The Best Movies Based on Agatha Christie Stories
Ranked By
3.1K votes
540 voters
1 reranks
Voting Rules
Vote up the best adaptations of Agatha Christie's work.
- 1TV ProgramAgatha Christie's Poirot is a masterful adaptation of the classic detective novels, inviting viewers into a world of mystery and intrigue. The series shines with its meticulous attention to detail, transporting audiences to the 1930s with stunning period sets and costumes. David Suchet's portrayal of the iconic detective Hercule Poirot has been universally praised, earning him a BAFTA nomination for his performance. With its cleverly woven plots, the show has garnered numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series. As each episode unfolds, viewers are treated to a subtle dance of intellect and intuition, making Agatha Christie's Poirot a timeless gem in the realm of television crime dramas.
- #7 of 77 onThe 70 Best Acorn TV Shows, Ranked
- #10 of 109 onThe Best British Detective Series
- #126 of 298 on285+ Smart TV Shows That Only Intellectuals Appreciate
- 2Film (1974)Having concluded a case, detective Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney) settles into what he expects will be a relaxing journey home aboard the Orient Express. But when an unpopular billionaire is murdered en route, Poirot takes up the case, and everyone on board the famous train is a suspect. Using an avalanche blocking the tracks to his advantage, Poirot gradually realizes that many of the passengers have revenge as a motive, and he begins to home in on the culprit.
- #2 of 81 onThe 75+ Best Whodunit Murder Mystery Movies
- #61 of 199 onThe Best Movies Of The '70s, Ranked
- #23 of 42 onThe Best Snowy Thriller Movies, Ranked
- 3Film (1978)On a luxurious cruise on the Nile River, a wealthy heiress, Linnet Ridgeway (Lois Chiles), is murdered. Fortunately, among the passengers are famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) and his trusted companion, Colonel Race (David Niven), who immediately begin their investigation. But just as Poirot identifies a motley collection of would-be murderers, several of the suspects also meet their demise, which only deepens the mystery of the killer's identity.More Death on the Nile
- #768 of 769 onThe Most Rewatchable Movies
- #104 of 199 onThe Best Movies Of The '70s, Ranked
- #10 of 81 onThe 75+ Best Whodunit Murder Mystery Movies
- 4Film (1945)In this suspenseful drama, based on Agatha Christie's mystery tale, 10 strangers are summoned to a remote island. While they are waiting for the mysterious host to appear, a recording levels serious accusations at each of the guests, including Judge Francis J. Quinncannon (Barry Fitzgerald) and Dr. Edward G. Armstrong (Walter Huston), and soon they start being murdered, one by one. As the survivors try to keep their wits, they reach a disturbing conclusion: one of them must be the killer.
- 5Film (1957)The affable Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power) is being tried for the murder of a wealthy woman, and legendary lawyer Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Charles Laughton) has chosen to represent him. Unfortunately, Leonard's alibi depends on the testimony of his callous wife, Christine (Marlene Dietrich) -- who, after the discovery of a legal loophole, makes the shocking decision to appear in court against him. To Sir Wilfrid's surprise, this is only the first in a series of puzzling revelations and reversals.
- 6TV ProgramMiss Jane Marple uses her reputation and keen observation skills to aid police in solving crimes.
