Murder Most Foul (1965)

Let's be realistic.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is the third of four Miss Marple films starring Margaret Rutherford. And, like the rest of the movies, it has the incredibly catchy harpsichord musical score that is a bit hip and mod. However, of the three I've so far seen, it's my least favorite.The story begins with a police constable noticing a dead woman hanging in a window! When he enters the place, he finds a man trying to save her...but the stupid officer thinks the man's just killed the lady. While it seems pretty obvious the man is NOT the murderer, soon he's on trial. And, it's an odd trial as the judge assumes the guy is guilty and tells the jury as much!! Fortunately, Miss Marple is on the jury and she is the lone holdout who refuses to vote guilty.After the case is complete, Miss Marple naturally decides to investigate the case. It takes her to an acting troop and she soon is convinced to join them. Soon other bodies start piling up...and so it's pretty obvious Marple is on the right trail! Can she solve the crimes before she's the next victim?While Rutherford is excellent as usual, the motivation for the murders seemed a bit limp...hence my scoring this one a 7 instead of 8 like the previous two.

Margaret Rutherford is a delight as an inquisitive, defiant, dogged, analytical, and impressively able to think on her feet as an elderly "murder mystery enthusiast" that can be both a source of misery and information for her local police. When "Murder Most Foul" begins, she is on a jury that gets hung because she doesn't believe the person on trial is guilty.George Pollock, the director of this film, really sets up a hysterical opening where a cobblestone cop interrupts (he believes, but Rutherford's Miss Marple later proves wrong) a man as he seems to be rope-hanging his wife in a diabolical means to make her death appear to be a suicide after a manual strangulation. With money and a rose near the scene, Marple starts to deduce that there's more to this than meets the eye. The victim might have been blackmailing someone associated with a theatrical company (run by an autocratic, eyes-on-the-prize grandiose thespian played to the hilt by Ron Moody). When a second person tied to the company is murdered on the very day Marple is rehearsing for a part with the company's potentially latest play, she's sure the man currently jailed is innocent and that one of the current actors/actresses is truly responsible. When an attempt on her own life is narrowly diverted (another actress happened to be in the kitchen at the wrong time to turn off an iron as toxic cyanide poison fumes were smoking from a pot on a stove meant for Marple (with a letter purposely planted outside her room to get her into the kitchen) is also killed), Marple seems to be closing in on the identity of the killer. When she learns from an agent (Dennis Price; Kind Hearts and Coronets & Venus in Furs) about the first murdered woman, and that a supposed new play by Moody's Cosgood was actually performed eleven years ago with her in it, the learned development regarding a child naked Evelyn is the catalyst in an amusing conclusion where Marple proves to the killer that her prop gun has more bang than blanks would provide. Accidental mishaps in the back stage as all that carries out leads to hospital stays in slapstick fashion. Coming to Marple's rescue or a trap door that shouldn't have been open on the stage floor prove to be quite a raucous followup to the killer's confession and downfall.Marple's getting to the truth is what makes this a must-see for whodunit fans that love their murder mysteries gradually shedding of light events that, as a collective, bring us through all the dirt and secrets that unveils a murderer. A character named Eva (Alison Seebohm) is one of the more intriguing characters in the cast; she is almost like a harbinger of doom, speaking of dreams involving Marple and Death, also admitting to being in love with the second victim. She sleepwalks and eventually believes, for whatever reason, that Marple was responsible for her love's murder. The company has its share of divas and dilettantes, mostly catering to whatever butts will sit in their theater's lowly seats. That is what truly amused me about Moody's Cosgood. He really thinks his work is important, and that the building will be packed with admirers applauding every nuance and uttered word. Rutherford has a showstopping rendition of The Shooting of Dan McGrew which leaves the three in the building slack-jawed. The partnership with Stringer Davis (her husband in life) as the two work in concert to solve the case (he pretty much assists and does as told, haha) and the anxious but respectable alliance with Inspector Craddock (Charles Tingwell) offer plenty of charm and appeal. I particularly enjoyed how Marple "respectfully" corrects Craddock and leads him away from the usual mindset of a cop who follows clues no matter how deliberate they might be in a way which has him reconsidering generalities in favor of key particulars. Without Marple, Craddock's chances of solving the crimes committed in Murder Most Foul would have been slim to none. But it is Rutherford's unwillingness to step aside and let an innocent man pay for a crime he didn't commit that is the heart and soul of this series of Marple films. Stunning black and white lensing from Desmond Dickinson, especially at the beginning of the film which shows the silhouette of the strangling victim from a window while the cop outside is taking a swig of whiskey near a pub! How Marple is presented as a monkey wrench that halts the criminal justice system from operating in a status quo fashion makes her quite a heroine to root for. No one can pleasantly call a cop naive and gullible quite like Miss Marple and not make him feel like a total fool.

How great is Margaret Rutheford in this? As aging amateur sleuth Miss Marple, who investigates a theatre company where a murderer may be hiding, Rutheford is shrewd, eccentric, likable. It's the kind of memorable performance which elevates a droll movie into a fine one.In fact, everyone was plainly having fun on set, from Charles Tingwell as the Inspector torn between annoyance and reverence for Miss Marple to Ron Moody as a hilariously smarmy, hammy thespian.As much as I enjoy Christie and respect her seminal influence on the genre, not all her plots have aged well - some of the mysteries, like this one, could be solved by a modern investigator with a Google search. However, her detectives and their quirks are still vivid and entertaining.8/10

A little surprisingly this has turned out to be my personal favourite of the Margaret Rutherford Miss Marple films. This is an adaptation of the Poirot novel 'Mrs McGinty's Dead' with Miss M inserted instead. I was expecting a very loose connection with the novel but actually this is a very clever re-working of the story indeed. All the basic elements are there and the writers manage to make the shift from 'residents in an English village' to theatrical boarding house very convincing. I love the mixing up of names from the novel (eg Sheila Rendell and Mrs Upward combine into young Sheila Upward) and the deliberate pacing as details are revealed (we only come to know about the important character of Rose (Eva) Kane towards the end).Margaret Rutherford continues to delight as a Miss M who is nothing like Christie's creation. The supporting players are all perfectly adequate though no-one is really outstanding (except maybe Megs Jenkins in the tiny role of a widow ready to snatch up poor Mr Stringer). Its the cleverness of the adaptation that delights here, the atmospheric filming, the broad comedy and Rutherford's bold performance are the other winning features. Highly recommended.