Murder Most Foul (1964) User Reviews

Third in the series and as good as the first

[wisewebwoman · 8/10 · 22 November 2004]

Some lovely bits here, based again on an Agatha Christie novel, not featuring Jane Marple however, but a Hercule Poirot mystery adapted and extremely loosely plotted to enhance the idiosyncratic manner of actress Miss Margaret Rutherford.

Margaret, trying out for a local theatre group in order to expose the real murderer, reciting a Robert Service poem to the disinterest of cast members, director and stagehands has to be seen to be believed. Her clicking knitting needles in the jury box, her one dissenting vote invalidating the whole judicial process, her self righteous oblivion to the glares of the judge, are comedic timing at its best. Her scenes with the company are wonderful and her slow, methodical denouement of the murderer exquisite.

Just curl up with this one. Great old actors from the sixties. A brilliant series. 8 out of 10.

Murder, she said

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 12 May 2005]

This MGM British production, part of a series starring the incomparable Margaret Rutherford, is as enjoyable today, as it was when it was released. George Pollock, the director deserves credit for the immensely satisfying film version of Agatha Christie's "Mrs. McGinty's Death". The excellent copy we saw recently on TCM appears as good now, as it probably did when it first made its theatrical debut.

Miss Jane Marple was Agatha Christie's best creation. She is a no nonsense woman who can't be easily persuaded to condemn the man on trial, in which she is seen as part of the jury at the start of the film. Ms. Marple knows the man is not guilty, even when she gets the other jury members to give her dirty looks when she votes against the others to acquit the man on trial.

Miss Marple starts digging around the dead woman's room and discovers the programs for "Murder, She Said", a play by the theatrical production company that is performing at a theater near her. She enlists her friend Jim Stringer to help her catch the culprit. We are not prepared to see Miss Marple become part of a second rate theatrical troupe touring the country.

"Murder Most Foul" is a must to be seen by all Agatha Christie's fans and mystery fans because of the charisma Margaret Rutherford exuded playing the title character. Ms. Rutherford was an actress that always delivered in her many films. She is an acquired taste that ages well as a good wine.

The supporting cast play like an ensemble. Ron Moody, Charles Tingwell, Stringer Davis, Francesca Annis, Terry Scott, Dennis Price, and the rest, do what they do best and in the process enhance the film.

This is a tribute to the genius of the Jane Marple of Margaret Rutherford!

The Battleship Rutherford

[Lechuguilla · 8/10 · 13 November 2007]

Like an intrepid war ship that patrols the high seas, wonderful Margaret Rutherford patrols a theatrical troupe of actors and actresses known as the Cosgood Players, searching for a killer-most-foul amongst them. And a killer she finds, lurking in the backstage shadows, in this screen adaptation of Agatha Christie's book "Mrs. McGinty's Dead".

It's a nifty whodunit. I was fairly sure who the murderer was. But I was dead wrong. With good film direction, and effective plot misdirection, the film cleverly leads viewers down the garden path, with red herrings scattered here and there. As you make your way through the story, you'll be hard pressed to find the relevant clues, plainly visible, but camouflaged amid a complexity of detail. And that's the mark of a good murder mystery.

If I had to pick the script apart, looking for something to complain about, I could point out that the various suspects have back-stories that are all too thin. But that's normal, more or less, for films in this genre.

En route to the solution of the puzzle, Miss Marple (Rutherford) auditions to be part of the theater troupe, in a solo recital of the Robert Service poem "The Shooting Of Dan McGrew". This sequence alone, with Rutherford's terrifically hammy stage performance, is enough to make the film worth watching.

In searching for the killer, the befuddled police don't have a clue, of course. But with her keen wit and perceptive insight into human nature, Miss Marple sifts and sorts through the jumble of facts with cunning effectiveness. The film's final few minutes take place behind the stage of a play in progress, where she conks the murderer over the head with a stage prop. Marvelous.

