Murder, She Said
Encyclopedia
Murder, She Said is a murder mystery film
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...

 directed by George Pollock
George Pollock (director)
George Pollock was a British film director, best known for bringing Agatha Christie's famous detective Miss Marple to the big screen for the first time, starring Margaret Rutherford.-Life and work :...

, loosely based on the novel 4.50 from Paddington
4.50 From Paddington
4.50 from PaddingtonThe article time reads: Four-fifty from Paddington. In the United Kingdom's time notation, hours and minutes may be separated by a dot rather than a colon sign...

by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...

. The production starred Margaret Rutherford
Margaret Rutherford
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford DBE was an English character actress, who first came to prominence following World War II in the film adaptations of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest...

 as Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...

 along with Arthur Kennedy
Arthur Kennedy (actor)
Arthur Kennedy was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage" especially in the original casts of Arthur Miller plays on Broadway.- Early life and education :Kennedy was born John...

 and Muriel Pavlow
Muriel Pavlow
Muriel Lilian Pavlow is a British actress. Her mother was French and her father was Russian.-Film career:She began work as a child actor with John Gielgud and the Royal Shakespeare Company...

, and features Rutherford's real life husband Stringer Davis
Stringer Davis
James Buckley Stringer Davis, generally known as Stringer Davis , was an English character actor. He was married to actress Dame Margaret Rutherford.-Background and marriage:Davis was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England....

.

Plot

While passing by on a different train, Miss Marple witnesses the strangulation of a young woman in the opposite carriage. The local police dismiss her story as the ramblings of a senile and bored old woman, so, undaunted, she conducts her own investigation, and comes to the conclusion that the body must be buried on the grounds of Ackenthorpe Hall, which adjoins the railway line.

Wheedling her way into a job as housemaid there, Marple copes with the pompous machinations of her difficult employer, Luther Ackenthorpe (James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice was a popular British character actor in British films of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:...

), so she can search for the mysterious corpse, and eventually finds it while supposedly practicing her golf shots.

As she begins collecting suspects, accompanied by her long suffering companion Jim Stringer (Stringer Davis
Stringer Davis
James Buckley Stringer Davis, generally known as Stringer Davis , was an English character actor. He was married to actress Dame Margaret Rutherford.-Background and marriage:Davis was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England....

), Marple finds herself faced with an increasingly devious and resourceful killer, who begins casting his shadow over Ackenthorpe's heirs...

Differences from the novel

In Christie's original story, an elderly character called Elspeth McGillicuddy witnessed the murder, not Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...

, who wasn't introduced until later. As with most of her appearances in the role, Margaret Rutherford's flamboyant, comical portrayal of the sleuth was quite different from Christie's languid, passive depiction. The tone of the novel was also changed somewhat; instead of Christie's trademark suspense
Suspense
Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead-up to a big event or dramatic...

 and underlying darkness, the film relied heavily on light, even whimsical, comedy of manners
Comedy of manners
The comedy of manners is a genre of play/television/film which satirizes the manners and affectations of a social class, often represented by stock characters, such as the miles gloriosus in ancient times, the fop and the rake during the Restoration, or an old person pretending to be young...

.

The name of the manor house where Marple conducts her inquiries was called Rutherford Hall in the novel, and was changed to Ackenthorpe in the film to avoid comparison with the leading actress' surname.

Cast

  • Margaret Rutherford
    Margaret Rutherford
    Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford DBE was an English character actress, who first came to prominence following World War II in the film adaptations of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest...

     as Miss Jane Marple
  • Arthur Kennedy
    Arthur Kennedy (actor)
    Arthur Kennedy was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage" especially in the original casts of Arthur Miller plays on Broadway.- Early life and education :Kennedy was born John...

     as Dr. Paul Quimper
  • Muriel Pavlow
    Muriel Pavlow
    Muriel Lilian Pavlow is a British actress. Her mother was French and her father was Russian.-Film career:She began work as a child actor with John Gielgud and the Royal Shakespeare Company...

     as Emma Ackenthorpe
  • James Robertson Justice
    James Robertson Justice
    James Robertson Justice was a popular British character actor in British films of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:...

     as Luther Ackenthorpe
  • Thorley Walters
    Thorley Walters
    Thorley Walters was an English character actor.He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in Two-Way Stretch and Carlton-Browne of the FO...

     as Cedric Ackenthorpe
  • Bud Tingwell as Inspector Craddock
  • Conrad Phillips
    Conrad Phillips
    Conrad Phillips is a British film and television actor, born in London. His real name is Conrad Philip Havord.He is best known for portraying William Tell in the popular ITV television series The Adventures of William Tell which ran for 39 episodes from 1958 to 1959. Philips also played Stefan,...

     as Harold Ackenthorpe
  • Ronald Howard
    Ronald Howard (British actor)
    Ronald Howard was an English actor and writer best known in the U.S. for starring in a weekly Sherlock Holmes television series in 1954. He was the son of actor Leslie Howard.- Life and work :...

     as Brian Eastley
  • Joan Hickson
    Joan Hickson
    Joan Hickson OBE was an English actress of theatre, film and television, famed for playing Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series Miss Marple.- Wivenhoe :...

     as Mrs. Kidder

  • Stringer Davis
    Stringer Davis
    James Buckley Stringer Davis, generally known as Stringer Davis , was an English character actor. He was married to actress Dame Margaret Rutherford.-Background and marriage:Davis was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England....

     as Jim Stringer
  • Ronnie Raymond as Alexander Eastley
  • Gerald Cross
    Gerald Cross
    Gerald Cross , was an English actor. Among his credits are Doctor Who, Francis Durbridge's The World of Tim Frazer and the Miss Marple films Murder, She Said and Murder Ahoy! .-External links:...

     as Albert Ackenthorpe
  • Michael Golden
    Michael Golden (actor)
    -Selected filmography:* Send for Paul Temple * Hungry Hill * Pool of London * Salute the Toff * The Gentle Gunman * The Square Ring * Murder by Proxy * The Green Scarf...

     as Hillman
  • Barbara Leake as Mrs. Hilda Stainton
  • Gordon Harris
    Gordon Harris (actor)
    Gordon Harris was an English actor who appeared in films such as Murder, She Said , Murder at the Gallop , as well as The Navy Lark ....

     as Sergeant Bacon
  • Peter Butterworth
    Peter Butterworth
    Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth was an English comedy actor and comedian, best known for his appearances in the Carry On series of films. He was also a regular on children's television and radio and appeared in seven early episodes of Doctor Who in 1965 as the 'The Meddling Monk'...

     as Ticket collector
  • Richard Briers
    Richard Briers
    Richard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...

     as "Mrs Binster"
  • Lucy Griffiths
    Lucy Griffiths (actress born 1919)
    Lucy Griffiths was a British character actress whose work spanned from the early 1950s through to the early 1980s....

     as Lucy

Cast notes
  • Joan Hickson would later star as Miss Marple in the popular BBC Miss Marple TV series
    Miss Marple (TV series)
    Miss Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It starred Joan Hickson in the title role, and aired from 1984 to 1992. All twelve original Miss Marple Christie novels have been dramatised. The screenplays were written by T. R...


Reception

Despite Christie's dislike of this adaptation, Murder, She Said received a generally positive response from critics, and maintains an 83% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

. Almar Halfidason, a critic for the BBC film website, awarded the picture four stars out of a possible five, calling it "delightfully dotty" and "fun".
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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