Murder Most Foul (1964)

Director:

George Pollock

Writers:

David Pursall (screenplay) &
Jack Seddon (screenplay) ...
(more)

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 (as Charles Tingwell)
Andrew Cruickshank	...	Justice Crosby
Megs Jenkins	...	Mrs. Gladys Thomas
Dennis Price	...	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
Windsor Davies	...	Sergeant Brick
Neil Stacy	...	Arthur (as Neil Stacey)
Stella Tanner	...	Mrs. Florrie Harris

Directed by
George Pollock

Writing credits
David Pursall		(screenplay) &
Jack Seddon		(screenplay)
Agatha Christie		(novel "Mrs. McGinty's Dead")

Produced by
Ben Arbeid	....	producer
Lawrence P. Bachmann	....	executive producer (uncredited)

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
Frank White

Production Management
Sydney Streeter	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Tomblin	....	assistant director

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

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

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

Music Department
Ron Goodwin	....	conductor

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios (presents) (as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) (as A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Picture also)
• Lawrence P. Bachman Production (as A Lawrence P. Bachman Production)

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 Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:U (tv rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1990) | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | UK:U | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Palace Theatre, Watford, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Trivia:

Windsor Davies replaced Gordon Harris.

Goofs:

Continuity: We see two shots of Inspector Craddock rushing to Halford's Palace Theatre. The car in the first bears the registration YGA 370. In the following shot it has changed to UUV 133.

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:

References "Dr. Kildare" (1961)

Soundtrack:

Theme From Dr. Kildare

"Admirable light-hearted mystery."

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. 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.