As a whodunit, "Murder Most Foul" is a good one. But what really makes the film enjoyable is Rutherford in the role of Miss Marple. With her animated facial expressions, her commanding tone of voice, and her formidable and intimidating stage presence, 72 year old Margaret Rutherford is an absolute joy to watch. I'm surprised that the British didn't name a battleship after her.

Jane's no angel

[BILLYBOY-10 · 14 February 2000]

Jane's on jury duty and is the only one to find NOT GUILTY to a murder charge so she is off to find the real killer. She auditions to join the cast of a traveling players group in a get-up with a huge hydrangea blossom plunked in her bosom and recites "The killing of Dan McGrew". It's wonderful. The rest of the film is entertaining and the finale typically ironic and comical. These films are great, easy to watch and very light hearted.

George Pollock deserves kudos for mixing crime with comedy

[JuguAbraham · 7/10 · 26 January 2003]

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.

Murder Most Fun

[drew-121 · 7/10 · 28 July 2002]

When Agatha Christie created the spinster detective Jane Marple, she could never have pictured Rutherford playing the role on film.

Leaving aside Rutherfords distance from the written charecter, she does bring a wonderful quality to this film and the others in the series.

Playing opposite her real life husband, Stringer Davies, and with great support from Charles Tingwell, she sets out to prove that a miscarriage of justice is being perpetrated.

This brings her into contact with the Cosgood Players, run by Driffield Cosgood (Ron Moody).

Typically with Christie, the plot is not always fathomable, but the denouement is entertaining.

This film is good fun and Rutherford is hilarious as she gurns her way through the story.

Fun story for Rutherford's dominating Marple

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 26 December 2016]

MURDER MOST FOUL is a fun and comic murder mystery featuring the inimitable Margaret Rutherford in her most famous role, that of Agatha Christie's sleuth Miss Marple. This time around, Marple investigates a murder with an apparently obvious suspect - he was caught red-handed, so to speak, at the scene - but follows a clue trail that takes her to a local amateur theatrics group.

This is a well-paced and eventful little mystery with a decent cast and lots of character comedy to see it through. Rutherford dominates the proceedings, inevitably, with her larger-than-life character, and she's a real delight; relishing every line and dominating every co-actor from beginning to end. The mystery itself is cosy rather than exciting or dramatic, but the ensemble cast are very good. Ron Moody delights as the camp ham actor and manager; Charles Tingwell and Windsor Davis make a good tag-team as the police. Among the rest of the cast members, both James Bolam and Francesca Annis stand out in star-making performances. There's little to dislike about MURDER MOST FOUL.

Murder Most Interesting

[derek william hall · 10/10 · 22 November 2001]

In this, the third of a series of four films of Margaret Rutherford depicting Miss Marple, we are lavishly entertained by a witty whodunnit which is set, most appropriately, within and around a travelling theatre troupe. In my view, this is the best of Rutherford's renditions of this character - and, as ever, she is massively supported by a rock-solid cast which merges mirth with menace in adequate proportions.

The decent, yet slightly inept, Inspector Craddock (Charles Tingwell) is ably assisted, in a needy negative way, by the clearly less able policemen, Wells and Brick (Scott and Davies) in trying to convict an 'obvious' criminal for a heinous murder. Adding to this, the ineptitude of a firm and forthright judge (Andrew Cruickshank) alongside an evidently incapable jury, leads us once again to the necessity of 'our Jane' solving the crime for us. To do so, she must join a theatre group which is riddled with a relevant variety of seemingly good suspects - but which is led by an over-the-top character, Driffold Cosgood (played to perfection by the brilliant Ron Moody). The bit where Cosgood changes his mood and his mind in mid-sentance (..."Dear Lady...") is a piece that is worthy of Shakespeare as a refusal is turned into a plea - but there are plenty of other endearing and engaging moments throughout the rest of an accomplished production.

