Customer Reviews
The best loved eccentric actress of post war cinema in her unique portrayal of Miss Marple - By: Klaus Meyer, 17 Dec 2007 
Academy award winning Dame Margret Rutherford is properly one if not the best loved eccentric actress of the post war cinema.
At the age of nearly 70, she first played the film role with which she was most often associated in later life, that of Miss Marple. In a series of four films (1961-1964) - loosely based on the novels of Agatha Christi - Margaret's portrayal of Miss Maple captured audiences worldwide now & then. . She took great umbrage when she learned that Christie herself had expressed concerns about Rutherford's ample figure, as Miss Marple was usuallly described as a trim, talllish spinster. Her acting sparkles, it is tough & touching. The language is just wonderful. All four movies are a great pleasure to watch. And the tune....perhaps my alll time favorite of film music.
"I think that woman is working with the police...", "Nonsense, she's a lady!" - By: Paul Ess., 11 Sep 2007 
Stout collection of films starring the glorious Margaret Rutherford (for whom the word `exquisite' was invented.) as Agatha Christie's amateur sleuth & `tittle-tattling, busybody' Miss Marple.
I'm a big fan of Rutherford's & it seems quite obvious, that she was born to play the dotty, but formidable snoop, as this box-set of films made by MGM in the early 60's gives glowing testament.
The 4 films are presented no-frills, & in `matted' widescreen format, to appease the every-thing-must-fit-my-gigantic-tv brigade. In my opinion, masking the picture top & bottom is just as bad as cutting off the sides, but that's by-the-by. Apart from that, these films are beautifully shot in monochrome & contain an absolute trove of British acting alumni. To a man, acting suspiciously, lurking in the shadows, leaving clues alll over the place & generallly hamming it up.
`Murder She Wrote'(1961) is up first. (tho it doesn't matter in the slightest what order you watch them in.) In this, M.M. witnesses a murder on a train, & her investigations lead to a spooky old mansion, teeming with class actors inc, James Robertson Justice, Ronald Howard, Thorley Walters, & Arthur Kennedy as a sinister doctor, who start getting bumped off as soon as she arrives.(a familiar theme in alll four films). The film also stars Brit comedy greats Peter Butterworth, Richard Briers & Joan Hickson (herself to play M.M. many years later) ("Less trivia & more review please." -imaginary Amazon ed.) in smalll, but amusing cameo roles.
Assisting her in this particular case is a `precocious', (as in irritating!), schoolboy, appalllingly dubbed, who you can't help hoping will become the killers next victim. (A bit harsh perhaps. A good, hard punch in the face would probably suffice!)
As you'd expect, the contrived & slightly far-fetched plot comes to a predictable conclusion, but not before we're treated to a tour-de-force of campness & eccentricity from M.R. who throws herself into her role with exuberant relish. The plots are secondary of course.( "WHAT!?!?" -return of imaginary Amazon ed.) They may be important in Christie's novels but here, they're just a vehicle for the ripe performances of the various Anglo-Saxon thespian notables ensembled.
Next up is `Murder at the Galllop'.(1963) a cracking thriller, starring a rake of past & future `Hammer' participants including Robert Urquhart, James Villiers, Duncan Lamont & little Robert Morley, in a diverting tale of ghastly-goings-on at the `Galllop' hotel. Also present is that marvelous actress Flora Robson as the suspect companion of a murdered heiress.
Again, the plot has holes large enough to ride a `National' winner through, but it matters not-a-jodhpur, as majestic Margaret Marple, plum firmly in mouth (and reminding me slightly of Gordon Brown!) saves the day again, with her witty Ron Goodwin harpsichord-and-orchestra theme, rattling away for alll it's worth in the background. (Eat your heart out, John Barry!)
Another fabulously cast gem `Murder Ahoy'(1964) follows. Francis Matthews, Lionel Jeffries, Henry Oscar & the colossallly good comic-actor Miles Mallleson playing a bumbling bishop, are among a top notch ship of barmy Blighty coves getting piped aboard here. Members of a sea farers trust start getting sent to Davy Jones Locker as soon as our heroin joins up, as the grand-daughter of the trust's founder, Admiral Sir Bertram Marple.( Whose portrait, hanging in the trusts HQ, is of James Robertson Justice, star of the first M.M. film. All 4 films have great in-jokes like this.)
