Customer Reviews

Murder She Purred: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery [VHS]

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have read (devoured) nearly all the books in the Sneaky Pie mystery series and this movie is a great addition. I've rented it 3 times and watched it at least 4 times. We plan on adding this to our video collection. The movie is suspenseful without being too scary for the younger crowd as well as funny. Ricki Lake as Mary Minor Haristeen is perfect. The only changes I would make is to have the voice of Tucker be a female, as Tucker is a female in the books, and add Pewter. It's great entertainment especially for Corgi lovers. I'm anxiously waiting for more.

This movie is one that the entire family can enjoy together. No foul language or violent scenes. Solely a good hearted mystery with moments of humor and a dash of suspense. Ricki Lake is believable as the towns Post Mistress Mary Minor Harriston (Harry). The interactions betwen Tucker (the dog) and Mrs. Murphy (the cat) are what I always envisioned cats and dogs are saying to, and about, one another. The voice overs for the animals seem to fit their personalities wonderfully. My family has enjoyed reading the Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown books for years. They loved Murder She Purred so much that I had to rent it because the copy I purchased has not arrived yet. Of course we watched it every day during our five day rental. We anxiously await the next installment in the Mrs. Murphy series. My only hope is that they keep the core actors and animals, as there is true movie magic with that group!

When amateur sleuth Mary "Harry" Haristeen (played by Ricki Lake) finds that there were two men in the empty house next door, she begins to investigate. When a local banker suddenly turns up at the bottom of a local pond, the stakes rise steeply. Little does Harry realize, though, that there is someone else on the case, someone who is one "paw" ahead of her.

Harry's trusted cat, Mrs. Murphy (voice provided by Blythe Danner), loves reading Harry's mystery books over her shoulder, and considers herself a superior detective. Together with Harry's dog, Tucker (Anthony Clark), Mrs. Murphy already thinks she knows who the murderer is, and is determined to protect Harry from this miscreant. Can Mrs. Murphy protect Harry, and expose the murderer? Watch to find out! [Color, created in 1998, with a running time of 1 hour, 28 minutes.]

I got this tape on a whim, and I am very glad that I did. The story is quite cute, and yet interesting enough to keep adults entertained. My children are getting old enough to where they are moving away from cartoons, and this movie was perfect for them. I highly recommend this family friendly movie!

This was a very entertaining movie. I enjoyed it when I saw it on television and enjoyed it when I rented it. Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie have created wonderful characters with Mrs. Murphy and Tee Tucker. The only one missing was Pewter. I'd love to see her in the next movie. I loved the fact that violence was implied but never seen. A mystery for the whole family.

Leave it to the reliable folks at Disney to give us an unpretentious little gem of a movie such as this. "Murder She Purred" is PURRfect entertainment for the entire family.

I am a 44 year old married lady, and I had as much fun watching this movie as my 8 and 10 year old nieces.

Ricki Lake plays the postmaster turned amateur sleuth in a small southern town. She is assisted in investigating a murder by her two adorable, loyal pets Mrs. Murphy, a wide-eyed and wise tabby cat, and by Tucker, her brave, insecure, and lovable corgi canine. Ricki's real life intelligence and warmth come through in the role she plays. She makes her character a spunky and appealing heroine.

The voice of Mrs. Murphy is charmingly performed by the gifted actress Blythe Danner (Gwyneth Paltrow's mom). And the other animals' voices supplied by humans are humorously well-suited to the variety of species used in each scene.

The only shortcoming of this movie is that the villain's character could have been more fully developed. But that is a minor complaint.

Overall, "Murder She Purred" gave me 90 minutes of delightful entertainment. It's a movie that is good clean fun, something which is quite rare in most Hollywood movies today.

Murder She Purred is a wonderful adaptation of Rita Mae Brown's mysteries where the animals solve the caper. The stories are set in the small town of Crozet where the animals have easy access to clues. For those who enjoy mysteries, this has a good story line much like Angela Lansbury's Murder She Wrote series...they keep you guessing. For animal lovers (yes, the dog and cat work together quite well!)...the animal humor and the excellent animal stunt work...especially by the corgi... are wonderful. This is good light-hearted entertainment at it's Disney best! and on top of that can be enjoyed with the older children, too!

I just watched this movie, Murder She Purred, and would love to see more. I have read 4 of the 6 books and love the interaction of the animals and the very good mysteries for Harry and the gang to solve. I am a big mystery reader and want more movies!

I love this film. It follows Rita Mae Brown's mystery, "Rest in Pieces" almost to the letter.

I have several cats and two Welsh corgis. What I really enjoyed was the portrayal of Mrs. Murphy (the cat) and Tucker (the Welsh corgi). I could just see the personalities of my cats and corgis in these characters.

The great thing about this film is that it is a good mystery without being overly violent,and therefore, can be enjoyed by the whole family.

I have always been a fan of Disney's made for t.v. movies, so it comes as no surprise to me that I loved "Murder She Purred: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery"! When a man turns up dead, Mary (Harry to her friends) Haristeen is the only one suspecting foul play! Well, except her cat, Mrs. Murphy, and dog, Tucker! Whats even worse, is that as the case begins to unravel, the murderer may be Harry's new next door nabore whom she has a secret crush on! As always, Ricki Lake gives a wonderful performance as Harry. This price is wonderful and the video is in a clamshell case to make it last a long time!

If you are a fan of the Mrs. Murphy series by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown, then this is a must have movie for you. It was very cute and enjoyable. However, I felt that the casting left a little bit to be desired. While Ricki Lake did a good job acting, she just didn't capture the essence of Harry. For one thing, she was too feminine. Harry would never be caught dead wearing a jumper to just hang around or go to work at the Post Office in. Ricki Lake just wasn't outdoorsy enough. Someone like Janine Turner from Northern Exposure would've been a better choice. And the actor that portrayed Fair Haristeen, Harry's ex husband, did a very lame job. He made Fair appear wimpy. The character of Olivia "Boom Boom" Craycroft was portrayed as a total airhead...which if you've read the books, you will know that is not the case. I did, however, think that Bruce McGill made a perfect Sheriff Rick Shaw and Edie McClurg was absolutely wonderful as Miranda Hogendobber. She portrayed Miranda exactly how I pictured her to be.
Am I glad that I purchased the video to add to my Mrs. Murphy collection...Yes. But, I think that they could've done a much better job with it.