With your port, or a nice bottle of wine, wait until it's dark and raining outside, then snuggle up to this wonderful jaunt through the curious backdrop of a theatre and its performers presenting a different kind of 'playing' than one would normally expect.

Another Entertaining Story of Miss Marple

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 17 June 2013]

During the trial of the prime suspect of the murder of Mrs. McGinty, Miss Jane Marple (Margaret Rutherford) is the only member of the jury that believes that the accused is innocent. The judge schedules another trial and Miss Marple invites her friend Jim Stringer (Stringer Davis) to go to the house of the victim to talk with her sister and snoop around.

Miss Marple discovers that Mrs. McGinty was an actress and she joins the theatrical company of H. Driffold Cosgood (Ron Moody) to investigate and find the real killer. But soon people around her dies and Inspector Craddock (Charles Tingwell) and Mr. Stringer are worried about her safety.

"Murder Most Foul" is another entertaining story by Agatha Christie with her sweet and snoopy Miss Marple. Mrs. Margaret Rutherford is hilarious and her logic is always funny, especially when she discusses the crimes with Inspector Craddock. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Crime É Crime" ("Crime Is Crime")

"Admirable light-hearted mystery."

[jamesraeburn2003 · 8/10 · 12 September 2005]

This is the third entry in MGM's quintet of Miss Marple whodunits starring Rutherford as the eccentric yet highly intelligent spinster detective who time and time again has proved herself more competent than the investigating police even though she is only armed with her knowledge of crime detective novels.

In this feature, Miss Marple is on jury service at the trial of a young man called Howard Taylor whom is accused of killing his landlady Mrs McGinty for her savings. All members of the jury are convinced of Taylor's guilt except Miss Marple. As a result they are unable to say if Taylor is guilty or not guilty and the trial has to be postponed until a later date. This gives Miss Marple the breathing space she needs to find the real killer. The trail leads her to discover that Mrs McGinty was a blackmailer and that she was blackmailing a member of "The Cosgood Players", which is run by the bungling playwright and director Driffold Cosgood (RON MOODY). She manages to secure a place in the company following an unlikely rendition of Robert W. Service's poem "The Shooting Of Dan McGrew" and she is now able to investigate her fellow actors. Two more murders follow within the company before Miss Marple is able to lay a trap for the killer. As usual the hapless Chief Inspector Craddock (CHARLES TINGWELL) resents her interference but as usual she comes out on top even though Craddock is promoted to Chief Inspector for his work on the case but it was Miss Marple who solved it for him!

All in all, MURDER MOST FOUL (adapted loosely from Agatha Christie's 1952 publication Mrs McGinty's Dead in which Hercule Poirot solved the case), has all the comedy delight and charm of its two predecessors, which made the series so popular. Director George Pollock who by now had proved that he was a very efficient craftsman effortlessly blends the humor with mystery and one isn't allowed to overlap the other - something that has ruined mystery films in the past. In fact, I would say that this was his best ever film as a director. Rutherford plays Miss Marple with a great deal of authority and as always she steals the show. But Ron Moody as Cosgood, Tingwell as Craddock and Stringer Davies (Rutherford's real life husband) as her trusty sidekick Mr Stringer all deserve good notices as does composer Ron Goodwin, director Pollock and cinematographer Desmond Dickinson whose black and white camera-work lends the production a considerable atmosphere of the mysterious.

Miss Marple Causes A Mistrial

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 21 July 2010]

Murder Most Foul begins with Margaret Rutherford as Jane Marple serving jury duty where she proceeds to deadlock the jury in what everyone, including her exasperated friend Charles Tingwell as Inspector Craddock thinks is an open and shut case. The poor defendant was found bent over the body of a hanged woman.

It was his lucky day to have Rutherford on his jury of peers. No sooner than a mistrial is declared than Margaret is off to investigate and the trail leads to a traveling theatrical company. Two more murders of the company of strolling players occur and the original victim in fact was a former actress herself.

