Agatha Christie, schoolchildren's favorite mystery and thriller writer, has always been widely known and appreciated for her crime fiction novels. The popularity of her books increases manifold when they are adapted for the screen. Throughout the years, several of her novels have been translated into different languages and adapted for the cinema goers and television audience alike.
The Hollywood adaptation of "Murder on the Orient Express" is set to hit screens in November, and it is already creating quite a hype on social media. Having a stellar star cast of Johnny Depp, Kenneth Branagh, Ridley Scott, Michel Pfeiffer, and Dame Judi Dench, it is one of Hercule Poirot's cases where the fictional detective is required to solve a murder aboard a secure train, throwing suspicion on all the passengers. Catch the captivating trailer of Murder on the Orient Express here.
In the wake of this major adaptation, let us also take a look at the top 5 other Agatha Christie novels that were turned into movies and TV shows.
And Then There Were None
Arguably Christie's most acclaimed book, And Then There Were None, has been adapted severally in languages like English, Russian, Tamil, Hindi, and Kannada. The most recent adaptation was in the form of a BBC One miniseries, which was aired in 2015. It had a star cast including Douglas Booth, Charles Dance, and Maeve Dermody. The series was critically acclaimed for being gripping and well-executed.
Ordeal by Innocence
BBC has announced an upcoming miniseries based on Christie's Ordeal by Innocence. The captivating murder mystery and psychological thriller have a cast comprising of Billy Nighy, Anna Chancellor, Eleanor Tomlinson, Matthew Goode, and Alice Eve. Filming is already complete, and the series is set to broadcast soon.
The Witness for the Prosecution
BBC One seems to have a recent fascination with Agatha Christie's works, with "The Witness for the Prosecution", a short story, being another of its adaptations. The miniseries aired in 2016 and Toby Jones, Andrea Riseborough, Kim Cattrall, David Haig, Billy Howle, and Monica Dolan. The story is about a murder accusation and its prosecution witness, with a surprise ending which was a novel thing for Christie.
By the Pricking of My Thumbs
"Mon petit doigt m'a dit" is the 2005 French adaptation of Christie's novel, By The Pricking of My Thumbs. The story depicts a couple's investigation when an old woman goes missing from a retirement home. It stars Catherine Frot and Andre Dussollier as the lead characters.
Crooked House
An upcoming British film, Crooked House is based on Christie's novel of the same name. Starring Max Irons, Glenn Close, Christina Hendricks, and Gillian Anderson, the film has already started its principal photography in 2016. The story is based on the murder of an old man by poisoning, after which his engaged granddaughter resolves to find the killer before getting married.
Apart from these, there are brilliant Christie adaptations in languages like Hindi, French, Russian, Malayalam, and Bengali. This just proves that the creative world is devoid of boundaries.
