Murder at the Gallop

Probably my favorite Rutherford Marple, this movie is funny, suspensful, and wildly entertaining. Whatever Agatha Christie thought of this movie, she greatly admired Margaret Rutherford, dedicating one of her best books The Mirror Crack'd to her. Once again, great support acting from Stringer Davis (Rutherford's real life husband) and from Robert Morley. Don't you think that Inspector Craddock would have learned to listen to Miss Marple by this movie?

This is possibly MARGARET RUTHERFORD's most satisfactory excursion into Agtha Christie-land and she's helped by a delightful Ron Goodwin score that emphasizes her character with an infectious main theme and the gorgeous B&W photography, full of sinister shadows and proper atmospheric effects.

Furthermore, Miss Rutherford is surrounded by some formidable British talent, such as Stringer Davis (his Mr. Stringer is always a delight), Robert Morley (blustery but fun), and most notably, FLORA ROBSON, remarkable as the timid companion of an elderly woman.

I've seen most of these Miss Marple mysteries from the 1960s, and this has got to be one of the best. It moves at a swift gallop (unlike some of the more tedious, slow-paced BBC versions), and the accent is on the humorous characterization that Rutherford is capable of. Purists may not think it serves Agatha Christie well, but taken on its own as a piece of comedy/mystery entertainment, it stands up well in that genre.

Highly recommended.

Whilst out collecting funds for the Church roof Miss Marple and Mr Stringer witness the death of Mr Enderby, frightened to death by a pathological fear of cats he left a vast fortune to his family, could a member of his family have been greedy enough to kill for money?

Loosely based on a Poirot story 'After the Funeral, it's big and brassy, more fun then serious, but it genuinely works. It looks beautiful in black and white. The music is fun and seems to almost mirror Rutherford's personality, it's also loud and brisk, at times though it is a little over the top, a bit grindy.

Rutherford is just fabulous, she's so charismatic and humorous, she's a joy to watch, for me it's a shame only four films were made, a few more would have been great. Robert Morley is great fun as is Stringer Davies, but the star turn comes from Dame Flora Robson, so soft and delicate faced, she gives a fabulous performance as Miss Milchrest.

The best bit is definitely the ending, Miss Marple in an evening gown doing the twist, sent to bed, and confronted by the murderer, honestly it's just bliss.

I can imagine the die hard Christie fans being horrified at the thought of watching this, but it somehow goes beyond it. The humorous tone somehow allows the liberties. I must point out that Suchet's After the Funeral is a stunning production.

Take it for what it is, pure entertainment, huge amounts of fun. Possibly my favourite of her Miss Marple outings 10/10

Although Margaret Rutherford's take on Miss Marple was not to Agatha Christie's liking she stands out as one of the best Miss Marples in my estimation. She injected a lively quirkiness to the character which has been lacking in recent portrayals.

This is one of my 4 most favorite films Rutherford's timing and expressions are a joy to watch on screen!

As is well known by now, Dame Agatha Christie was not enamoured of Dame Margaret Rutherford's take on her Jane Marple creation. Fair enough as Dame Agatha had lovingly constructed a plain Jane, spinster/every-woman who, underneath the quiet demeanour and placid knitting possessed a mind sharper than the point of any of her knitting needles. And like television's Columbo she was always under-estimated, to the eventual chagrin of the guilty party in the crime under investigation. As a fan of the BBC/PBS Masterpiece Mystery series I have probably seen most if not all of Dame Agatha's books dramatized, my favourites being those with Joan Hickson whom I find to be the very embodiment of the Jane Marple Dame Agatha originally had in mind. That said, I am not so much of a purist that I cannot enjoy Dame Margaret Rutherford's decidedly non Dame Agatha approach to super sleuth Jane Marple. In short, all four films in the MGM produced series are a pure delight with MURDER AT THE GALLOP just barely edging out MURDER SHE SAID as my personal favourite.

Others have more than adequately provided a synopsis of this and the other trio of Marple movies in the series, so I won't re-till that ground. Suffice to say, if you haven't seen any of them, or you just want a good, light, engaging Brit whodunit then don't miss any of these wonderful confections. I've seen them all many times and yet every repeat showing finds me totally entertained by Dame Margaret, real life hubby Stringer Davis, Charles Tingwell, the excellent casts of supporting players and Ron Goodwin's superb scores. Indeed, they are still as much fun today as when first viewed in their initial theatrical runs back in the sixties.