Besides Tingwell as the arm of the law and Stringer Davis as Mr. Stringer and Margaret Rutherford's husband in real life, the cast of Murder Most Foul also includes Dennis Price and Ron Moody as a pair of fourth rate hams. They're the older members of the stock company, the younger ones are hams as well, but Price and Moody are hams with a lot of style.

This is a fine addition to the Marple quartet that Margaret Rutherford did in the Sixties. Even though the story is actually from a Hercule Poirot mystery by Agatha Christie, it suits Rutherford just fine.

Miss Marple with gusto...

[lesleyanne-hay1 · 10/10 · 3 June 2007]

Miss Marple to the distress of the judge, knits her way through jury service in order to aid her concentration. She alone finds the accused not guilty since the murder victim wore a rose, and she would hardly do so to greet her murderer. Through a series of investigations she discovers, ably assisted by Mr Stringer, her real life husband Stringer Davies, that a play is behind the crime, and she joins a second-rate theatrical company led by Ron Moody who excels as a ham actor. Sussing that Miss Marple is not short of a bob or two, he engages her as an apprentice (unpaid) with a view to having her back his frightful play "Remember September". Miss Marple up to the neck in dead bodies, solves the mystery and proves to be a former small-arms champion. We will recall that she was also a riding champion and fencing champion. Miss Marple has led such an active life. She is a very different Miss Marple from the books but Dame Margaret carried the role superbly. When offered the role she apparently said that she could not be involved in murder, but it was explained to her that the accent was on Miss Marple and that changed her mind. She and Dame Agatha Christie became great friends. An excellent quartet of films. Pity it did not go further.

Good but I prefer the previous two films in the series.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 9 July 2018]

This is the third of four Miss Marple films starring Margaret Rutherford. And, like the rest of the movies, it has the incredibly catchy harpsichord musical score that is a bit hip and mod. However, of the three I've so far seen, it's my least favorite.

The story begins with a police constable noticing a dead woman hanging in a window! When he enters the place, he finds a man trying to save her...but the stupid officer thinks the man's just killed the lady. While it seems pretty obvious the man is NOT the murderer, soon he's on trial. And, it's an odd trial as the judge assumes the guy is guilty and tells the jury as much!! Fortunately, Miss Marple is on the jury and she is the lone holdout who refuses to vote guilty.

After the case is complete, Miss Marple naturally decides to investigate the case. It takes her to an acting troop and she soon is convinced to join them. Soon other bodies start piling up...and so it's pretty obvious Marple is on the right trail! Can she solve the crimes before she's the next victim?

While Rutherford is excellent as usual, the motivation for the murders seemed a bit limp...hence my scoring this one a 7 instead of 8 like the previous two.

Foul Ball for Margaret Rutherford Caper **

[edwagreen · 4/10 · 27 April 2013]

A year after winning the best supporting actress Oscar for the memorable "The VIP's," Margaret Rutherford returned to portraying the memorable maiden sleuth, Jane Marple. Rutherford was an absolute joy to watch. Her facial expressions and sunken chin made her perfect to play this female crime investigator.

The problem with the film is basically in its writing. Marple manages to get a hung jury with a mistrial declared in the mysterious death of a woman.

She then joins the troupe of actors where the victim had been involved. Ron Moody, so memorable as Fagin, 4 years later in "Oliver!," plays the head of the group.

Miss Marple leaves nothing unturned in her attempt to find the culprit of the crime. It just isn't a very interesting film.

Amusing whodunit

[Marta · 7 February 2000]

Margaret Rutherford makes an amusing Miss Marple in this all-English version of Agatha Christie's "Mrs. McGinty's Dead". With an outstanding supporting cast she manages to solve the murder mystery after joining the cast of a local theater group. A quiet but very english film; filmed in black and white it looks as if it is an older film than it is, but also has a modern feel to it since it was filmed in 1964. Ron Moody is wonderful as the theatrical Clifford Cosgood, who tries to convince Miss Marple to invest in his next play. Charles Tingwell plays the police inspector who gets all his clues from Miss Marple and seems always to be three steps behind her.

