Murder She Said

Riding a train, Miss Marple sees a woman being strangled through the window of another train passing on the next line. Nobody believes her and no body is found. She takes a job as a housekeeper at the estate where she thinks it happened and investigates from inside. George Pollock directed, from Agatha Christie's 4.50 from Paddington. Margaret Rutherford plays Marple. Rutherford's Marple is clearly different from the one in the books: louder, more physical, close to comic. Christie disliked the casting at first and said plainly that it did not resemble her character. The two nonetheless came to get on well afterwards. Christie dedicated her 1962 novel to Rutherford. This was the first of Rutherford's four Marple films, and the series built its own following even if later adaptations overshadowed it. The murder plot is secondary; the pleasure is in the odd relationships the actor builds with everyone in the house. Who it is for: viewers who like classic English murder comedy. Who it is not for: anyone after fidelity to the book; the film openly changes the character.