Murder She Said (1961)

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

Director:

George Pollock

Writers:

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

Stars:

Margaret Rutherford, Arthur Kennedy, Muriel Pavlow

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Margaret Rutherford	...	Miss Marple
Arthur Kennedy	...	Dr. Quimper
Muriel Pavlow	...	Emma
James Robertson Justice	...	Ackenthorpe
Thorley Walters	...	Cedric
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell	...	Craddock (as Charles Tingwell)
Conrad Phillips	...	Harold
Ronald Howard	...	Eastley
Joan Hickson	...	Mrs. Kidder
Stringer Davis	...	Mr. Stringer
Ronnie Raymond	...	Alexander
Gerald Cross	...	Albert
Michael Golden	...	Hillman
Barbara Leake	...	Mrs. Helen Stainton
Gordon Harris	...	Bacon

Storyline

Old miss Marple is on a train ride when she witnesses a murder in a passing train. She reports it to the police but they won't believe her: since no body can be found there can't have been any murder, right? As always, she begins her own investigation. The murder was committed while passing Ackenthorpe Hall and miss Marple gets herself a job there, mixing cleaning and cooking with searching the house for clues.

---

Plot Keywords:

train | murder | miss marple | woman | corpse | 

---

Taglines:

See the strange case of the strangler-killer on the night express!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 January 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie's 'Murder, She Said'

Filming Locations:

Amerden Lane, Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),George H. Brown Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The part of Alexander was dubbed by child actor Martin Stephens, who had appeared in such films as Village of the Damned (1960) and The Innocents (1961).

---

Goofs

Alexander's hairstyle changes from parted to combed back several times between different shots of the same scene (when he meets Miss Marple for the first time and they walk down the stairs)

---

Quotes

Albert Ackenthorpe: I've just been thinking. If that woman was foreign...
Cedric Ackenthorpe: You should think of women more often, Albert. It might bring about some interesting changes in you.
Albert Ackenthorpe: I know it's laughable...
Cedric Ackenthorpe: I agree.

---

Connections

Referenced in Murder Most Foul (1964)

---

Soundtracks

Frère Jacques
(uncredited)

User Reviews

Only the First of Four!

I do like "good films" and I rate this as one of the best! Margaret Rutherford is not an ideal Miss Marple according to the books, but Agatha Christie did visit the set of this film and was a good friend of Margaret Rutherford. Apparently she also said to Joan Hickson that she would one day make a good Miss Marple... which she did indeed do in the BBC series! However, Margaret Rutheford brought Miss Marple to the public's attention, and despite rumours, she only played the role 4 times! Stringer Davies always played the role of Mr Stringer, in fact he was her real life husband! The theme music by Ron Goodwin is outstanding, and he should have been knighted for his contribution to cinema music, not just for this film, but for films like "Where Eagles Dare".(Tony Blair take note!) The themes to each of the 4 films were a slight variation: hence for "Murder Ahoy" it included tradition sea melodies.

I have the four disc DVD set released last year. It is a pity the makers MGM did not include "making of" material, or even locational information. MGM seem to have forgotten that they made many of their greatest films in Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, UK, and not in the USA!