Murder Most Foul

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 15 September 2015]

Margaret Rutherford is a delight as an inquisitive, defiant, dogged, analytical, and impressively able to think on her feet as an elderly "murder mystery enthusiast" that can be both a source of misery and information for her local police. When "Murder Most Foul" begins, she is on a jury that gets hung because she doesn't believe the person on trial is guilty.

George Pollock, the director of this film, really sets up a hysterical opening where a cobblestone cop interrupts (he believes, but Rutherford's Miss Marple later proves wrong) a man as he seems to be rope-hanging his wife in a diabolical means to make her death appear to be a suicide after a manual strangulation. With money and a rose near the scene, Marple starts to deduce that there's more to this than meets the eye. The victim might have been blackmailing someone associated with a theatrical company (run by an autocratic, eyes-on-the-prize grandiose thespian played to the hilt by Ron Moody). When a second person tied to the company is murdered on the very day Marple is rehearsing for a part with the company's potentially latest play, she's sure the man currently jailed is innocent and that one of the current actors/actresses is truly responsible. When an attempt on her own life is narrowly diverted (another actress happened to be in the kitchen at the wrong time to turn off an iron as toxic cyanide poison fumes were smoking from a pot on a stove meant for Marple (with a letter purposely planted outside her room to get her into the kitchen) is also killed), Marple seems to be closing in on the identity of the killer. When she learns from an agent (Dennis Price; Kind Hearts and Coronets & Venus in Furs) about the first murdered woman, and that a supposed new play by Moody's Cosgood was actually performed eleven years ago with her in it, the learned development regarding a child naked Evelyn is the catalyst in an amusing conclusion where Marple proves to the killer that her prop gun has more bang than blanks would provide. Accidental mishaps in the back stage as all that carries out leads to hospital stays in slapstick fashion. Coming to Marple's rescue or a trap door that shouldn't have been open on the stage floor prove to be quite a raucous followup to the killer's confession and downfall.

Marple's getting to the truth is what makes this a must-see for whodunit fans that love their murder mysteries gradually shedding of light events that, as a collective, bring us through all the dirt and secrets that unveils a murderer. A character named Eva (Alison Seebohm) is one of the more intriguing characters in the cast; she is almost like a harbinger of doom, speaking of dreams involving Marple and Death, also admitting to being in love with the second victim. She sleepwalks and eventually believes, for whatever reason, that Marple was responsible for her love's murder. The company has its share of divas and dilettantes, mostly catering to whatever butts will sit in their theater's lowly seats. That is what truly amused me about Moody's Cosgood. He really thinks his work is important, and that the building will be packed with admirers applauding every nuance and uttered word. Rutherford has a showstopping rendition of The Shooting of Dan McGrew which leaves the three in the building slack-jawed. The partnership with Stringer Davis (her husband in life) as the two work in concert to solve the case (he pretty much assists and does as told, haha) and the anxious but respectable alliance with Inspector Craddock (Charles Tingwell) offer plenty of charm and appeal. I particularly enjoyed how Marple "respectfully" corrects Craddock and leads him away from the usual mindset of a cop who follows clues no matter how deliberate they might be in a way which has him reconsidering generalities in favor of key particulars. Without Marple, Craddock's chances of solving the crimes committed in Murder Most Foul would have been slim to none. But it is Rutherford's unwillingness to step aside and let an innocent man pay for a crime he didn't commit that is the heart and soul of this series of Marple films. Stunning black and white lensing from Desmond Dickinson, especially at the beginning of the film which shows the silhouette of the strangling victim from a window while the cop outside is taking a swig of whiskey near a pub! How Marple is presented as a monkey wrench that halts the criminal justice system from operating in a status quo fashion makes her quite a heroine to root for. No one can pleasantly call a cop naive and gullible quite like Miss Marple and not make him feel like a total fool.

