Murder Ahoy (1964)

Director:

George Pollock

Writers:

David Pursall (original screenplay) and
Jack Seddon (original screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

22 September 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

New mischief amidst the mizzen-masts!

Plot:

After Miss Marple is made a trustee of a merchant marine training vessel, a fellow trustee is poisoned, and ship's officers are later murdered after she comes on board.

Plot Keywords:

Miss Marple | Ship | Murder | Breaking And Entering | Swindle

Cast

Margaret Rutherford	...	Miss Marple
Lionel Jeffries	...	Captain Sydney De Courcy Rhumstone
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell	...	Chief Insp. Craddock (as Charles Tingwell)
William Mervyn	...	Comm. Breeze-Connington
Joan Benham	...	Matron Alice Fanbraid
Stringer Davis	...	Mr. Jim Stringer
Nicholas Parsons	...	Dr. Crump
Miles Malleson	...	Bishop
Henry Oscar	...	Lord Rudkin
Derek Nimmo	...	Sub-Lt. Eric Humbert
Gerald Cross	...	Brewer
Norma Foster	...	Asst. Matron Shirley Boston
Terence Edmond	...	Sgt. Bacon
Francis Matthews	...	Lt. Compton
Lucy Griffiths	...	Millie
Bernard Adams	...	Dusty Miller
Tony Quinn	...	Kelly - Tramp
Edna Petrie	...	Miss Pringle
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Roy Holder	...	Petty Officer (uncredited)
Ivor Salter	...	Policeman (uncredited)

Directed by
George Pollock

Writing credits
David Pursall		(original screenplay) and
Jack Seddon		(original screenplay)
Agatha Christie		character (uncredited)
David Pursall		interpretation of Agatha Christie's "Miss Marple"
Jack Seddon		interpretation of Agatha Christie's "Miss Marple"

Produced by
Ben Arbeid	....	associate producer
Lawrence P. Bachmann	....	producer

Original Music by
Ron Goodwin

Cinematography by
Desmond Dickinson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ernest Walter

Casting by
Irene Howard		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
William C. Andrews		(as Bill Andrews)

Production Management
Sydney Streeter	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Tomblin	....	assistant director
Peter Beale	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Tom Jung	....	poster artist (uncredited)
Tom Jung	....	poster designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
J.B. Smith	....	dubbing mixer
Allan Sones	....	sound editor
Fred Turtle	....	sound recordist
A.W. Watkins	....	recording supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Alan McCabe	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Chris Kelly	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Ron Goodwin	....	conductor

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios (presents) (as Metro Goldwyn Mayer)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1964) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1990) (UK) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12 | UK:U | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Trivia:

The screenplay was not based on any published Agatha Christie story. It did, however, borrow a few obscure plot details from "They Do It With Mirrors" and there is a delightful moment when Miss Marple pays homage to Christie's long-running play, "The Mousetrap."

Goofs:

Continuity: Miss Marple supposedly searches through the cabin of Lt. Compton, when she finds the suspicious envelope. However, the door sign reads "Capt. Rhumstone". When we take into account that each officer moved into the cabin of the next lower ranking officer, the Captain now lives in the cabin of Commander Breeze-Connington, and that would be the cabin Miss Marple is searching through. Moreover, when moving into the new cabins, all the officers' cabins appear to be located in one single row. Later in the movie, however, they appear to be quite irregularly spread around the deck.

Quotes:

Captain Rhumstone:[testily] One thing I can't stand is being disturbed when I'm curling my beard!

Movie Connections:

Spin off The Alphabet Murders (1965)

Soundtrack:

The Sailor's Hornpipe

Admiral Marple

Seems old Follie Hardwick gets snuffed out after a visit to the HMS Battledorn, a old wreck used to rehibilitate wayward boys. That leaves another old wreck, Jane Marple to personally investigate the shennanigans aboard ship, and so she does much to the shagrin of all aboard including the eventual murder. This is great fun and Dame Rutherford is at her peak. I think its the best of the four Christie films in this series, altho they are all great.