- #24 of 109 onThe Best British Detective Series
- #13 of 43 onWhat to Watch If You Love 'Sherlock'
- #23 of 156 onThe 120+ Best Detective Shows of All Time
- 7TV ProgramAfter collapsing in front of his 'rival' Japp, being rushed into hospital and diagnosed with a weight problem that could cause a heart problem, private society detective Hercule Poirot, who must recover and hopes to lose some weight, visits a seaside health farm on "Burgh Island", in Devon, which has about the best weather in Britain, accompanied by his British friend and assistant, major Hastings. For once he needs to keep far from mysteries, but a murder happens right there: the flirtatious heiress Arlena Stewart is found strangled on a secluded beach where she went sunbathing near a cove. As usual Poirot has screens several suspects such as Christine Redfern, whose husband, journalist Patrick Redfern, was flirting with Arlena in front of Christine while Arlena's husband Kenneth Marshall and 17-year-old step son Lionel Marshall resented her own flirtations with other men. Others had much to loose by Arlena's diva-bitching in professional life. A strange guest at the resort, Major Barry, rather grimly warns Poirot and Hastings to leave as the island isn't a safe place but refuses to explain why. The mystery unravels slowly as he struggles with the exact method of the killer(s?) and especially the timing of events, for both deliberate deception and chance complicated matters.
- 8Film (2017)A lavish trip through Europe quickly unfolds into a race against time to solve a murder aboard a train. When an avalanche stops the Orient Express dead in its tracks, the world's greatest detective -- Hercule Poirot -- arrives to interrogate all passengers and search for clues before the killer can strike again.
- #40 of 114 onThe Greatest Movie Remakes Of All Time
- #60 of 156 onThe Best Ensemble Movies Of All Time
- #22 of 48 onThe Best Train Movies
- And Then There Were None is a 1974 film version of the Agatha Christie mystery novel of the same name. Two previous films were released in 1945 and 1965, and a videotaped made-for-television version was broadcast in 1959. This was the second of three versions of Christie's novel to be adapted to the screen by producer Harry Alan Towers; the aforementioned 1965 version, this one made in 1974, and another in 1989. It follows the script of the 1965 version, right down to calling the Oliver Reed character "Hugh" instead of "Phillip," which was character's name in the novel and play. This particular adaptation is set in an abandoned hotel in the Iranian desert; the film was shot in the Shah Abbas Hotel in Iran during its pre-revolution days. The film is an hour and thirty-eight minutes long, and was the first version of the novel to be filmed in colour. Some versions of the film feature a pre-credit sequence that shows the guests arriving by plane at an airport in Iran, where they subsequently board a helicopter to be transported to the hotel. This prologue was cut from the U.S. release.
- 10Appointment with Death is a 1988 mystery film, made by Golan-Globus Productions and produced and directed by Michael Winner. It is an adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel Appointment with Death featuring the detective Hercule Poirot. The screenplay was by Peter Buckman, Anthony Shaffer and Michael Winner. The film stars Peter Ustinov as Poirot, along with Lauren Bacall, Carrie Fisher, John Gielgud, Piper Laurie, Hayley Mills, Jenny Seagrove and David Soul. Gielgud and Bacall had previously co-starred in another big-screen Poirot adaptation, 1974's Murder on the Orient Express.
- 11Ordeal by Innocence is a 2007 crime, drama and mistery film written by Agatha Christie and Stewart Harcourt and directed by Moira Armstrong.
- 12Film (1985)When actress Jane Wilkinson (Faye Dunaway) forcefully demands a divorce from her husband, she appears unstable. Consequently, she is the main suspect when her husband turns up murdered. Master Detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov), who meets the actress through actor Bryan Martin (Lee Horsley), must determine, along with Inspector Japp (David Suchet), if Wilkinson's claims of innocence are true, and whether Carlotta Adams (also Dunaway), a Wilkinson impersonator, is involved.
- Crooked House is a 2017 British mystery film directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner, based on Agatha Christie's novel. A spy-turned-private-detective (Max Irons) is lured by his former lover (Stefanie Martini) to catch her grandfather's murderer before Scotland Yard exposes dark family secrets.
- 14
Murder in Three Acts
TV ProgramMurder in Three Acts is a 1986 British-American television film produced by Warner Bros. Television, featuring Peter Ustinov as Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Directed by Gary Nelson, it co-starred Jonathan Cecil as Hastings, Tony Curtis, and Emma Samms. The film is based on Christie's book Three Act Tragedy. - 15
Death on the Nile
Film (2022)Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short. - 16Film (1980)Agatha Christie's sleuth Miss Marple (Angela Lansbury) and her Scotland Yard nephew (Edward Fox) find poison on a 1950s movie set.
