that Murder on the Orient Express joined Witness for the Prosecution as one of the few Christie adaptations that the author herself enjoyed… though she still expressed some disappointment that Finney’s mustache did not meet the grandeur she describes in her novels.
What’d He Wear?
Even among his wealthy traveling companions, Hercule Poirot stands out in his characteristically fussy wardrobe—rooted more in neo-Edwardian opulence than the increasingly practical fashions of the 1930s. Tony Walton’s Oscar-nominated costume design dressed Poirot in velvet-trimmed tailored suits, stiff shirt collars, and spats.
On the morning that Ratchett is discovered murdered, Poirot emerges from his compartment fully dressed in a dark-brown three-piece suit with a muted rust pinstripe.
The double-breasted jacket has peak lapels with an aristocratic dark-brown velvet collar, rolling to a 4×2-button arrangement that Poirot wears both open and fully fastened. The wide shoulders make Albert Finney’s head appear smaller in relation to the frame, helping the athletic-framed actor adopt Poirot’s more corpulent appearance. The sleeves are roped at the shoulders and finished with wide cuffs, devoid of the conventional cuff-buttons but set apart with a band of dark-brown velvet piping that matches the collar.
Lined in dark-brown satin with a green-on-gold medallion print, the jacket also has a single vent, flapped hip pockets, and a welted breast pocket that Poirot dresses with a brown, beige, and orange foulard silk pocket square.
The full cut of Poirot’s double-breasted jacket means that, even when he wears it open, it’s difficult to see much of the matching waistcoat (vest) aside from the brief moments where he pulls the jacket more widely open. The single-breasted waistcoat appears to have five buttons up the high-fastening front, with a notched bottom and four welted pockets. He carries his gold pocket watch in the lower right pocket, connected to a gold chain strung “double Albert”-style across his midsection with an “HP”-monogrammed tag.
Little can be discerned of Poirot’s trousers either, aside from the fact that they rise appropriately high enough for the waistband to be totally covered by the waistcoat and have on-seam side pockets. Pleats were again en vogue by the mid-1930s, especially among higher classes whose tailors could afford the excess material. Given that and how pleats comfortably curve trousers over more corpulent wearers’ hips, it’s safe to assume that Poirot’s trousers could have been rigged with pleats.
The trouser bottoms are plain-hemmed and break relatively high over the tops of his black leather cap-toe spat boots, styled with cream-colored button-up gaiters over the ankles. Consisting of leather low shoes with attached cloth high-tops, spat boots evolved from the old-fashioned spats (shortened from “spatter guards”) that gentlemen often strapped over their shoes to protect them from the elements. Following their highest popularity around the turn of the 20th century, spats generally fell out of fashion by the roaring ’20s and were rendered all but obsolete by the Great Depression, when only slightly more practical alternatives like spat boots emerged.
This distinctive footwear keenly reflects Poirot’s old-fashioned fastidiousness and would be continued into Peter Ustinov’s characterizations in films like Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun.
Poirot wears a plain white cotton dress shirt with a standing collar that remains almost constantly engulfed by Finney’s habit of burying his neck in his chest—likely another shortcut to appear squatter, per Christie’s physical descriptions of Poirot. The shirt has a front placket and curved double (French) cuffs, which he fastens with gold-finished elongated octagonal links with a white-filled ridge following the border.
Coordinating with the colors of his suit, Poirot’s dark-brown bow tie is printed in overlapping brown circles and ovals that present a helix-like design that aligns with the Art Deco aesthetic of the film and the Orient Express itself.
The first chapter of Agatha Christie’s source novel is the only passage of Murder on the Orient Express to actually describe Poirot’s attire: “He made careful preparations, wrapping himself in several coats and mufflers and encasing his neat boots in galoshes.” This scene is represented on screen by a ferry crossing the Bosphorus, where as an obsequious British Army aide-de-camp (Jeremy Lloyd) accompanies Poirot, appropriately layered against the cold in a hat, coat, gloves, and scarf—all of which, aside from the latter, in dark shades of brown.
Poirot bundles into a brown heavy wool Chesterfield overcoat, distinguished by its velvet collar although it notably lacks the typical waist suppression—likely due to the costume team’s efforts to avoid detracting from his frame. The coat features notch lapels that roll to a single-breasted, three-button front, with sleeves roped at the shoulders and cuffed at the ends. Both the set-in breast pocket and straight hip pockets are covered with flaps.
His dark-brown felt bowler hat—also known as a “derby hat” in the U.S.—has a dark-brown grosgrain band and matching grosgrain edge trim. His leather gloves are also dark-brown leather, and his white dress scarf has a subtle sheen that suggests a heavy silk.
A small gold signet ring shines from Poirot’s left pinky.
What to Imbibe
The day before Ratchett’s murder, Poirot enjoys a postprandial digestif of green liquid in a small wineglass, enjoyed through a straw. Though not mentioned by name, this is most likely a Crème de Menthe Frappe—a very simple concoction consisting of green crème de menthe poured over crushed ice and served with a straw.
Crème de menthe is a sweet, mint-flavored liqueur commonly enjoyed as a digestif or a signature ingredient in cocktails like the Grasshopper and Stinger. Originated in 18th century France, the name translates into “cream of mint”, though this refers to the liqueur’s smoothness as it actually no contains no cream, in fact produced by infusing a neutral alcohol with peppermint or spearmint leaves. Crème de menthe is sold in both clear and green varieties, with the latter tinted either by absorbing the mint leaves or with artificial coloring added—typically when made with mint extract rather than leaves.
Poirot frequently expresses an appreciation for crème de menthe in Agatha Christie’s novels, mentioning it in both Death on the Nile and Elephants Can Remember but actually pouring himself “a tiny glass of gleaming green crème de menthe” in Mrs. McGinty’s Dead.
The next day, Poirot and his friend Signor Bianchi (Martin Balsam) enjoy a morning bottle of Bollinger champagne while discussing the murder, including the connection between Ratchett and the kidnapping and killing of Daisy Armstrong five years earlier.
Founded in 1829 in Aÿ, France, Champagne Bollinger is renowned for its rich, full-bodied style and long aging process, making it one of the most prestigious houses in the Champagne region. Famously associated with James Bond, Bollinger has become an iconic symbol of luxury and sophistication, appearing prominently in numerous 007 films beginning with Live and Let Die—Roger Moore’s Bond debut, released the year before Murder on the Orient Express.
How to Get the Look
Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Hercule Poirot’s fussy fastidiousness extended to his wardrobe, as represented by costume designer Tony Walton and actor Albert Finney in Murder on the Orient Express, as Finney wore a dark-brown pinstripe three-piece suit with double-breasted jacket and old-fashioned velvet touches in addition to his wing collar, bow tie, pocket watch, and spat boots.
- Dark-brown rust-pinstripe three-piece suit:
- Double-breasted 4×2-button jacket with velvet-collared peak lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, velvet-banded cuffs, and single vent
- Single-breasted 5-button waistcoat with four welted pockets and notched bottom
- Pleated trousers with on-seam side pockets and plain-hemmed bottoms
- White cotton dress shirt with standing collar, front placket, and curved double/French cuffs
- Gold-finished elongated octagonal cuff links
- Dark-brown Art Deco overlapping circle-printed bow tie
- Black leather cap-toe spat boots with cream button-up gaiters
- Gold pocket watch with gold “double Albert”-style chain and monogrammed tag
- Gold signet pinky ring
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie and the book.
The Quote
Some of us, in the words of the divine Greta Garbo, want to be alone.
The post Murder on the Orient Express: Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot appeared first on BAMF Style.