Murder Amongst The Drama Queens (Miss Marple - Murder Most Foul (VHS))

Member Name: keeperofthematri

Product:	Miss Marple - Murder Most Foul (VHS)
Date:	04/08/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Briskly paced, well plotted & acted

Disadvantages: Black & White may put some viewers off.

Murder Most Foul was Margaert Rutherford's third appearance in the role of Miss Marple, with the film being released in early 1964. Like the previous film, Murder At The Gallop, this was based on a Poirot novel, rather than a Miss Marple tale. The novel in question was "Mrs. McGinty's Dead" which had been published in the UK in 1953.


Plot:

The film opens with Police Constable Wells enjoying an after-hours drink outside the village pub whilst on his beat. Meawhile, across the way, we see a silhouette of a women being strangled. The drink finished & paid for, Wells mounts his bicycle & cycles off down the lane, stopping dead when he realises he's just seen a silhouette of a hanging woman in the window of one of the cottages. He enters & find Mrs. McGinty's lodger struggling with the rope.
Cue the titles, which are played in over the courtroom scenes of the lodger's trial. There's a great shot which zooms in on Rutherford & you can tell by the look on her face that there's trouble in store. The music ends as the judge is summing up:-

Judge: You may choose, members of the jury, to believe the prisoner, that, returning for a walk he found the hanging Mrs. McGinty & was about to release the rope when Police Constable Wells appeared on the scene. On the other hand, you may think that the accused intending to cover manual strangulation, of Mrs. McGinty....

{Judge hears an odd noise but can't quite work out what it is or where it's coming from}

Judge: for motive's of greed with clumsy attempts to make his mean crime appear to be suicide.

{Judge looks over the front of his "desk" & sees Miss Marple knitting}

Judge: Madame, either you will have to cease knitting or I will have to cease judging. Which shall it be?

Miss Marple: It helps me to concentrate m'laud.

Judge: It doesn't not help me Madame.

Miss Marple: Oh....very well (stuffs knitting away)

Judge: Thank you madame.If what I have just said is the truth of the matter then the prisoner was delayed in the execution of his evil subterfuge by the desperate fight of his victim. Those scattered banknotes, that pathetic crushed rose torn from her breast... he was delayed I say, long enough for the timely intervention of the alert Police Constable Wells. You may further think that the accused, a lodger at the house, had every opportunity of knowing that the unfortunate widow kept her life savings there instead of in the bank and that Harold Taylor was bent on securing her meagre fortune. If the facts as presented to you admit any reasonable doubt then the accused is entitled to the benefit of that doubt, but, members of the jury, if you have been convinced by the evidence beyond all reasonable doubt that the accused committed this heinous crime then it is your solemn duty to return a verdict of guilty. You will retire and consider your verdict...."

Of course, everyone thinks that this is an open & shut case. Even the police think that they might just manage a quick pint before the jury comes back. But the jury drinks copious amounts of tea before they're ready to return to the courtroom:-

Clerk of the court: Member of the jury, are you agreed upon your verdict?

Foreman: No sir.

Judge (surprise): What did you say?

Foreman: We're not able to reach an agreement m'laud.

Judge: I suggest you retire for a further period.

Foreman: I'm afraid it would be a waste of time m'laud. {all eyes of the jury move towards Miss Marple}

Judge: Very well. There will be a retrial at a later date. Jury dismissed {Judge shoots a look of utter contempt at Miss Marple}

The police of course, believe that Miss Marple has deliberately interfered with the course of justice. Given her previous track record with murders you'd think that they would have realised by now that she's worth listening to, but it would appear that thought hasn't crossed their minds.
As usual Miss Marple ropes in trusty aide Mr. Stringer to help out. Her initial theory is that Mrs. McGinty wore a rose on the night she was murdered to receive a visitor & that it was he (or she) rather than the lodger who killed her. They decide to investigate Mrs. McGinty more closely & Miss Marple finds some theatre programmes for "Murder She Said" (an "in joke" as this was the title of the first film in which Rutherford had played Miss Marple) along with a newspaper page with some words cut out. She concludes that Mrs. McGinty was blackmailing a member of the Cosgood Players theatre company & decides to join the company to investigate further.
It soon becomes apparent that Miss Marple's initial deductions are correct as actor George Rowton stumbles on the stage during Miss Marple's audition & drops down dead. The police conclude that it was suicide but Miss Marple thinks differently. It's only when a further death occurs that Inspector Craddock begins to take Miss Marple's theories seriously.
It's all wrapped up with an actress called Rose Kane who murdered her husband, a play called Remember September that was performed in 1951 (in which Mrs. McGinty also acted) and, possibly, Rose Kane's unidentified secret lover or her child, Evelyn. But who amongst the company is determined to kill to make sure the secrets of the past remain buried?


So, who's in the film?

Margaret Rutherford (Miss Marple):
Our heroine. Spinster of the parish of Milchester.

Stringer Davis (Mr. Stringer):
Played by Rutherford's real life husband. Mr. Stringer works in the local library & is often sent on little missions by Miss Marple.

Charles Tingwell (Inspector Craddock):
The police inspector who doesn't believe that Mrs. McGinty's lodger is innocent


The Suspects:

Ron Moody (H. Driffold Cosgood):
Author of the play "Remember September" which has some link to Mrs. McGinty's murder.

Ralph Michael (Ralph Summers)
Married actor who took Mrs. McGinty out a couple of times in the week before she died.

Pauline Jameson (Maureen Summers)
Ralph's wife. She knew he was "seeing" Mrs. McGinty.

Alison Seebohm (Eva MacGonigall).
Actress who has psychic dreams. Could she be "Evelyn"?