Jaunty murder mystery

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 30 June 2007]

A loose adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel "Mrs. McGinty's Dead" brings back Margaret Rutherford as the blustery Miss Marple (following "Murder She Said" in 1961 and "Murder at the Gallop" in 1963). Serving on the jury for a man accused of murder, Miss Marple's vote of not guilty causes a mistrial; she proceeds to investigate the case from there, in which members of an acting troupe in England are turning up dead. Christie, arguably the most popular mystery novelist in history, wasn't particularly served well by the movies--or was it that her dialogue tended to impede on a film's progress? Screenwriters David Pursall and Jack Seddon aren't especially snappy or witty, but their film is amiable nevertheless, and served well by a good supporting cast. Desmond Dickinson's cinematography is very fine, as is Ron Goodwin's lively score. Pity more wasn't done to make Rutherford's Marple a sly trickster (she has one crafty scene pretending to be a church worker to get inside the murder location, but otherwise she's rather inert). Just off an Oscar win for "The V. I. P. S.'s", one's hopes for a star-turn--the indefatigable sleuth--are somewhat let down. Rutherford's age may have been a factor in keeping her grounded; when she doesn't have the clever repartee, the actress falls back on making funny faces. The plot is wrapped up nicely, and there's a cute plug at the finale for another Marple-mystery which never happened. Rutherford made a cameo in 1965's "The Alphabet Murders" (with Tony Randall as Hercule Poirot), but this was her last starring turn as Miss Marple. **1/2 from ****

Good old-fashioned fun

[MOscarbradley · 6/10 · 23 December 2017]

Extremely minor it may be but it's also a lot of fun thanks in large part to Margaret Rutherford's performance as Miss Marple. We may have had several Miss Marple's since but none could top the slack-jawed Rutherford. In keeping murder at the forefront they changed the title from "Mrs McGinty's Dead" to "Murder Most Foul". This one has a theatrical setting and the tawdry milieu of the touring company is nicely captured while that old ham, Ron Moody, is excellent playing, naturally, an old ham and there is a decent supporting cast of British character actors to round things off.

Rutherford was Outstanding

[whpratt1 · 8/10 · 1 July 2007]

Enjoyed this Agatha Christie murder mystery and especially with the great acting by Margaret Rutherford, (Miss Jane Marple). Miss Marple sticks her nose into another murder mystery of a woman and manages to enter the murder victims apartment under the pretense of looking for old clothes and things for a church benefit. Miss Marple even joins a theatrical group and volunteers her so-called talents as an elderly British lady. There is a strange bunch of actors in this theater, one girl walks in her sleep and acts like she is in a trance and even tries to kill Miss Marple with a knife. There is a great deal of comedy through out the film and Miss Marple always seems to give the Police Inspector valuable information which he takes complete credit for himself. Nice old scenes from England and a very enjoyable classic film from 1964.

not really Christie's Marple

[prairieboy · 7/10 · 1 June 2019]

In spite of the fact that this is a tremendously entertaining movie, and that Rutherford is such a joy to watch, I wish it wasn't based (even loosely) on the Character of Miss Marple as created by Agatha Christie, Rutherford, for all her obvious gusto and brilliance, doesn't portray a character that is anywhere close to the original Marple; their methods and their personalities and their physical statures are quite different. But, that aside this is a highly enjoyable watch, Rutherford has never been better than she is here in this energetic story- the perfect balance between genuine mystery and comedic craftsmanship.

We loved these when they first came out...

[lucyrfisher · 9/10 · 3 April 2020]

We loved these when they first came out - and I'm happy to say this film is as funny as ever. Miss Rutherford is a comic genius. I don't care if she did insist her husband was in all her films, he's great too.

