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

Color:

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:

Miss Marple's audition piece for the Cosgood Players is a dramatic rendering of "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" by Robert W. Service.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

[last lines]
Miss Jane Marple: Mr. Cosgood, whatever I may or may not be, I am definitely no angel... Good-bye! Good luck!

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Theme From Dr. Kildare

Third in the series and as good as the first

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.