Sadly Over-hyped

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Oh, the sights one can see on a train. Like a woman being strangled to death, or one of mystery fiction's darkest talents being reinterpreted as a light comedienne. Such is the experience you get taking a seat next to Margaret Rutherford on "Murder She Said."Rutherford plays Miss Jane Marple in what was the first-ever cinematic presentation of Agatha Christie's famous detective. While aboard a train, Marple spies a woman in another train being throttled, the killer's face hidden from view. Ashen, Marple calls police, only to be told she probably just witnessed a couple on a honeymoon."I may be what is termed a spinster, but I do know the difference between horseplay and murder!" Miss Marple exclaims.With that, she decides to investigate the case herself, taking a post as maid at a manor house nearest to where she suspects the body was dropped from the train.It's a very different Miss Marple from Christie's version, but that's easy to understand with the demands of cinema, and easy to forgive when the results are as fine as you get here. Rutherford is in high form, playing up her character's indignation at being taken for a "dotty old maid." The manor house turns out to be alive with equal parts amusement and suspicion, presided over by Luther Ackenthorpe (James Robertson Justice), who enjoys the fact he makes his adult offspring miserable just by staying alive and denying them his inheritance.No one can believe Marple wants to work for Ackenthorpe, least of all those who already do. "You look old enough to know better," fumes a maid played by Joan Hickson, who went on to famously play Marple herself.Director George Pollock and his writing team do a fine job reinventing a typically dark Marple mystery into something more jovial. In fact, you can say there are moments they undersell the mystery this way. We don't even meet the full range of suspects until the movie's half over, which leaves little time for suspicion to marinate. But the mystery is a good one, not easy to figure out but making sense when it's all over.The only outright annoyance for me is the same so many others here point to, that kid Alexander. He's played with annoying smugness, and poorly dubbed by what sounds like a 40-year-old woman doing a Freddie Bartholomew impersonation. Every time he comes on screen, I cringe.But everything else in this film is a treat, including another character others here consider supercargo, Marple's boyfriend Mr. Stringer (Stringer Davis, Rutherford's real-life husband). As Marple must take a more active role in the movie than she does in her books, the doughty Stringer serves as a kind of comedic superego to her brave id."Miss Marple, whatever it is, no, no, no!" he cries.Give this a chance, and you'll be saying the opposite: Miss Marple, yes, yes, yes! Even if she wasn't Dame Agatha's cuppa, movie Marple brings home the entertainment and leaves you wanting more...which Rutherford and Pollock would deliver in short order.

Miss Marple is one of my favorite characters and go-to for fun film enjoyment. As soon as I hear that theme tune, I can't help but smile. I know Margaret Rutherford will delight for many a repeat performance. She is a gem my friends. Not your typical leading lady but definitely unique and unparalleled in composition. You would just love joining her for tea!The mystery elements are simple but intriguing, the plot beguiling, the actors commendable and the ending satisfying. Enjoy watching her and Mr. Stringer canoodle to solve crime, such a delightful team. I find it so hopeful for the mature women among us that they are married and he is really cute!! haha High recommend for suspense, hilarity, and good old fashioned cinematic entertainment.

Murder she said is a Miss Marple mystery featuring surely the best Miss Marple Margaret Rutherford. Although the plot is a bit pedestrian, a superb cast manages to keep the film entertaining. There is some wonderful interplay between Rutherford's Miss Marple and the bombastic Ackenthorpe played brilliantly by James Robertson Justice. The film keeps you guessing as the body count increases although there is a strange lack of tension which makes this less enjoyable than maybe it should have been. Keep a look out for a small cameo from British TV legend Richard Briers.I enjoyed this film but this is more to do with the fine cast than the actual script. Nevertheless it is worth watching for lovers of old British film.

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