Teresa Reviews: “Murder, She Said” (1961): Last Train to Whodunnit

Fidelity to text: 2 1/2 garottes
The film closely follows the murder plot in The 4:50 From Paddington but changes everything else. Several major characters are dispensed with, while a new one is added: Mr. Stringer, librarian/accomplice (played by Margaret Rutherford’s real-life husband).

Quality of movie on its own: 4 garottes
If you can overlook how the scriptwriter played fast and loose with Agatha’s characterization of Miss Marple, you’ll love this film. It’s fast-paced and funny, has real moments of suspense, and you get to see two Miss Marples at once!

You know you’re in for something completely different the minute the music starts to play.

It’s a bright, bouncy, lively bossa nova type score, wildly at odds with the British railway system or Agatha Christie murder mysteries. Yet there it is, accompanying a formidable old lady as she settles herself into the train compartment for the ride home. She passes the time by reading a tawdry murder mystery when she isn’t watching fellow passengers on a train gliding alongside her own.

Then, the shade snaps up and our formidable old lady witnesses a man strangling a blonde. But not like the movie poster implies, this blonde is fully dressed.

At that point, the film diverges from the source material. The formidable old lady is not Elspeth McGillicuddy. It’s Miss Marple herself who witnesses the crime. Since Miss Marple is doing the sleuthing, there’s no need for the novel’s other important characters. Lucy Eyelesbarrow disappears, because Miss Marple puts on cap, apron, and uniform and gets hired at Ackenthorpe Hall as the new maid. Make sure you listen closely to Miss Marple’s conversation with the clerk at the servant’s employment agency. The clerk thinks — at first — that Miss Marple is looking for a maid for her household. Once he discovers differently, his entire tune changes. The scene is a witty parody of how desperate the upper class was to hire someone, anyone, and what they were willing to pay.

Once at Ackenthorpe Hall, a character you expect pops up: Alexander. He’s a sharp lad who gives as good as he gets. He’s also bored, since his friend from the novel, James, was written out of the story and his father, Brian Eastley, also lost most of his scenes. Alexander spars with Miss Marple and plans to get rid of her, like he got rid of other servants. But she’s on to him and turns him into an unreliable ally. Because James got written out of the plot, so did his family, including the mysterious Martine connection.

Mr. Ackenthorpe’s daughter Emma is present, along with her three brothers: Albert, Harold, and Cedric. They remain true to form and two of the three are murdered. Albert dies of poisoning (as in the book and the other adaptations) whereas Harold dies of a supposed suicide by shotgun (ala the Joan Hickson adaptation; it was poison in the novel). Cedric, louche painter, survives. So does Brian Eastley, Alexander’s father. Cedric gets more to do than Brian Eastley does. Dr. Quimper is also present and he wants to marry Emma.

Two servants are present: Hillman the gardener and Mrs. Kidder, the char from the village. Hillman gets a major rewrite, turning him into a more sinister figure. Mr. Ackenthorpe relies on him for both obvious reasons, but also nefarious, implied reasons. Those reasons are never clarified, an omission that the scriptwriter could have done something interesting with. Mrs. Kidder is played by our own Joan Hickson. It’s odd and amusing to see her facing off with Margaret Rutherford; two Miss Marples at different stages in their lives.

Since Miss Marple is the new maid and housekeeper, she’s the one who goes golfing and discovers the body. Not wanting to blow her cover, she doesn’t report the murder victim; she gets her accomplice, Mr. Stringer, to do that. Inspector Craddock is very surprised when he arrives at Ackenthorpe Hall to discover the dotty old spinster who reported the murder on the train is proved right. And worse, she’s on the spot, working undercover to find the killer. No matter who plays Miss Marple, one trope holds true: Her relationship with the local constabulary can be fraught for her and entertaining for us.

Finally, Miss Marple takes matters in her hands. She has the musical compact, discovered earlier, stolen and then returned by Alexander. It’s the key to the killer who recognizes its song, Frère Jacques.

Unlike the novel or the other adaptations, this film doesn’t provide any motive or backstory for the murders, other than inheriting more of the Ackenthorpe estate. Every bit of complexity is removed, and you’re left wondering how Miss Marple is going to solve the murder. She does it and without involving fishpaste in the dining room. Instead, she has Alexander play with the compact, then takes it back to her room.

In due course, Dr. Quimper arrives and after some byplay where Miss Marple confirms his identity, he tries to murder her too. It was a great scene, full of sharp dialog and suspense.

Sadly, the movie ends shortly thereafter. Much too shortly. There wasn’t enough ending. We never see Emma again so we never see her reaction to discovering that Dr. Quimper murdered some strange woman plus two of her brothers. We’re not given a reason why Dr. Quimper murdered the woman on the train. We must assume it’s for the same reason as in the novel: his Catholic wife wouldn’t give him a divorce so he murdered her to marry Emma. The reason for the other deaths is the usual one. Emma would be a much richer woman if the Ackenthorpe estate didn’t get divvied up among the five heirs.

Even with the inadequate ending, there’s plenty to love about this adaptation. There are little shoutouts to the novel here and there. Miss Marple’s maid is named Lucy, possibly after Lucy Eyelesbarrow. Miss Marple deduces, based on the dead woman’s hands, that she’s not Martine, a Normandy peasant. It isn’t spelled out that her hands are soft and clean, well-manicured and unacquainted with scrub brushes and mops, but that’s the implication. In the novel, the condition of the dead woman’s feet, beaten up from years of ballet, helps identify her.

Then there’s Dame Margaret Rutherford, who polarizes Miss Marple fans. You either enjoy her unique spin on Agatha’s spinster sleuth or you retreat to your collection of Joan Hickson DVDs. Margaret is pushy, bossy, obstinate, plus-size, very funny, and far more of an action girl than any other Miss Marple. Julia McKenzie’s interpretation probably comes closest to Rutherford’s but she’s not nearly as full of beans.

This is a lively, comic, well-acted and paced movie. As long as you don’t demand on a faithful adaptation of the novel or the standard interpretation of Miss Marple, you’ll have fun.