Murder Most Foul

Enjoyed this Agatha Christie murder mystery and especially with the great acting by Margaret Rutherford, (Miss Jane Marple). Miss Marple sticks her nose into another murder mystery of a woman and manages to enter the murder victims apartment under the pretense of looking for old clothes and things for a church benefit. Miss Marple even joins a theatrical group and volunteers her so-called talents as an elderly British lady. There is a strange bunch of actors in this theater, one girl walks in her sleep and acts like she is in a trance and even tries to kill Miss Marple with a knife. There is a great deal of comedy through out the film and Miss Marple always seems to give the Police Inspector valuable information which he takes complete credit for himself. Nice old scenes from England and a very enjoyable classic film from 1964.

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.

This MGM British production, part of a series starring the incomparable Margaret Rutherford, is as enjoyable today, as it was when it was released. George Pollock, the director deserves credit for the immensely satisfying film version of Agatha Christie's "Mrs. McGinty's Death". The excellent copy we saw recently on TCM appears as good now, as it probably did when it first made its theatrical debut.

Miss Jane Marple was Agatha Christie's best creation. She is a no nonsense woman who can't be easily persuaded to condemn the man on trial, in which she is seen as part of the jury at the start of the film. Ms. Marple knows the man is not guilty, even when she gets the other jury members to give her dirty looks when she votes against the others to acquit the man on trial.

Miss Marple starts digging around the dead woman's room and discovers the programs for "Murder, She Said", a play by the theatrical production company that is performing at a theater near her. She enlists her friend Jim Stringer to help her catch the culprit. We are not prepared to see Miss Marple become part of a second rate theatrical troupe touring the country.

"Murder Most Foul" is a must to be seen by all Agatha Christie's fans and mystery fans because of the charisma Margaret Rutherford exuded playing the title character. Ms. Rutherford was an actress that always delivered in her many films. She is an acquired taste that ages well as a good wine.

The supporting cast play like an ensemble. Ron Moody, Charles Tingwell, Stringer Davis, Francesca Annis, Terry Scott, Dennis Price, and the rest, do what they do best and in the process enhance the film.

This is a tribute to the genius of the Jane Marple of Margaret Rutherford!

Jane's on jury duty and is the only one to find NOT GUILTY to a murder charge so she is off to find the real killer. She auditions to join the cast of a traveling players group in a get-up with a huge hydrangea blossom plunked in her bosom and recites "The killing of Dan McGrew". It's wonderful. The rest of the film is entertaining and the finale typically ironic and comical. These films are great, easy to watch and very light hearted.

George Pollock's name never gets mentioned among major directors. Yet four of his Miss Marple films as best remembered for Ron Goodwin's music and the wonderful Dame Margaret Rutherford and real life husband Stringer Davis.

The four films of Pollock combined mystery with comedy in a way that it entertains even after 40 years after the films were made. The elements that hold up these four films were great casting, good screenplay, crisp editing, and charming music and sound effects. Pollock is not a David Lean or a philosopher-director. He is merely making cinema that is gripping and entertaining and how well he accomplishes this.

This film is the second only to "Murder Ahoy" among the four. And since "Murder Ahoy" followed "Murder Most Foul", it would be only too clear that Pollock was gaining in confidence and elegance with each film. In each of his "Murder" films Pollock cast a major British actor. In this one it is the talented Ron Moody (Fagin of "Oliver!"). In each of the four films the chosen British actor provides a counterpoint and balance to Dame Rutherford's major role. One tends to remember Miss Marple and not the other meaty roles (Lionel Jeffries, Robert Morley, James Robertson Justice)in each of the "Murder" films. All the four were memorable but Moody and Jeffries were truly remarkable. I found this a major work of Moody though not as memorable as his interpretation of Fagin and Uriah Heep in other films.

The juxtaposition of crime and comedy looks natural thanks to Pollock and imaginative casting. Pollock is probably a quiet achiever deserving more attention by critics and historians of British cinema.