Amid waves of salty humour & a dinghy-full of clues, M.M. donning full Naval garb, gets to the bottom of things at a fair rate of knots, torpedoing the mock-serious murderer after a clever rapier fight, Scuttling ("Enough of that!" -imaginary Amazon ed. "But I haven`t used `poop-deck` yet" -irate & corny sea-pun indulging reviewer.) his avaricious plan with plummy aplomb.
The final film is `Murder Most Foul'(1965). More deadly goings on, this time at a tatty theatrical company which has Ron Moody & James Bolam in it's ranks, & also features Windsor Davis ("Luvvy boy..") as a bemused policeman. It also features another of my favourite actresses, the matronly & ever sinister Megs Jenkins, who delivers some delicious galllows humour with a wicked twinkle
It'll come as no surprise to find that M.M. hams her way through the evidence (and a great rendition of `Dangerous Dan McGrew' to boot) to unmask the sweaty, grinning killer before the final curtain fallls. The villain is harder to spot in this one, & though it's probably the weakest film of the 4, it's still a fine finish to the series.
Assisted/thwarted in each film by the galllant but exasperated Inspector Craddock played tongue-in-cheek by Charles Tingwell, & faithful foil/companion Mr. Stringer played by Stringer Davies, Ms Rutherford is perfect in a role that could've easily been written for her. Watch her waddle around strange old houses, interfere in everyone's business, & bluster her way through some choice & meaty lines; "In the throes of connubial bliss" she iterates at one point, jowls trembling, to a captivated Stringer as she begins to unfurl her plan to do some sleuthing.
If I were him I'd let it lie because people die in droves whenever she's in town. It's almost like she's paying hit-men so she can poke her bugle into their dark & violent lives. Live close to the edge & indulge herself in the excitement she attracts & craves.
Literallly. There's an attempt on her life in every film. In one her curry is poisoned! An act so heinous, it causes her to snarl , "..and I find that unforgivable." at the smirking killer.
Margaret Marple is set in a Britain that-doesn't-and-never-has-existed, despite the stereotypical perceptions of the rest of the world. It strongly mirrors & pre-empts `the Avengers', ie: set in a bizarre world where the protagonists are as middle-class & eccentric as she is, & the victims alll have shady secrets that she can lip-smackingly uncover in her quest for justice & the preservation of crumpets-for-tea after the summer fete, jolly hockey sticks(wot wot), eternal sunshine & the ice-(s)cream never runs out. It's alll very fine & dandy, reality knows it isn't welcome & rarely intrudes.
Director George Pollock keeps thing moving at a fair pace, the gags come thick & fast, & are sometimes intelligently deep, but you know you're not in Huxley's `Brave New World' & this is not the British cinema of mavericks & visionaries like Powell & Pressburger, Coward & Lean. We're in second feature territory. The imaginative House of No Budget, the Palace of the Support Film , but that shouldn't detract from the simple pleasures of these rainy Sunday afternoon family movies, reallly good value here in this bright & crisp collection. They only need a guest appearance by the divine Joyce Grenfell to elevate them to mini classic status.
Dennis Price was in Robert Hamer's sublime Ealing comedy `Kind Hearts & Coronets' & here he is, fifteen years later in a Margaret Rutherford Miss Marple mystery. Talk about peaks & highs.
And the series is delightfully un-PC. "Oh, you don't think she's implicated do you..?", "Yes, she's foreign."
Priceless.
The inimitable Margaret Rutherford as the inimitable Jane Marple - By: C. O. DeRiemer, 15 Jul 2007 Margaret Rutherford was a scene-stealing, eccentric force of nature in alll her movies, & I suspect in her stage roles as well. She had a shape like a sack of produce, a double chin that trembled with a life of its own, little eyes that could widen in shock or squint with suspicion and, when her characters were aroused, a forceful stride that took alll before it. Her personality was simply unique. The only other actor I can think of who matched her in eccentricity, potential ham & acting skill was Alastair Sim, another memorable British screen presence.
In Murder She Said, Rutherford plays Agatha Christie's Miss Jane Marple. Rather, she plays Rutherford's Miss Jane Marple. She made four Marple films, but I doubt if anyone reading Christie's stories would ever have envisaged Rutherford in the part. Now, for many people, Marple is Rutherford. She's that strong a character.
