Murder Most Foul

Like an intrepid war ship that patrols the high seas, wonderful Margaret Rutherford patrols a theatrical troupe of actors and actresses known as the Cosgood Players, searching for a killer-most-foul amongst them. And a killer she finds, lurking in the backstage shadows, in this screen adaptation of Agatha Christie's book "Mrs. McGinty's Dead".

It's a nifty whodunit. I was fairly sure who the murderer was. But I was dead wrong. With good film direction, and effective plot misdirection, the film cleverly leads viewers down the garden path, with red herrings scattered here and there. As you make your way through the story, you'll be hard pressed to find the relevant clues, plainly visible, but camouflaged amid a complexity of detail. And that's the mark of a good murder mystery.

If I had to pick the script apart, looking for something to complain about, I could point out that the various suspects have back-stories that are all too thin. But that's normal, more or less, for films in this genre.

En route to the solution of the puzzle, Miss Marple (Rutherford) auditions to be part of the theater troupe, in a solo recital of the Robert Service poem "The Shooting Of Dan McGrew". This sequence alone, with Rutherford's terrifically hammy stage performance, is enough to make the film worth watching.

In searching for the killer, the befuddled police don't have a clue, of course. But with her keen wit and perceptive insight into human nature, Miss Marple sifts and sorts through the jumble of facts with cunning effectiveness. The film's final few minutes take place behind the stage of a play in progress, where she conks the murderer over the head with a stage prop. Marvelous.

As a whodunit, "Murder Most Foul" is a good one. But what really makes the film enjoyable is Rutherford in the role of Miss Marple. With her animated facial expressions, her commanding tone of voice, and her formidable and intimidating stage presence, 72 year old Margaret Rutherford is an absolute joy to watch. I'm surprised that the British didn't name a battleship after her.

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.

Jane Marple joins a rather interesting acting troupe in order to find out the real killer of Mrs. McGinty, a woman hanged in her apartment. Marple initially is a member of a jury judging the case of a man who she believes was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Once a part of the acting company, murder follows and Jane's life becomes in great peril. Margaret Rutherford once again dons the role of super-sleuth Jane Marple. She looks like she is having so much fun with the role as she rolls her eyes, makes suggestive facial expressions, and furls her capes. She truly is a joy to watch as she waltzes her way through this rather tame, uninspired material. But what the story lacks in creativity, she adds with her screen persona. Her recitation of the Robert Service poem "The Killing of Dan McGrew" is worth a look at the film alone. Stringer Davis, as her librarian friend(and real-life husband) and Charles Tingwell, as Inspector Craddock, are back once again to aid Miss Marple(not that she really needs their help). Both actors are fun to watch as they interact with the grand dame. Ron Moody plays the head of the acting troupe. He is as ever very eccentric and plays nicely off Rutherford as well. It's a pity this was the last of the Marple/Rutherford films. They are so much fun to watch!

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.

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.