Other characters:

James Bolam (Bill Hanson), Francesca Annis (Sheila Upward), Neil Stacey (Arthur), Annette Kerr (Dorothy)
Other members of The Cosgood Players

Andrew Cruikshank (Justice Crosby)
The judge of the McGinty's murder trial

Megs Jenkins (Gladys Thomas)
Mrs. McGinty's sister

Dennis Price (Harris Tumbrill)
A theatrical agent

Terry Scott (Police Constable Wells)
The policeman who discovers Mrs. McGinty's murder

Windsor Davies (Sergent Brick)
Inspector Craddock's sergeant


Differences from the novel:

+ The detective in the novel was Hercule Poirot, not Miss Marple.

+ There novel is set in an English village. No theatre company is featured although there is a murderess called Eva Kane with a daughter called Evelyn featured. None of the other characters who appear in this film feature in the novel.


Verdict.
There's a bit of a change with this third film compared to the other two. Gone is the stately home of "Murder She Said" and the upper class hotel cum riding established of "Murder At The Gallop". This time, Miss Marple's down amongst the working class, working in a third rate theatre & lodging in a boarding house with the rest of the company.

Rutherford's on fine form once again & she gets some good scenes with Charles Tingwell (Inspector Craddock). When he calls round to her cottage she asks him whether it's a social call or an official one. When Craddock tells her it's a little of both Rutherford shoots back with:- That presents me with an interesting problem. Socially I can offer you a small beer, officially I cannot." Once he's confessed that it's an official call & accuses her of interfering in the McGinty's case by masquerading as a rag & bone man Miss Marple's back is up. "I was collecting for the church jumble sale" she insists, before challenging him to phone the vicar to verify her story when he makes it plain that he doesn't believe her.

The boarding house makes for a suitably enclosed setting with Arthur pointing out that "one of us in this room is a murderer" when the company are gathered in the parlour cum dining room. There are some very effective scenes set in the early hours of the morning as Miss Marple waits to see which member(s) of the theatre company are going to meet in the kitchen downstairs as specified in a note she's found. It's a stormy night with wind, rain & lightning & the fact that this is filmed in black & white adds to the tension & the mood of sequence.

There are a number of other nice little touches as well. I particularly like a sequence near the end when Miss Marple has told the police that the murderer is likely to try & kill her again. Sergeant Bacon's left to keep a discreet eye on her dressing room but becomes engrossed in the play on the stage. One of Ron Moody's lines is:-
"You may think the police are fools Stanley. Perhaps some of them are, but not all son. Not all", which isn't that funny, but, when you see Bacon's self satisfied reaction then notice that Miss Marple's being forced out of her dressing room at knifepoint behind his back the line takes on a whole new meaning. Of course, no Marple film would be complete without the obligatory mention of some sport or other she excelled at. This time around it comes close to the end of the film as she tells the murderer:- "I should warn you. I won the Ladies Small Arms Championship at Bisley in 1924." Lol.

Cast-wise James Bolam is probably the best known member of the cast due to his current role in "New Tricks", particularly if you're a viewer who hasn't seen many older TV programmes or films. Viewers may also recognise Francesca Annis from her appearances in "Reckless", "Wives And Daughters" and "Cranford" as well as film appearances. For older viewers or those of you that have seen older TV programmes or films you may recognise Ron Moody, Windsor Davies, Terry Scott, Megs Jenkins, Dennis Price & Neil Stacey who was to become better known for his role as Robert in 1980s sitcom "Duty Free". Those of you who have seen the Joan Hickson Miss Marple series may remember the Judge (Andrew Cruikshank) as Conway Jefferson in the BBC adaptation of "The Body In The Library".

Overall this is a very entertaining film with a great sense of fun & it vies with "Murder She Said" as the best film of the four. The script will keep you guessing right until the very end who the murderer is & the fact that there are so many familiar faces in the film will probably have you wondering "now where do I know him/her from?". Rutherford somewhat dominates the film but she's ably supported by Charles Tingwell & Ron Moody who round out their characters well. Her relationship with Inspector Craddock (Tingwell) is perhaps slightly more abrasive here than it was in the first two films but that allows the two characters to spark off each other a little more than they did in the first two films. The storyline as a whole is well constructed & you can see the reasoning & logic behind the events that happen in the film when they are explained in the denouement. Of course, that just leaves the viewer thinking "why didn't I think of / realise that?" as everything is explained. Curl up on the sofa with a hot drink & enjoy!


As mentioned, Rutherford had previously appeared in two Marple films & was to make one more film with Stringer Davis & Charles Tingwell reprising their roles as Mr. Stringer & Inpsector Craddock:-

+ Murder She Said (based on the Miss Marple novel "4:50 From Paddington")

+ Murder Most Foul (based on the Hercule Poirot novel "Mrs. McGinty's Dead) and

+ Murder Ahoy (which was an original storyline not based on any of Christie's works).

Rutherford & Davis also made cameo appearances as Miss Marple & Mr. Stringer in the 1965 film The Alphabet Murders in which Tony Randall played Hercule Poirot.

You might want to know whether the murderer in the novel & the film the same. Don't expect me to tell you. You'll have to read the book & watch the film (or cheat & look on the internet.....)

Availability: Murder Most Foul is available with the other three films listed above in a box set. At the time of writing Amazon are charging £10.48 whilst HMV are charging £9.99.

DVD details:

Extras: There are no extras on the DVD
Running time: 87 minutes approx.
Languages: English & German
Hearing Impaired: English & German
Subtitles: English, German, Danish, Dutch, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romania, Swedish, Turkish.
Certificate: U: Contains very mild violence

Summary: Third Margaret Rutherford Film