The Mystery of the Blue Train
- Episode aired Dec 11, 2005
- TV-PG
- 1h 34m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
Poirot investigates the brutal murder of an American heiress and the theft of a fabulous ruby on the Blue Train between Calais and Nice.Poirot investigates the brutal murder of an American heiress and the theft of a fabulous ruby on the Blue Train between Calais and Nice.Poirot investigates the brutal murder of an American heiress and the theft of a fabulous ruby on the Blue Train between Calais and Nice.
Josette Simon
- Mirelle Milesi
- (as Josettesimon-93556)
Andy Callaghan
- Champagne Waiter
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaHercule Poirot mentions at the end that he has never traveled on the Orient Express, raising viewer expectations of his most famous case, "Murder on the Orient Express."
- GoofsPoirot says at 28 min 27 sec that he doesn't like odd numbers, only even numbers yet at 34 min 12 sec into film, he puts caviar on his 9 crackers, an odd number.
- Quotes
Rufus Van Aldin: [Introducing himself] Mr. Poirot, Rufus Van Aldin. I'm in oil... figuratively speaking.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express (2006)
- SoundtracksNice Work If You Can Get It
(uncredited)
Music by George Gershwin
Lyrics by Ira Gershwin
[heard at night club]
Featured review
S10E01: Mystery of the Blue Train: By the numbers Poirot in some regards, although not really sparking or engaging as it should – not helped by the odd direction either
Screening well over a year since the previous episode (The Hollow), Mystery of the Blue Train was the New Year offering that opens season 10 ahead of the remaining episodes all coming at the end of Q2 and start of Q3 in 2006. Boxsetting the series as I am, it is odd to think of it being so fragmented like this, but this was a time when it became more of event-television for ITV. This opening episode perhaps did not sit well with me because I did not give it those 15 or so months between episodes, but rather only a day or so after finishing season 9, I watched this one. The main impact for me was that the very nicely staged and presented episode of The Hollow, made the more frantic direction of Blue Train strike me as odd and rather alienating.
I shouldn't really be talking about the presentation before the content, but I did find it to be too different from the style that I have come to prefer. Here we have too many odd camera angles, a bit too much swapping of focal points, and a generally busier presentation that I would have liked; the editing adds to this feeling and I did spend much of the episode wondering if all of season 10 will play out like this – and also thinking about what other shows may have influenced this sudden change in approach (some others here reference NYPD Blue and the like, and to be fair there may be something in that).
The mystery itself I found lacking in urgency and, in some ways, clarity; perhaps this was just me not following it, but it was not one that really drew me in as many other episodes have done. The cast are maybe part of this as they are surprisingly so-so. Suchet himself is as good as he generally is in this role, however the supporting cast fare better on paper than in reality. Gould is a big name but seems unsure of his character and unable to really sell it; D'Arcy, Eve, Farrell, and others are fine but nothing great – none of them really hooking me into the episode. All told it does the norms, and provides a familiar enough frame for the lazy viewer such as I to fall into, however it didn't draw me in, nor really spark with mystery or intrigue – something not helped one bit by the direction, which really didn't fit in the series.
I shouldn't really be talking about the presentation before the content, but I did find it to be too different from the style that I have come to prefer. Here we have too many odd camera angles, a bit too much swapping of focal points, and a generally busier presentation that I would have liked; the editing adds to this feeling and I did spend much of the episode wondering if all of season 10 will play out like this – and also thinking about what other shows may have influenced this sudden change in approach (some others here reference NYPD Blue and the like, and to be fair there may be something in that).
The mystery itself I found lacking in urgency and, in some ways, clarity; perhaps this was just me not following it, but it was not one that really drew me in as many other episodes have done. The cast are maybe part of this as they are surprisingly so-so. Suchet himself is as good as he generally is in this role, however the supporting cast fare better on paper than in reality. Gould is a big name but seems unsure of his character and unable to really sell it; D'Arcy, Eve, Farrell, and others are fine but nothing great – none of them really hooking me into the episode. All told it does the norms, and provides a familiar enough frame for the lazy viewer such as I to fall into, however it didn't draw me in, nor really spark with mystery or intrigue – something not helped one bit by the direction, which really didn't fit in the series.
helpful•97
- bob the moo
- Apr 1, 2015
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- Filming locations
- Nene Valley Railway, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England, UK(Nice and Paris railway stations)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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