This is a beautifully photographed, noirish Christie tribute. It bears about as much relation to the original stories as the Rathbone/Bruce Holmes series - and succeeds in the same way. The plot is a decent mystery on its own.

The supporting cast are great, especially the posh girl who's insisting on marrying a poor actor.

I wonder where the wardrobe department found Miss Marple's beautiful antique jewellery. I suspect the pieces were the actress's own!

Another Marple story for Rutherford based on "Mrs. McGinty's Dead"...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 29 September 2006]

Still another entry in the Jane Marple films that MARGARET RUTHERFORD starred in, this time replacing Hercule Poirot who was featured in the original story, "Mrs. McGinty's Dead".

This one again has Miss Marple deciding to join a theatrical touring group in order to track down the man she believes is the real murderer in a jury case she was sitting on. She's the lone holdout on the jury because she believes they have the wrong man on trial.

The group is headed by RON MOODY, who plays the role of the theater organizer with hammy relish, and once again she's aided by her timorous companion STRINGER DAVIS, as Mr. Stringer. Inspector Craddock is again a disbeliever, as played by CHARLES TINGWELL, who of course is baffled and opposed to Miss Marple's way of sleuthing--which does, in the end, get results.

Amusing Agatha Christie thriller features the familiar Ron Goodwin harpsichord theme for Miss Marple, and all the other ingredients are firmly planted. The clues are hard to spot (and highly improbable in some cases), but it's all done in the spirit of the other Margaret Rutherford outings even if it takes several liberties with the Christie story.

Another gem from two great talents

[mnpollio · 8/10 · 12 April 2007]

To me Rutherford simply IS Miss Marple even though she seems light years away from the placid, if insightful knitting couch potato from Agatha Christie's novels. In this adaptation of Mrs. McGinty's Dead, Rutherford's Jane Marple is part of a jury that refuses to find a man guilty of murder and then goes on to investigate and follow a trail of clues to a troop of actors, led by the delightfully hammy impresario Ron Moody. Rutherford is a joy to watch whether auditioning with a dramatic rendering of a popular poem or sneaking about trailing various suspects. The delight in watching her stems from seeing a vital and active older actress take such demand and physical participation in the effort to right wrongs. Thanks to Rutherford's performance, the films seem as delightful today, decades later, as they did when they became popular features in both the UK and the US.

Miss Marple with a gun!!

[gridoon2024 · 7/10 · 29 December 2011]

This is probably the most densely plotted of the three Margaret Rutherford Marple films I've seen so far - it is based on a Hercule Poirot story ("Mrs. McGinty's Dead") which has already been adapted for the screen as part of the David Suchet series, but although I have seen that film, I did not remember much of it beyond the initial setup, so I was caught up in the various murders and red herrings that follow. I also think this might be Rutherford's top performance as Marple - she has some great facial expressions (like when she's teasing Mr. Stringer), some great lines ("A Marple's word is her bond!"), some great tricks (a small mirror attached to an umbrella!), and at the end she even gets to fire a gun - something that would be unthinkable for any other actress who ever played this character, but fits perfectly with her portrayal! The supporting cast is also strong in this one. The only problem with the film is the same with the previous entries: occasionally it moves like molasses. *** out of 4.

Caped Capers

[robertconnor · 5/10 · 9 February 2007]

During a murder trial, of the jury only Miss Jane Marple believes in the accused. Against the odds, she sets out to discover the truth - who really killed Mrs. McGinty?

A daft riff on Christie's 'Mrs. McGinty's Dead' with Rutherford gurning and twitching her way through the loopy proceedings, sweetly supported by her real-life partner Stringer Davis. Delicious early 60's production, replete with glorious supporting cast, seedy setting and a taste of the pantomime throughout. Fascinating to see a few faces at the beginning of their careers (Annis, Bolam, Scott, Windsor Davies) as well as British film stalwarts Jenkins, Price, Cruickshank, Moody (as hammy as it gets)... Rutherford is a riot, especially when reciting a poem for her audition.