Movie Review: Murder, She Said (1961)

Synopsis: While traveling by train, Jane Marple witnesses a woman being strangled to death in another train. Police are unable to find a body and assume the elderly Marple was just imagining things. Determined to prove she wasn't senile, she conducts her own investigation and, believing the woman's body is hidden on the grounds of Ackenthorpe Hall, gets herself hired as a maid.

Who's in it? The movie stars Dame Margaret Rutherford, Arthur Kennedy, Muriel Pavlow, James Robertson Justice and Charles Tingwell.


Review: The cats were making a ruckus early this morning and, realizing there was no point in me trying to go back to sleep, I wound up getting up 30 minutes earlier than usual. Since I had plenty of time before I had to wake my oldest daughter for school, I looked for a movie to watch and eventually picked this one out.

While I am a big fan of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, I only managed to read one Miss Marple mystery and, because of that, this film (which is based on one of her books) was something I was unfamiliar with when I started watching it. Overall, I have to say I enjoyed it.

There are a couple things that really stood out for me. One of the main ones was the mystery itself. Marple (Rutherford) didn't just witness a murder, she witnessed it at a glance from a completely different train. That, alone, made me wonder how she would even begin to find out what happened to the woman's body, let along who strangled that woman to death. Even though I was able to figure out who the killer was about halfway through the movie (along with that person's motive), the film also did a good job of keeping some details, including the identity of the victim, a secret until the end.

Another thing I liked about this film was the way it managed to be a comedy while, at the same time, remembered some scenes required a bit more drama. I was especially impressed with a scene in the movie involving a power outage and Marple, knowing she is in the house with a murderer, showed obvious signs of being on edge. That wound up being much more suspenseful than I was expecting.

I even have to say I liked the ending. Most of the time, movies like this fall in one of two categories. Either they end without addressing loose ends or they drag on for longer than they need to. This film had a perfect balance and managed to have a decent ending that didn't seem like it was being used stretch out the movie to a certain length.

Final Opinion: I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this movie but it proved to be both a funny film and an intriguing murder mystery. I know there are other Miss Marple films starring Rutherford and I intend to watch all of them now.

My Grade: A

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kwik Trip Kitchen Cravings Tailgater Pizza

Image
  When my wife and I decided on pizza for dinner last night, I stopped at Kwik Trip with the intention of just buying a cheap, frozen, cheese pizza for our daughters since we already had another pizza in our freezer. However, as I was walking up to the checkout counter, this particular pizza caught my eye and, even though I wasn't crazy about spending $8.99 when I already had another option at home, I was intrigued enough to make the purchase anyway. We ended up making the pizza in the oven when I got home. After trying it, I have to say it is one of my favorites. One of the things, in particular, that really stood out for me when it came to this pizza was the toppings. The combination of sausage and cheese curds was both unique and delicious, especially since the curds were fresh enough to still squeak when we were eating them. The pizza also proved to be surprisingly filling, both because of the thicker crust and the generous amounts of toppings and cheese.  Normally, when my wi
Read more

Movie Review: Damsel (2024)

Image
Synopsis: Elodie, the oldest daughter of Lord Bayford, reluctantly agrees to an arranged marriage with Prince Henry in the far-off land of Aurea because her bride price will provide much-needed relief to the starving residents of her homeland. When they arrive for her wedding, Elodie quickly warms up to the idea after seeing Aurea's beauty and even falling in love with Henry. However, soon after the wedding, she discovers it has all been a farce and she instead is thrown into a cave as a peace offering for the dragon living inside. Who's in it? The movie stars  Millie Bobby Brown ,  Ray Winstone ,  Angela Bassett ,  Robin Wright  and  Nick Robinson Review: My wife and I decided to watch a movie late yesterday evening and after striking out on horror films lately, ended up changing things up a bit with the fantasy adventure, Damsel . My wife thought it looked good from the trailer and I enjoyed Millie Bobby Brown in the Enola Holmes movies, so we had cautiously optimistic ex
Read more

Movie Review: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

Image
Synopsis: Three years after saving the world in Summerville, Oklahoma, Callie Spengler, her two children, Trevor and Phoebe, and her boyfriend, Gary, have relocated to New York City resurrected the Ghostbusting business her father helped found in the 1980s, much to the chagrin of NYC mayor and long-time Ghostbuster antagonist Walter Peck. They soon find themselves once again needing to save the world when an ancient artifact containing an ancient god looking to wipe out the human race by freezing them to death is accidentally opened. Who's in it? The movie stars Paul Rudd , McKenna Grace , Carrie Coon , Finn Wolfhard , Dan Aykroyd , Annie Potts , Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson . Review: I had some serious doubts when Hollywood decided to reboot the Ghostbuster franchise in 2021 but I enjoyed Ghostbusters: Afterlife more than expected and was excited to see this movie as a result. I didn't get an opportunity to see it at the theater as I had hoped but did watch it last night
Read more