- 17TV ProgramHercule Poirot investigates a series of murders committed by a killer who uses the alias ABC.
- 18TV ProgramSeries based on Agatha Christie's stories about the elegant slueths Tommy and Tuppence Beresford.
- 19FilmEndless Night is a 1972 British crime film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Hayley Mills, Britt Ekland, Per Oscarsson, Hywel Bennett and George Sanders. It is based on the novel Endless Night by Agatha Christie.
- 20Film (1964)The sole dissenting member of a jury that aims to convict a man of murdering an actress, beloved Agatha Christie character Miss Jane Marple (Margaret Rutherford) joins a theatrical company to investigate the crime on her own. As she gets closer to H. Driffold Cosgood (Ron Moody) and his fellow performers, yet another actor is found dead. Her digging uncovers evil deeds that date back several years, but Miss Marple finds herself in danger as she closes in on the killer.
- 21Film (2023)Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world's most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a seance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. He soon gets thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets when one of the guests is murdered.More A Haunting in Venice
- #62 of 81 onThe 75+ Best Whodunit Murder Mystery Movies
- #26 of 104 onThe 100+ Best Third Movies In A Film Series
- #60 of 84 onThe Best Movies Directed by the Star
- 22Film (1961)When aging sleuth Miss Marple (Margaret Rutherford) witnesses a murder through the window of her passing train car, she alerts the authorities. Unfortunately, the police are hesitant to take the word of an old lady in lieu of an actual body. Taking matters into her own hands, Marple gets a job as a maid at Ackenthorpe Hall, where she believes the murder took place. There, she must match wits with blowhard Luther Ackenthorpe (James Robertson Justice) if she wants to solve the mystery.
- 23Film (1963)While out collecting for charity, Miss Jane Marple (Margaret Rutherford) visits an antisocial villager (Robert Morley), and he suddenly drops dead in her presence. Suspicious of the circumstances, Marple eavesdrops on the reading of his will and subsequently shadows various members of the family who seem suspicious. As the bodies pile up, Miss Marple suspects she has the guilty party cornered, but she needs to find the last bit of proof before it's too late.
- 24The Alphabet Murders is a British detective film based on the novel The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie, starring Tony Randall as Hercule Poirot.
- 25
Sparkling Cyanide
FilmSparkling Cyanide is a 2003 TV film directed by Tristram Powell. - 26TV ProgramA man is determined to find out why he is on a list of names found in the shoe of a dead woman.
- 27
Alibi
- 28Film (1995)British detective Alan Cross (Adrian Dunbar) has an ulterior motive when he attends a friend's funeral: to find out why he really died. In a cloistered rich community on the French coast, Cross meets the strange Graves family. There's matriarch Helena Graves (Joanna Lumley) ; her bewitching daughter, Celia (Gabrielle Anwar) ; and her brooding son, Jeremy (Stephen Dorff). As Cross digs deeper, he uncovers a horrible family secret at the center of his friend's untimely demise.
- 29MysteryLove from a Stranger is a 1947 American film directed by Richard Whorf and starring John Hodiak and Sylvia Sidney. The film is also known as A Stranger Walked In in the United Kingdom.
- 30
The Passing of Mr. Quin
FilmThe Passing of Mr. Quin is a 1928 British mystery film which was co-directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and Julius Hagen, starring Clifford Heatherley, Mary Brough and Ursula Jeans. The film was based on the short story The Coming of Mr. Quin, part of the collection The Mysterious Mr. Quin, which was written by Agatha Christie. It was the first British film to be made of one of Christie's works. The short story was adapted by Hiscott, who would in 1931 direct Alibi, the first film to feature Christie's more well known Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The film was made at Twickenham Studios in London.
