Continuity mistake: When Poirot and Mr. Ratchett first meet in the restaurant car, Poirot has to correct Ratchett's pronunciation of his name. Poirot then points with his right hand toward Ratchett, but when it cuts to a close-up of Poirot, both his hands are on the table. The angle changes back, and Poirot's hand is once again lifted.
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Plot summary
Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave, Martin Balsam, Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, John Gielgud
Famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is travelling on the Orient Express in the winter when the train is snowed in. A man is murdered in his berth, throwing all the widely-varying passengers under suspicion. During the investigation it comes to light that the dead man was a criminal himself, responsible for the death of a little girl, and that fewer and fewer people on the train appear to be above suspicion at all.
More mistakes in Murder on the Orient Express
Mrs. Hubbard: Don't you agree the man must have entered my compartment to gain access to Mr. Ratchett?
Princess Dragomiroff: I can think of no other reason, madame.
Trivia: Sidney Lumet's first choice for Hercule Poirot was Alec Guiness, with Paul Scofield as his second choice. Because they both were busy with other projects, Albert Finney was chosen, even though Lumet felt he was too young for the role.
Question: Who was the person Poirot saw wearing the white dressing gown? And why did this person place it in his compartment? To plant "red herrings" like these do not draw attention away from the people on the train, but tells Poirot plain and simple that the murderer did NOT leave the train, but it still on board. So why bother doing it at all, as it only goes against their carefully planned cover story?
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Chosen answer: They planted this red herring not to divert Poirot's attention away from them - they were the only passengers on the train - they wanted to divert him from the fact that they were ALL involved in the murder, because they all had a common bond with the child whom the victim murdered. Each one made out like they didn't really know anyone else on the train, but they were all in on it.
Kimberly Klaus