Murder Most Foul (1964)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

George Pollock

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel)
David Pursall (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

September 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

New misdeeds are afoot afoot the footlights!

Plot:

When Miss Marple joins a theatrical company after a blackmailer is murdered, several members of the troupe are also dispatched by this mysterious killer.

Plot Keywords:

Miss Marple | Murder | Jury | Theatrical Troupe | Strangulation

Cast

Margaret Rutherford	...	Miss Jane Marple
Ron Moody	...	H. Driffold Cosgood
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell	...	Inspector Craddock
Andrew Cruickshank	...	Justice Crosby
Megs Jenkins	...	Gladys Thomas
Dennis Price	...	Theatrical Agent Harris Tumbrill
Ralph Michael	...	Ralph Summers
James Bolam	...	Bill Hanson
Stringer Davis	...	Jim Stringer
Francesca Annis	...	Sheila Upward
Alison Seebohm	...	Eva McGonigall
Terry Scott	...	Police Constable Wells
Pauline Jameson	...	Maureen Summers
Maurice Good	...	George Rowton
Annette Kerr	...	Dorothy

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie's 'Murder Most Foul' (UK)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | UK:U | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Palace Theatre, Watford, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Lawrence P. Bachman Production

Trivia:

Like Murder at the Gallop (1963), this movie was adapted from a Poirot novel, not a Miss Marple novel.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: The courtroom's main doors are decorated with the coat-of-arms of the king of Norway.

Quotes:

Miss Jane Marple: He isn'd drunk. He's dead.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sliders: Murder Most Foul (#3.13)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Theme From Dr. Kildare

George Pollock deserves kudos for mixing crime with comedy

George Pollock's name never gets mentioned among major directors. Yet four of his Miss Marple films as best remembered for Ron Goodwin's music and the wonderful Dame Margaret Rutherford and real life husband Stringer Davis.

The four films of Pollock combined mystery with comedy in a way that it entertains even after 40 years after the films were made. The elements that hold up these four films were great casting, good screenplay, crisp editing, and charming music and sound effects. Pollock is not a David Lean or a philosopher-director. He is merely making cinema that is gripping and entertaining and how well he accomplishes this.

This film is the second only to "Murder Ahoy" among the four. And since "Murder Ahoy" followed "Murder Most Foul", it would be only too clear that Pollock was gaining in confidence and elegance with each film. In each of his "Murder" films Pollock cast a major British actor. In this one it is the talented Ron Moody (Fagin of "Oliver!"). In each of the four films the chosen British actor provides a counterpoint and balance to Dame Rutherford's major role. One tends to remember Miss Marple and not the other meaty roles (Lionel Jeffries, Robert Morley, James Robertson Justice)in each of the "Murder" films. All the four were memorable but Moody and Jeffries were truly remarkable. I found this a major work of Moody though not as memorable as his interpretation of Fagin and Uriah Heep in other films.

The juxtaposition of crime and comedy looks natural thanks to Pollock and imaginative casting. Pollock is probably a quiet achiever deserving more attention by critics and historians of British cinema.