Murder She Said (1961)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

George Pollock

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel)
David D. Osborn (adaptation)

Release Date:

7 January 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Agatha Christie-The First Lady of Mystery and Margaret Rutherford-The Last Word in Detectives, Bring You a Killer of a Suspense Yarn...No Ifs, Ands or Butlers About It!

Plot:

Whem Miss Marple reports witnessing a murder through the window of a passing train, the police dismiss her has dotty spinster when no trace of the crime can be found.

Plot Keywords:

Miss Marple | Train | Murder | Manor | Manor House

Cast

Margaret Rutherford	...	Miss Jane Marple
Arthur Kennedy	...	Dr. Paul Quimper
Muriel Pavlow	...	Emma Ackenthorpe
James Robertson Justice	...	Ackenthorpe
Thorley Walters	...	Cedric Ackenthorpe
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell	...	Inspector Craddock (as Charles Tingwell)
Conrad Phillips	...	Harold Ackenthorpe
Ronald Howard	...	Brian Eastley
Joan Hickson	...	Mrs. Kidder
Stringer Davis	...	Mr. Jim Stringer
Ronnie Raymond	...	Alexander
Gerald Cross	...	Albert Ackenthorpe
Michael Golden	...	Hillman
Barbara Leake	...	Mrs. Hilda Stainton
Gordon Harris	...	Bacon

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie's 'Murder, She Said' (USA)
Meet Miss Marple

Runtime:

USA:87 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

George H. Brown Productions

Trivia:

Despite privately remaining unimpressed by the film, Agatha Christie dedicated her 1962 book "The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side" to Margaret Rutherford, "in admiration".

Goofs:

Factual errors: The locomotive shown leaving the station is not the right type to be leaving Paddington. In fact the station does not even look like Paddington.

Quotes:

Craddock: We have come to the conclusion that what you saw on the train was... uh... well, a man and a woman...
Miss Marple: Yes, as I said.
Craddock: I mean, perhaps they were honeymooners.
Miss Marple: I may be what is termed a spinster, but I do know the difference between horseplay and murder.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Claim (2002)

How the Manor of a murder was kept off track...

As other critics have previously pointed out, Margaret Rutherford's portrayal of Jane Marple has little in common with the visions of the character's creator, Agatha Christie. However, just as Basil Rathbone's depiction of Sherlock Holmes (both in his character portrayal and in the film company's telling of most of the tales) had little to do with the original writer's intentions, so too did both he and Miss Rutherford seem to create pseudo-characters, from worthwhile plots, of equal value and entertainment levels.

As the first of a wonderful quartet of easy-to-view movies made in black and white in early 60's England (and the second best of them, overall, in my opinion), this appropriately atmospheric film takes us through a clever little screenplay centred around the family of a large estate 'in the sticks' (on the outskirts of London). The storyline is littered with a mixture of eccentric and fundamental cameo parts that serve up the right amount of suspense and partial comedy as Miss Marple (and her buddy, Mr.Stringer) take it upon themselves to solve a railway murder that Inspector Craddock, the local 'head plod', had put down to being the by-product of her rambling 'hallucinations'.

Not surprisingly, we are kept on our toes as to whom was the culprit as the intrepid Jane goes undercover as a geriatric maid who proves to be so competent in her matriarchal manoeuvres that the 'Lord of the Manor' (superbly played, as ever, by the magnificent James Robertson Justice) seeks her hand in marriage as a sort of reward for her spirited detective work. However, Dame Rutherford had Stringer to consider - not least because he was her partner in real life - and there were of course other stories to film in the future...

What a pity they didn't follow Rathbone and Bruce by making around a dozen of these marvellous movies!