Too Many Clues: "Murder on the Orient Express" '74 Quiz

Answer: Royal Scots

The Royal Scots was founded in 1633 by Sir John Hepburn, who was given a warrant by Charles I to recruit 1200 Scots to fight on behalf of the French. The regiment remained part of the French establishment until 1679, when the peace treaty with the Dutch required all English and Scottish troops to be repatriated. The regiment was then made part of the English Army as the "First Regiment of Foot, or Royal Scots", becoming the senior infantry regiment of the line. The regiment remained, unamalgamated or altered, until 2006, when it was united with the five other remaining Scottish line infantry regiments to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

In the film, Colonel Arbuthnot mentions while being interrogated that Armstrong won the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross during the First World War while serving in the regiment; Poirot notes with interest how Arbuthnot was able to recall these decorations accurately, as Arbuthnot's regiment (12th Gurkha Rifles) and Armstrong's were unlikely to have interacted.

Answer: Sirkeci station

Sirkeci is one of two major railway termini in Istanbul, and is located in the Fatih district, close to the bank of the Golden Horn, on the European side of the Bosphorus. The station was opened in 1890 to replace a previous, temporary station that had been in place since 1873. The station served as the eastern terminus of the Orient Express from its opening, and is the main railway connection between Turkey and the rest of Europe. In addition to the main terminal, there is also has an underground station serving the Marmaray line, which travels in tunnel underneath the Bosphorus, and connects Sirkeci with Haydarpaşa station, the other major terminus in the city, located on the Asian side.

In the film, we first see Poirot on the Bosphorus ferry awaiting its departure; he has been called to London from Jordan, and is making the next leg of his journey from the Asian side of Istanbul to reach Sirkeci station and connect with the Orient Express.

Answer: St Christopher

St Christopher is a saint venerated by a number of Christian denominations. According to legend, he was a man of considerable size and strength who sought to serve 'the greatest king'. He was advised by a hermit that he could serve by helping people to cross a dangerous river. One day, a small child asked for his help in crossing the river - during the attempt, the child felt incredibly heavy on Christopher's shoulders, and upon reaching the other bank, he said to the child that he "did not think the whole world could have been as heavy on my shoulders as you were". The child replied that "he had on his shoulders not the whole world, but Him that made it", as he was Christ the king. In later life, Christopher traveled to Lycia, and converted many of its occupants to Christianity, leading to his martyrdom. His role in carrying Christ across the river led to his becoming the patron saint of travelers, with medals often worn as pendants by those going on long journeys.

In the film, Miss Ohlsson has arrived at Sirkeci station and been given the number of her compartment on the train. As she moves to board, she begins to panic that she has misplaced her St Christopher medal, at which she is surrounded by a number of peddlers offering her medals of other saints. However, she locates her own medal, to the bemusement of the sellers, who move off to find other potential buyers.

Answer: Amber Moon

The Amber Moon is a particular type of cocktail that is often taken as the 'hair of the dog', an alcoholic drink intended to be taken as a hangover remedy, or alternatively as a morning pick-me-up. The drink is primarily a whiskey cocktail, although it can also be made with vodka. The other main ingredient is a raw egg, while Tabasco sauce is added to taste. To make it, the egg has to be cracked into a highball glass, without the yolk breaking; to this is added three fluid ounces (89 ml) of whiskey or vodka, with a dash of Tabasco added finally. It is then taken straight down in one. While there is no evidence as to why such a concoction might work, theories include the idea that the raw egg restores proteins that alcohol has broken down; the amino acid cysteine, which is found in eggs, helps break down alcohol; and the capsaicin found in the Tabasco serves as a painkiller.

In the film, the murder is discovered when Ratchett's valet, Beddoes, brings his regular Amber Moon. Beddoes explains to Poirot that the cocktail is Ratchett's 'breakfast', and that he would never rise from his bed until it had taken full effect.

Answer: Baghdad

Baghdad was originally founded in the 8th century, and was made the capital of what was known as the Abbasid Caliphate, after which it became a commercial, cultural and intellectual centre in the Islamic world. The city was eventually destroyed by the Mongols in 1258; although rebuilt, it suffered a decline over several centuries, until it became the capital of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia in 1920. During the succeeding period, first when under British rule, and then from 1932 when the territory gained independence as the Kingdom of Iraq, the city underwent an architectural rebirth, with a number of building projects designed and built to reinforce its status. The name 'Baghdad' is pre-Islamic in origin, although there are a number of theories as to its derivation - most favour the idea that the word comes from two old Persian words meaning 'bestowed by God'. The name was used for a number of settlements that existed on the site; even though the official name of the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate was Madinat al-Salaam, the name Baghdad continued to be used, until it became the city's exclusive name in the 11th century.

In the film, Miss Ohlsson reveals that Miss Debenham had been working as a teacher of English shorthand in Baghdad. Miss Debenham herself refuses to reveal the reason for her journey on the train in the face of mounting pressure from Poirot, until an intervention from Colonel Arbuthnot brings out why they are both travelling to England.

