Murder, She Said
Ms. Rutherford played Miss Marple
in four films. Five if you count the cameo in The Alphabet Murders. Her
first Miss Marple was Murder, She Said. For years the only place I could
watch any of these films was on Turner Classic Movies. I always looked forward
to them being on, which wasn’t often. Now, thanks to a library sale, I have all
four movies and can watch when I want. Let’s start with Murder, She Said.
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| Murder, She Said |
A murder happens
Miss Marple (Margaret Rutherford)
is certain she witnessed a murder. She saw it through the window of her moving
train, and it happened on another moving train that was passing by. In that
other train car, a woman was being choked to death.
Because of her advanced age and
the fact she was reading a mystery at the time, no one believes Miss Marple saw
anything like a murder. The train attendant believes Miss Marple dreamed what
she saw. Miss Marple, however, will not be deterred.
Miss Marple’s claim isn’t
completely dismissed, though. Inspector Craddock (Charles Tingwell) looks into
the claim but doesn’t find anything to support it. He visits Miss Marple at her
home and tells her of his findings. Craddock’s word is not enough for Miss
Marple.
With the help of her friend Mr.
Stringer (Stringer Davis), Miss Marple looks into the situation herself. They
search along the train tracks and find a beaten down patch of grass. It is a spot
where a body could have landed if it was thrown from a train. Conveniently, the
patch of grass is near an estate: Ackenthorpe Hall.
Miss Marple goes undercover
Miss Marple manages to wrangle a
job as a maid at Ackenthorpe Hall. The estate residents consist of adults and
one child. The patriarch is Luther Ackenthorpe (James Robertson Justice), a
blustery curmudgeon who claims he is ill. I highly suspect he pretends to be
ill for the attention.
Four of the other adults are
Ackenthorpe’s children: Emma (Muriel Pavlow), Cedric (Thorley Walters), Harold
(Conrad Phillips), and Albert (Gerald Cross).
Also at the estate, at least some
of the time, is son-in-law Brian Eastley (Ronald Howard) and Dr. Paul
Quimper (Arthur Kennedy), Ackenthorpe’s doctor.
The child is Alexander Eastley
(Ronnie Raymond), Brian Eastley's son and Ackenthorpe’s grandson. It is
my understanding that Alexander’s mother died some time before these events.
It is Alexander that Miss Marple
interacts with most. He is always up to some sort of trouble and loves to
follow Miss Marple around to see what other trouble he can come up with.
Miss Marple spends little time
with the other staff, Hillman (Michael Golden) and Mrs. Kidder (Joan Hickson).
Hillman takes care of the grounds, while I am not sure what Mrs. Kidder does.
We only ever really see her when she’s ready to leave for the day.
The investigation advances
While Miss Marple is at the
estate to investigate, she does have to actually act as a maid at times to keep
her cover. This makes it difficult for her to snoop at times, especially with
Alexander trailing behind her so often. However, she does find the time, and
she does find clues, sometimes with Alexander’s help.
One of the times, Alexander finds
a compact that plays music. Miss Marple claims it is hers. Alexander finds this
doubtful, but he hands the compact over to her anyway. Another time, Miss Marple
finds the body she is looking for. After this, she secretly calls the police to
report it.
Craddock and his associates come
to the hall to investigate. They suspect someone at the estate is guilty of the
murder. Craddock worries about Miss Marple’s safety, but she will not leave
until the case is solved.
Not long after the body is found,
the family is poisoned. Everyone recovers except for Albert. Dr. Quimper is
unable to save him.
When Harold is killed, Miss
Marple realizes who the murderer is. One problem, she needs the evidence to
prove it.
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| Murder, She Said Margaret Rutherford, James Robertson Justice |
Never underestimate Miss Marple
I absolutely love how Miss Marple
does not take any flak from anyone. Every bit of crabbing and abuse Ackenthrope
doled out at her, she threw right back at him. Far swifter on her feet than
Ackenthrope, Miss Marple was able to outwit him every time.
Alexander was also a challenge.
He always had something to say or some little prank or trick to play. Miss
Marple figured out how to best him too. So, what I am saying is, don’t mess
with Miss Marple!
Something I thought was strange
about this film was no one was ever upset about the deaths. The body that was
found was unknown to everyone, so I understand why there were not a lot of
emotions with that death. It was the deaths of the brothers that puzzled me. No
one, and I mean no one, was upset over the fact their brothers, or sons,
had died. Everyone cared so little about the deaths of their family members.
I mentioned Joan Hickson at the
start of this post and then I mentioned her again later on. Yes, Ms. Hickson
was a character in a Miss Marple movie and then, years later, became Miss
Marple herself. It is funny how that happens sometimes.
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