15. Murder on the Orient Express

This week, we discuss Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express!

In this episode, we read and watched:

• Agatha Christie’s novel, originally published in 1934. Buy on Amazon or iBooks.
• The 1974 movie, directed by Sidney Lumet, and starring Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot. Buy on Amazon or iTunes.
• The 2001 made-for-television movie, starring Alfred Molina. Watch on YouTube (we literally couldn’t find it anywhere else).
• The 2010 feature-length episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, starring David Suchet. Buy on iTunes.
• The 2017 movie, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh. Buy on Amazon or iTunes.

Some of the stuff we talked about in this episode:

• Clue
• The Lindbergh Kidnapping
• “It’s the Juice! Run, OJ, run!”
• Gosford Park
• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Arthur, starring John Gielgud as a butler
• Ranking Every Episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot
• The original trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express
• Michael Green, screenwriter of the 2017 Murder on the Orient Express and Logan

14. The Princess Bride

This week, we discuss William Goldman’s The Princess Bride!

In this episode, we read and watched:

• William Goldman’s original novel, The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure (The “Good Parts” Edition), originally published in 1973. Buy on Amazon or iBooks.
• The 1987 movie, directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, André the Giant, Wallace Shawn, Chris Sarandon, and Christopher Guest. Buy on Amazon or iTunes.

Some of the stuff we talked about in this episode:

• “That’s a Christopher Guest reference.”
• The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Marathon Man
• Misery
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
• Carl Reiner, Norman Lear, and All in the Family
• This is Spinal Tap
• Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits
• Anton Chekhov
• The Somerville Theatre in Somerville, Massachusetts
• “Princess Bride” star Patinkin reveals his favorite line in the film
• Jason Reitman and Live Read

13. The Hound of the Baskervilles

This week, in our first installment on the character of Sherlock Holmes, we’re discussing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles.

In this episode, we read and watched:

• Doyle’s original novel, published in 1902. Buy on Amazon or iBooks.
• The 1939 film version, starring Basil Rathbone. Buy on Amazon.
• The 1959 Hammer Film production, starring Peter Cushing. Buy on Amazon or iTunes.
• The 1982 TV version, starring Tom Baker, originally airing on the BBC. Stream it on BritBox.
• The 1983 made-for-television version, starring Ian Richardson. Buy on Amazon.
• The 1988 episode of Sherlock Holmes, starring Jeremy Brett in his second of four series as the character. Buy on Amazon or stream it on BritBox.

Some of the stuff we talked about in this episode:

• Tom Baker’s tenure as the fourth Doctor Who.
• Upstairs Downstairs
• To Be or Not to Be, starring Jack Benny and Carole Lombard.
• LibriVox and their dramatic reading of The Hound of the Baskervilles, starring Arielle Lipshaw.