Answer: Hungary

Until the end of the First World War, Hungary's monarchy was shared, as its King was also the Emperor of Austria. With the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a Bolshevik revolution led by Béla Kun attempted to establish Hungary as a Soviet Republic. The failure of this saw elections in 1920, with the new parliament re-establishing the monarchy, although without the last king, Charles IV, retaking the throne. Instead, Miklós Horthy, a nobleman and former commander of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, was elected as Regent. He established a new order of merit, whose members received the hereditary title 'Vitéz', while the Hungarian nobility dominated both the government and parliament. Following the Second World War, Soviet controlled elections saw a new parliament that abolished all ranks of nobility.

In the film, Count Andreyni is a Hungarian diplomat travelling with his wife. While they are being interrogated by Poirot, the Countess mentions that they have never traveled to America together, instead meeting for the first time in Wiesbaden, after the Count had served at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington.

Answer: Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth makes her first appearance in Act One, Scene Five, when she learns of the Witches' prophecy that her husband will become king. She is the one that plots the murder of King Duncan, and then bullies Macbeth into carrying it out. Subsequent to the murder, and Macbeth's appointment as king, Lady Macbeth begins to suffer profound torment - she is last seen sleepwalking, recalling the events and sensations leading up to Duncan's murder, before her death is announced while she is off-stage. Lady Macbeth is based on Gruoch, the wife of the real Mac Bethad, King of Scotland, who reigned from 1040 to 1057. Gruoch's first husband was Gille Coemgáin, King of Moray, with whom she had a son named Lulach. After the death of Gille Coemgáin, she subsequently married Mac Bethad, who then adopted Lulach. Lulach subsequently succeeded to the Scottish throne after the death of Mac Bethad in 1057.

In the film, while questioning the Princess, he remarks that he saw Linda Arden twice as Lady Macbeth in London, to which the Princess replies that she was the greatest tragic actress of her day, but is now bedridden and unable to work.

Answer: Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, responsible for a range of works in different areas, both in terms of style of writing and subject - he wrote both fiction and non-fiction; he wrote novels, poetry, drama, memoirs, literary and aesthetic criticism, and works on botany, anatomy and colour. In addition to his success as a writer, he also served on the Privy Council of the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, sitting on various commissions, implementing reforms at the University of Jena, and overseeing the rebuilding of Weimar's ducal palace and planning of its botanical park. Goethe's non-fiction writings inspired a number of 19th century German thinkers, including Hegel, Nietzsche and Schopenhuauer, while his most famous fictional work, the two part tragic play "Faust", is regarded as the greatest work of German literature.

In the film, we see Hildegarde reading from Goethe when Poirot and Bianchi arrive to question the Princess. Later, when questioning Hildegarde herself, she tells Poirot that she carries several volumes of Goethe's work to read the Princess to sleep if required.

Answer: Ur of the Chaldees

Ur of the Chaldees, called Urs Kaśdim in Hebrew, is a city mentioned in the Tanakh. The city is mentioned four times - it is explicitly named as the birthplace of Haran, the brother of Abraham, and is believed to also be Abraham's birthplace. Although the location of the city is not known, in 1927 archaeologist Leonard Woolley identified the ancient Sumerian city of Ur in southern Mesopotamia as Ur of the Chaldees. This links with the idea that Abraham's ancestors were moon-worshippers, as Ur was the sacred city of the moon-god Sin. Ur was located close to the modern city of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, with the Ziggurat of Ur excavated by Woolley during the 1920s and '30s.

In the film, Colonel Arbuthnot is reluctant initially to reveal to Poirot his reasons for travelling to England overland, rather than by sea using P&O. When pressured, he tells Poirot that he has spent a day at the ruins of Ur of the Chaldees, followed by three days in Baghdad in the company of his friend, the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of British Forces in Iraq.

Answer: Pinkerton

In 1850, Allan Pinkerton founded the North-West Police Agency, a private security firm, in Chicago. The agency subsequently took Pinkerton's name, becoming the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Pinkerton agents served as personal bodyguards to Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War, and in 1871 was contracted by the Department of Justice to undertake "the detection and prosecution of those guilty of violating federal law". However, in 1893 the Anti-Pinkerton Act was passed, banning the federal government from hiring private agents and mercenaries. Pinkerton agents were hired by businesses to infiltrate unions and break up strikes, but they also took part in the apprehension of many notorious criminals including Jesse James, the Reno Gang and the Wild Bunch. From the 1930s onwards, with the falling away of criminal detection work thanks to the founding of the FBI, Pinkerton focused more on protection services, eventually dropping the word 'Detective' from its name in the 1960s. Today, the company focuses on threat intelligence, risk management, executive protection, and active shooter response.

In the film, Hardman reveals that he is travelling on a fake passport produced under licence by Pinkerton, as he works in the Istanbul office and had been hired by Ratchett to act as a bodyguard for the duration of his journey on the train.