Murder Ahoy
For some
reason, I have a really hard time keeping my attention on Murder Ahoy.
It is only an hour and a half long, so it’s not as though it takes a lot of
time to watch. Still, partway through my mind begins to wander. Despite this,
it is a movie to watch. There are a lot of funny parts that are great to see.
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| Murder Ahoy |
Miss Marple witnesses a murder
Because of her grandfather, Miss
Marple (Margaret Rutherford) is on the board of trustees for the ship HMS Battledore.
During her first board meeting, one of the other trustees dies. As everyone
deals with the confusion over someone suddenly dying during a meeting, the
snuff from the deceased trustee’s snuff box is stolen. Thanks to having gotten
some of the snuff on her glove earlier, Miss Marple has something she can test
at home.
Using her home science equipment,
Miss Marple is able to confirm her fellow trustee was murdered. Murdered with
his own snuff.
Miss Marple also realizes his
murder has to do with the Battledore. The trustee said he had an
important bit of news about it right before he died. Miss Marple decides she
will find out what the news is. To do this, she must visit the ship.
Miss Marple rocks the boat
Captain Sydney De Courcy
Rhumstone (Lionel Jeffries), captain of the Battledore, expects Miss
Marple will be on board for only a few hours. Miss Marple has other plans. She
has packed to stay at least overnight on the ship. Her plan is also to take
over the captain’s quarters.
Why Captain Rhumstone feels the
need to move practically everything out of his quarters for what is expected to
be only one night, I don’t know. But it is one of the funniest scenes watching
all the different officers switch rooms, one after the other, down the line,
until the last poor officer is practically in a closet. This happens all
because of Miss Marple.
Another thing Miss Marple has
them do is sing along with the Battledore choir’s rendition of “Rule
Britannia.” Everyone was happy to do so for only so long. When the song is over
and one of the other officers calls for an encore, Captain Rhumstone quickly eliminates
that option.
Mr. Stringer: Miss Marple’s right-hand man
On land, Miss Marple’s friend Mr.
Jim Stringer (Stringer Davis) is investigating too. He discovers some
information and must reach Miss Marple. To do this, he steals a boat.
In the middle of the night, Mr.
Stringer paddles the stolen boat to the Battledore and has a
conversation with Miss Marple through a window. As they are a great distance
from each other while they do this, they are overheard by one of the officers,
Lieutenant Compton (Francis Matthews). Shortly after, Lt. Compton is killed.
Miss Marple saves Mr. Stringer
It is Miss Marple who discovers
Lt. Compton’s body. It is hanging from one of the masts. She sees it after
catching Captain Rhumstone showering on deck. He is embarrassed about being
nude in front of Miss Marple. She thinks nothing of it.
With two deaths occurring that
are tied to the ship, Chief Inspector Craddock (Charles Tingwell) comes to the Battledore
to look into the matter. He hears about the stolen boat and becomes convinced
that whoever stole the boat is Lt. Compton’s killer. Of course, they don’t know
the thief is Mr. Stringer, a man who would never intentionally harm anyone.
While on the Battledore,
Craddock believes he sees Miss Marple. She does have a tendency to pop up
everywhere. Yet, Craddock does not know of any reason for her to be on the
ship. He tells himself his eyes are deceiving him. Craddock was right the first
time.
Hearing about Craddock’s belief
about the stolen boat, Miss Marple secretly returns to land to warn Mr.
Stringer. She wants him to know the police are looking for him, although the
police don’t yet know specifically it is Mr. Stringer they’re looking for.
Mr. Stringer manages to evade the
police, but Miss Marple is caught. She spends time in a cell. When she is
released, Miss Marple tells Craddock he is on the wrong track and goes back to
the Battledore.
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| Murder Ahoy William Mervyn, Margaret Rutherford |
Miss Marple solves the case
The one overnight stay becomes
more as Miss Marple continues to snoop around. It is after an assistant matron
is killed that Miss Marple figures out who the culprit is. She sets up a sting
with Craddock, but it goes wrong. Miss Marple must face off with the murderer by
herself. It is fortunate she is a champion fencer, one of the many things she
is champion of.
Compassion for Captain Rhumstone
I understand why Captain
Rhumstone went a little crazy while Miss Marple was on board. She took over the
ship, wandered where she wanted, and bad things kept happening. It’s no wonder Captain
Rhumstone started to lose it!
Fortunately, there was someone Captain
Rhumstone was close to who helped him get through Miss Marple’s stay. I’m not
sure who Craddock is able to go to when Miss Marple causes him distress. Maybe
he turns to his wife, if he has one.
As for Mr. Stringer, he has such
constant concern for Miss Marple and must shoulder it alone. He is absolutely
devoted to her, yet she constantly brings him to the end of his rope with what she
gets up to. His health is going to suffer for it one day, with as nervous as he
gets every time Miss Marple goes on one of her investigations. It is going to
make him sick. That poor man.
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