"MURDER, SHE SAID" (1961)

Starring

Margaret Rutherford

Arthur Kennedy

Muriel Pavlow

James Robertson Justice

Thorley Walters

Directed by George Pollock

82 minutes

A woman has been seen being strangled on a train – bless my soul! - but shortly afterwards the body is nowhere to be found. The police are unsure that a murder has actually taken place, but one little old lady is certain that foul play is afoot, and she’s determined to find out who’s responsible, by gum.

Cards on the table – I don’t know a thing about Miss Marple. I know a smattering of Poirot, but Miss Marple? Not a thing. I haven’t read any of the books, and I haven’t seen the TV series starring Joan Hickson either. All I know is that Agatha Christie wrote a series of books about a sweet looking yet cunning old lady, with a steely resolve, who investigates mysterious murders without the police actually asking her to do so. A lady called Jane Marple. Oh, and she likes tea. And seedcake.

Not a lot to go on, and so I’m probably not qualified to review the first screen appearance of the character in terms of its status as a Miss Marple story. I can say whether I enjoyed it or not (to save you time – yes I did), and I can discuss its merits as a film in and of itself, but I won’t be able to tell you much about its inherent Marpliness (or lack of). Because of this, I ended up watching the film with me mum, a fan of both Agatha Christie and Miss Marple, who filled me in on a few details to add to the scant knowledge that I’d obtained from online sources. Well thank heavens for that.

"Murder, She Said" is based on Agatha Christie’s novel "4.50 From Paddington", and apparently, so my reliable source tells me, the story has been fiddled about with quite a bit, though the core basic plot remains "recognisable". Thanks, mum. Most of the changes have been made in order to foreground Marple herself and to make her a more proactive figure – in the book she remains largely in the background, working everything out via clues given to her by other characters under her instructions. A bit like Judi Dench’s M in the new Bond films, except with a teapot. The filmmakers, presumably working under the not entirely unreasonable assumption that people going to see a Miss Marple film would expect Miss Marple to be in it, gave her far more to do and had her usurp the roles of other characters in the book, who as a result don’t show up in the film version. The beginning has been tweaked – originally it was a friend who witnessed the murder on the train, who later tells Marple, whereas here Marple sees it firsthand (and fails to convince ticket inspector Peter Butterworth of the legitimacy of her claims). The unmasking of the villain takes place in a completely different context to that in the book, though the identity of said villain remains the same. And Marple likes to play golf in this version. But aside from all that, it’s basically the same story.

I’ve read a lot of online reviews of this short series of films – there were four, all made between 1961 and 1964 – who complain that Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple completely misses the personality of the character as presented in the books. Indeed, Agatha Christie herself wasn’t too happy about Rutherford playing the part, even though the two of them were, and remained, great friends. However, I, in my blissful ignorance of all things Marple, love Margaret Rutherford to bits, and she’s absolutely wonderful here, always remaining calm and placid whilst keeping her tongue firmly sharpened in case the need to deliver a cutting jibe should ever arise (and it often does):

"It’s just as well you got of the way [of the vase], otherwise-"

"It’d have hit my head, and you’d have got ten years."

"That is still possible."

Fabulous. It’s an enchanting performance, and I’m looking forward to seeing it again in the other three films in the DVD set (purchased from HMV). The great thing about Margaret Rutherford in all of her films is that she never actively tries to be funny, and the more serious she is, the funnier she gets. She is quite my favourite comic actress, and all of her roles are gems to cherish.

That’s not to say that she’s the only performer worth mentioning here. James Robertson Justice turns in a good showing, giving us the exact same "grumpy old bear" persona that he plays in every other film he appears in – though if you can do something this well, why not keep doing it? Though he’s a stronger presence in the "Doctor" series, he’s still good here, though slightly limited due to his playing an invalid who hardly ever leaves his bedroom. Still, he does get some nicely barbed lines, including this little exchange:

"I hope it'll be a long time before I have to put up with the whole pack of them again."

"Not a very nice way to talk about one's family."

"Not a very nice family."

50s/60s comedy stalwart Thorley Walters makes an appearance playing a slightly more devious and caddish role than he’s used to - and runs with it, obviously having great fun. Muriel Pavlow, also a familiar face from "Doctor in the House" (and one of that film’s sequels, "Doctor at Large"), is rather good as Emma Ackenthorpe. Mr. Stringer, a regular character in the films, and not present in any Christie novel, exists as somebody for Marple to talk to, and as he’s so lovely, and as Stringer Davis (Rutherford’s real life husband) is so good in the role, I don’t have anything but warm praise for the chap. Future TV Miss Marple Joan Hickson is around as a maid. And look out also for a scene featuring a young Richard Briers, stoically maintaining a RADA RP accent all the while. The only performance that lets the side down a bit is Ronnie Raymond as the kid, Alexander, though most of that is probably due to the fact that the character as scripted is a stuck-up little snot, so I doubt I can really blame Raymond himself. Though, intriguingly, IMDB know next to nothing about him, and indeed the only other thing he seems to have appeared in is a television series called "The Big Pull" in 1962 (a series that started an IMDB reviewer’s "love affair" with science fiction, in case you’re interested).

As for the story itself, it starts off quite quickly, and moves along at a fair old lick – the eighty-two minutes flew by in what seemed like half an hour – though most of the potential suspects don’t turn up till about halfway through. Actually, that brings me to the main problem with the story, in that the mystery element is slightly diminished by the lack of any clues given to the viewer so that he can work it out himself, with most important plot points being delivered in a rather boring way by two policemen in an office (Miss Marple, despite having a larger role than in the book, still seems to be absent from a lot of important and informative scenes). All you’re left to go by is gut reaction as to who the murderer is, as there’s not much else to grab onto – and with the cutting of some characters from the original novel, there’s less suspects to guess from as well. Oh, by the way, my guess as to who did it was right, in case you’re at all fussed. Which you aren’t.

On a completely different note, I felt the musical score, which has gained praise in some quarters, was a bit too loud and intrusive for much of the time, with the title music in particular taking a while to grow on me (indeed, it wrong-foots you by making you believe that the film you’re about to watch is an antiquated and twee comedic farce of the Norman Wisdom variety). The tone of the music also occasionally seems at odds with the action – a scene with Marple inspecting some bushes for clues, face full of knowing foreboding, is accompanied by a tinkly-tinkly "comedy" tune, which comes off as ludicrous.

Some great performances and sparkling lines add up to a terribly enjoyable way to spend a teatime.

Score out of Ten