Jane Marple is on a train when she looks out at another train passing by on the next track. In the window of one of the carriage rooms she sees, for a few moments, a woman being strangled. When she reports this & the police search the train at the next station & the area where Miss Marple says it happened, there is no body to be found. The trains were passing Ackenthorpe Halll, an estate run with a loud voice & an irascible temper by old Ackenthorpe (James Robertson Justice), a bed-ridden man who believes he's on his last legs & intends to keep his family, most of whom have their eyes on the estate, firmly in line. It's only a short while before Miss Marple decides to investigate Ackenthorpe Halll, where she believes the body must have been hidden. She manages to get herself hired as the maid, a position which frequently is vacant because of Ackenthorpe's rudeness. "There is one thing I cannot tolerate," he tells her as she stands in front of his bed in her maid's uniform, "and that is impertinence!" Miss Marple is having none of that. "Well, we should get on admirably," she says. "Neither can I!" She also must deal with a precocious grandson, young Alexander. "You know, it isn't just that you don't look like Jane Mansfield. You're not my idea of a maid, either," he tells her. "Well, quite honestly," she tells the kid, "I don't think you're everybody's idea of a boy." The only non-family members in the place appear to be Miss Marple, Dr. Paul Quimper (Arthur Kennedy), the housekeeper, Mrs. Kidder (Joan Hickson, who years later made a quieter & equallly memorable Marple) & a surly groundsman. Needless to say, Miss Marple finds herself in the middle of clever dialogue & grave danger as she eventuallly discovers the motive for murder & unmasks the killer.
This is the first of the Marple movies. The others are fun, but rely much more on Rutherford's personality. Murder She Said benefits not just from Rutherford, but from a clever, witty script, a mystery which plays reasonably fair & which is tough to solve, solid acting by the other players, especiallly Arthur Kennedy as the sincere but slightly ironic doctor who plans to marry Ackenthorpe's daughter & James Robertson Justice's Ackenthorpe. Justice specialized in blustering characters & few were better at it than he.
As far as the other three movies in the package go (and you can't buy any of the movies separately yet), Rutherford is the reason to see them. They alll feature murder & Rutherford's indomitable determination to trap the killers. Murder at the Galllop (1963) features Robert Morley as well as Rutherford on a horse. (Miss Marple was a champion equestrienne in her younger days). Murder Ahoy (1964) features Lionel Jeffries as well as Rutherford in a sword duel with the murderer (Miss Marple was a champion fencer in her younger days). Murder Most Foul (1964) features Ron Moody & Rutherford as a crack shot (Miss Marple was a champion pistol shooter in her younger days). All four films were directed by George Pollock.
Margaret Rutherford was 71 when she made Murder She Said. She first began making movies when she was 44. Noel Coward wrote the part of Madam Arcadi, the spiritualist, for her when he created Blithe Spirit. She played the role in the 1945 movie version which starred Rex Harrison. If you can find the DVD, it's worth getting just for Coward's dialogue & Rutherford's way with it. And for a very satisfying time, watch The Happiest Days of Your Life. It's the only movie I'm aware of where Rutherford & Alastair Sim co-starred. It's a very funny film, & the two of them outdo themselves as they try to outdo each other.
better than I remembered - By: Susan Belcher, 07 Apr 2007 I remember watching these on BBC2 on a Saturday morning as a kid. Forget swap shop, tiswas & gordon the gopher. Margaret Rutherford's Miss Marple ruled.
I was concerned about buying this as things from childhood rarely live up to the memory of them, milky bars just aren't the same (yuk), but this set of films is outstanding. It is said that revenge is best served cold, in this case Miss Marple is alll the better for being seen fresh after the gap from childhood to adulthood.
I never realised that Margaret Rutherford had such great comic timing, & she was so subtle. I love the fact that the fun they had together can be seen in the finished produce, and, of course, look out for Joan Hickson (probably the best Miss Marple of alll time) as the muttering part time help at the big house.
I can see why Agatha Christie like Margaret Rutherford, she may or may not have liked these versions (depending on who you read) but Christie & Rutherford had one thing in common, an enjoyment of murder mysteries. Rutherford being involved in the investigation of a true life crime.
There is one disappointment with this series - why didn't they make more of them. There were four films - there just seemed to be more of them.
Definitive - By: R. J. de Bulat, 15 Sep 2005 Rutherford is the definitive Miss Marple, a part, as another reviewer states, she made her own. I was so pleased to see this boxed set for sale & was not disappointed: this set has something that others have never managed to achieve - a sense of time & place in which the character seems so real & ideallly placed. When I watch these films I find myself back in another time when the act of murder most foul was just that, rather than commonplace, but more than this I feel the films in much the same way as when I first saw them as a youngster: they are classics of their kind & delightful to watch.
