Customer Reviews

Murder Most Foul [VHS]

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4 star:		(1)
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Dame Margaret Rutherford makes an unlikely but extremely entertaining "Jane Marple" in this film version of Agatha Christie's novel "Mrs. Maginty's Dead." In spite of considerable tampering with the character, the film is fairly faithful to the plot of one of Christie's more widely praised novels, concerning a young man wrongly suspected of murdering his landlady.

Of the four Miss Marple films starring Dame Margaret, this one shows the actress' celebrated eccentricities to their best advantage, and Rutherford fans will be delighted by her broad and extremely charming performance. Christie purists and those looking for weightier fare will be disappointed, but for some truly lightweight entertainment with a 1960s British tone, Dame Margaret and company are hard to beat.

For my tastes she's the best. If comparing her to the more current renditions of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple then there is no comparison. Her four films as Miss Marple set the standard in my estimation. For one thing there is no gore or violence, there is no sex, but there is plenty of suspense. Margaret Rutherford is oozing with character. She is energetic, fisty and full of surprises. She is a truly hands on amateur detective.

The plot of this 1965 film, "Murder Most Foul" begins with an eccentric juror who refuses to believe the prisoner is guilty of the murder, unique to the other jurors. She sets out to prove him innocent by joining a stage play to find the real murderer. She is placed in considerable danger as a result. Her sidekick Stringer Davis is perfectly entertaining, as he cooperates with her schemes. The police officer, Charles Tingwell, also a very convincing counterpart, is, as usual, sure she is meddling where she shouldn't be. How does she always end up at the scene before he does? Each of the cast of the play she has joined are suspects. She sets a trap to find the guilty one. I would rate this film very highly. Run time is 1 hour, 30 minutes in black and white.