Murder Most Foul
A murderer is brought to court and only Miss Marple is unconvinced of his innocence. Once again she begins her own investigation.
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- Cast:
- Margaret Rutherford , Ron Moody , Charles Tingwell , Andrew Cruickshank , Megs Jenkins , Ralph Michael , James Bolam
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Reviews
I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
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.
Extremely minor it may be but it's also a lot of fun thanks in large part to Margaret Rutherford's performance as Miss Marple. We may have had several Miss Marple's since but none could top the slack-jawed Rutherford. In keeping murder at the forefront they changed the title from "Mrs McGinty's Dead" to "Murder Most Foul". This one has a theatrical setting and the tawdry milieu of the touring company is nicely captured while that old ham, Ron Moody, is excellent playing, naturally, an old ham and there is a decent supporting cast of British character actors to round things off.
A Lawrence P. Bachmann Production, for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Copyright 11 June 1964 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. New York opening at Cinema I: 23 May 1965. U.S. release: 23 May 1965. U.K. release: 26 October 1964. Australian release: 15 April 1965. 8,141 feet. 90 minutes. SYNOPSIS: "Murder Most Foul" starts off with the murder of Mrs. McGinty, found strangled in her cottage. In the room, his hands on the rope around her neck, is the lodger. An open and shut case? Most certainly. The police have no doubts and, at the trial, eleven members of the jury are equally certain that the lodger is guilty, But the odd woman out with the jury is Miss Marple, who insists he is not guilty. With no verdict possible, there must be a retrial, which gives Miss Marple time to start her private sleuthing. COMMENT: Third of the four Miss Marple-Margaret Rutherford movies, this entry was allegedly based on "Mrs. McGinty's Dead". Actually, apart from Mrs. McGinty herself and the man accused of her murder (both of whom figure very briefly), the movie bears not the slightest resemblance to the book in either plot or characters. However, it is nonetheless entertaining for all that, being attractively photographed and staged and having a script that provides some wonderful opportunities for Miss Rutherford and her sterling supporting cast, led by the wonderful Ron Moody as a delightfully Dickensian, small-time actor/manager. Stringer Davis, Bud Tingwell, Terry Scott's smug policeman, Cruickshank's judge, Francesca Annis also have some fascinating characters/cameos to portray and they all make the most of them. The plot is virtually an original screenplay, but it remains true to the Christie flavor. Sets, photography, and atmosphere are remarkably lavish by British "B" standards and there's a zippy and most appropriate music score.In all, the movie ranks as a Rutherford delight. And even Pollock's direction is more stylish and assured than usual.
This is probably the most densely plotted of the three Margaret Rutherford Marple films I've seen so far - it is based on a Hercule Poirot story ("Mrs. McGinty's Dead") which has already been adapted for the screen as part of the David Suchet series, but although I have seen that film, I did not remember much of it beyond the initial setup, so I was caught up in the various murders and red herrings that follow. I also think this might be Rutherford's top performance as Marple - she has some great facial expressions (like when she's teasing Mr. Stringer), some great lines ("A Marple's word is her bond!"), some great tricks (a small mirror attached to an umbrella!), and at the end she even gets to fire a gun - something that would be unthinkable for any other actress who ever played this character, but fits perfectly with her portrayal! The supporting cast is also strong in this one. The only problem with the film is the same with the previous entries: occasionally it moves like molasses. *** out of 4.