Really Surprised!

The first must-see film of the year.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mystery, "4:50 from Paddington", gets a fine screen-translation here, with Margaret Rutherford excellent as Jane Marple, the impertinent lover of whodunits. After witnessing a murder on a train, Marple deduces the victim's body was thrown overboard near the country estate of an eccentric British family; she proceeds to land herself a job as maid to the household in order to investigate further. A memorable yarn, though the plot peaks at the midway point, with the discovery of the corpse; the concluding events consist mainly of finger-pointing. Terrific early scenes complimented by excellent cinematography by Geoffrey Faithful and a lively score from Ron Goodwin. Remade for television in 1987 with Joan Hickson in the lead, who appears here as Mrs. Kidder; also in 2004 as part of "Agatha Christie's Marple", featuring Geraldine McEwan. **1/2 from ****

Miss Jane Marple witnesses a man strangling a woman on a passing train, the Police don't take her story seriously. As a keen reader of detective stories she decides to investigate the murder herself. She and friend Mr Stringer begin investigating along the train track, and a clue leads her to Ackenthorpe Hall, home to a wealthy family. To investigate further Miss Marple gets herself a job there to set about catching the killer.The film looks glorious, it's lovely on the eyes. The music is fun, if a little heavy at times. Really good performances from the cast.The best bit for me has to be the discovery of the body, even though it's not meant to be Marple herself that finds her, who cares, it works really well. The ending is just brilliant too, I love how it was done.I can see why Christie was not so keen on Rutherford in the title role, she's nothing like the book's character, but she puts her own inimitable stamp on the role, and is quite fabulous. It's all about Rutherford's scenes with James Robertson Justice, such a huge domineering actor, they bounce wonderfully well off one another.Its wonderful that Joan Hickson appears, I wonder if this is where Christie first saw her.Its a great film, perhaps the most serious of her 4 outings? It's so watchable for so many reasons, mostly Rutherford's performance. 8/10

Entertaining whodunit and the first of George Pollock's teaming with Margaret Rutherford as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple has the elderly, scruffy, diligent, gutsy civilian sleuth investigating the mysterious murder of a woman she saw strangled on a train (going the opposite direction of the train she was traveling). It ties to a family of bickering brothers (and one brother-in-law), several waiting for the eldest to kick the bucket so they can gain the inheritance that is yet to be claimed. In the will of their father, eldest son, Luther (James Justice) doesn't get a dime due to their bitter differences. Luther is a blustery, ornery, loud aging miser that is rather difficult to get along with. Emma doesn't fare well under Luther's agonizing bullying ordering her around, while the inquisitive, scheming, probing, accusatory Cedric (played with a lascivious wretchedness by Thorley Walters, a far cry from his amiable, innocuous characters introduced by Hammer Studios) tries to learn of who might want him and the brothers dead when a poisoning narrowly misses killing them all but one: brother Albert. When brother Harold is found dead by part-time servant, Miss Kidder (Joan Hickson, also associated with the character of Miss Marple later) bicycling home, by a shotgun blast (suicide or murder?), the dwindling numbers worry those still alive. A musical compact with a distinctive tune, a written letter by a supposed French woman named Martine (discovered to be the strangled victim), and reasoning for wanting to get closer to the inheritance all factor into all the developments which leads to Marple's near death by "lethal injection". Arthur Kennedy stars as Luther's physician and Emma's (Murial Pavlow) romantic love interest. He also *assists* detective inspector Craddock (Bud Tigwell). Rounding out the cast is Michael Golden as the snobby grounds-keeper, Stringer Davis as Marple's partner-in-sleuth, and Ronnie Raymond as mischievous, wise-beyond-his-years intellectual grandson of Luther who becomes a particularly amusing sparring partner for Marple.Luther and Marple's sharp-tongued back-and-forths, litany of greedy suspects looking to gain hold to the inheritance at arm's length if Luther dies, the sneaky antics of a kid among snooty adults who is perhaps smarter than they are (always showing up with just the right words to stir the pot), Walters' provoking using devious methods to target his own family (he has a conversation with Marple during a late thunderstorm where he tells her he plans to keep an eye on her, initiating accusation that the body of Martine wasn't found until she arrived), and Marple's own knowing wisdom and watchful interpretation of the events that transpire as she comes to her conclusions through correct deductive reasoning makes Murder, She Said a hoot to watch unfold. Even how Marple learns of how the body ties to the family is neat to see develop: thrown from a train, moved a little later, then hidden until proper unveiling could take place, the strangler sets up quite a plot to throw the scent away from who he is. The kid of the film playing tricks on not just Marple but anyone that offers him a chance to use his clever wits provides some amusement. Marple admiring his antics with a bit of a grin is a nice nod to how well the kid appeals to her.

The first of the George Pollock-Margaret Rutherford collaborations, Murder She Said is lots of fun and works very well on its own terms. It is not the most faithful adaptation to the book- 4:50 From Paddington- or to Agatha Christie in general, look to Joan Hickson if you want this, but if you are willing to judge an adaptation on its own merits it makes for an enjoyable and easy watch. It does start off a little too slow and the character of Alexander played by Ronnie Raymond is very irritating. But the setting is evocative and the film is well shot. Murder She Said is further advantaged by crisp pacing, a deliciously witty script and an outstanding music score. The story is very compelling with a nice mixture of comedy and clue solving. The final solution wasn't a surprise to me, then again I have read the book more than once and have seen the Hickson and Geraldine McEwan versions(so it was more a familiarity issue than predictability), but it doesn't underwhelm either. The film is tautly directed by Pollock, and apart from Raymond the cast are great. Margaret Rutherford is a sheer delight and James Robertson Justice is superb as the crusty patriarch. Alan Kennedy makes a good impression as the doctor, and Charles Tingwell also seems to be enjoying himself as the Inspector in his mild exasperation. As with the book and the other adaptations, the characters are diverse and generally well defined. All in all, not for Christie purists maybe but much fun to be had on its own(which ideally is how an adaptation should be judged). 9/10 Bethany Cox