Murder she said is a Miss Marple mystery featuring surely the best Miss Marple Margaret Rutherford. Although the plot is a bit pedestrian, a superb cast manages to keep the film entertaining. There is some wonderful interplay between Rutherford's Miss Marple and the bombastic Ackenthorpe played brilliantly by James Robertson Justice. The film keeps you guessing as the body count increases although there is a strange lack of tension which makes this less enjoyable than maybe it should have been. Keep a look out for a small cameo from British TV legend Richard Briers.I enjoyed this film but this is more to do with the fine cast than the actual script. Nevertheless it is worth watching for lovers of old British film.

An unusual day and a totally unpredictable moment for a 'dotty old' Miss Jane Marple (Margaret Rutherford) on her supposedly 'too comfortable' journey by train. As a seemingly gray passenger on the 4.50 train from Paddington, she is not only stuck because of an impertinent little kid but something far more shocking happens in a train passing by her window. Death does not only appear to have windows in a detective story she has been reading...murder is, indeed, no longer a sheer bad dream that an 'unstable' or 'unbalanced' maid could have. It is the stimulus for the most intriguing senses being activated within the most unusual investigation. Soon, she will be the one who can provide light to the dark mystery of a murder. But, can she ever make herself too comfortable again at the weird Ackenthorpe Hall, a mansion where there is a constant vacancy for a maid... a perfect setting for an English mystery thriller with lots of relics from the past? Something that would recall the make-believe in William Gillette's SHERLOCK HOLMES; something that Hitchcock would have developed within the ultimate flair for style...What this thriller develops is not so much the style but, above all, the absolutely stunning, sympathetic, witty, intelligent, vibrant character of Miss Marple. Based upon the novel by Agatha Christie "4.50 From Paddington" she is the character with certain knowledge of criminal mind. Now, she is placed in the situation which puts her to harsh test and imposes constant alertness. Quoting the New York Times review which appeared just after the American premiere of the movie, Miss Marple proves that "the aging but still vigorous female of the species can be a better sleuth than the Scotland Yard operatives." Name of Marple, nature of marble (referring to the screenplay)...that is what highlights best her character. That is also what makes it interesting also for modern audiences. And MURDER SHE SAID beautifully introduces her to viewers. However, the true entertainment does not lie in the literary source (Agatha Christie was not happy about the numerous liberties taken) but by the actress who interprets Miss Marple, adorable Dame Margaret Rutherford.Although MURDER SHE SAID is just the first of four movies made within the adaptations, she appears as a truly creative and gifted performer from the very start. It is Miss Rutherford who dominates our attention and makes the thriller a rarity of its genre as a novel adaptation and as a cinematic production. When I saw her performance first with my friend, I was stunned throughout. In majority, thanks to her, thrill is combined with humor and cutting tongue with the most honest intentions. She executes her lines marvelously! Determined but calm and patient, witty but, as wisely advised, never 'too comfortable' - that is how she remains with viewers and allows us to grasp the idea of skillfully proceeding acting. As her male counterpart, in a way, comes Stringer Davis, her husband in real life, in the role of Mr Stringer. From the moment when the police inspector Craddock (Charles Tingwell) occurs to care little about the crime, they begin their own investigation. In their scenes, the two carry the essence of humor in the film. Just to note the unforgettable scene when, early in the morning after 'hearty breakfast,' Mr Stringer is giving Miss Marple 'a leg up' and they find both the dog and the man really 'frightful-looking.' Alone, she is absolutely captivating when encountering the Ackenthorpes, a really peculiar dynasty with just little exceptions (Emma). It seems that the only good thing the family have ever done were...delicious biscuits. It soon occurs that both things and crimes go in threes. All sorts of people from neurotic eccentrics to calm doctors gently tease our senses...They are all worth broader consideration as supporting characters, those temporary 'tresspassers' who highlight the backdrop for the mystery because the performances are exceptionally well crafted. James Robertson Justice, an eminent British actor, beautifully portrays an old, pretentious, mean, neurotic 'Chairman' of the family who cannot stand the drawbacks of his own within other people, including impertinence. He strongly and strictly prefers beef steak to beef broth. Everything and everybody seem to move around his affairs and his premonitions of what he thinks other people mean. Some of the most spicy moments appear between him and Miss Marple with memorably cutting remarks in their lines. Apart from Charles Tingwell as skeptical inspector Craddock (who appears in all four films), the cast who need particular attention are Arthur Kennedy as family's ambiguous doctor and Ronnie Raymond as 'too clever' yet sympathetic youngster Alexander, who sees the family as 'vultures' with some exceptions and who appears and disappears in the most unpredictable moments. Consider his scenes with Miss Marple...They seem to share some interests...in golf for instance.The atmosphere of the movie makes MURDER SHE SAID a pure classic thriller, old thriller with the magic of black and white and the slight features of horror in some of the scenes. It is considerably supported by lighting, sets and undertones of images. The magical effect is provided by Ron Goodwin's music score where a variety of tunes beautifully create a balance between tension and relief.MURDER SHE SAID and, finally, 'riddle she figures out' and 'murderer she finds' yet...before you decide to see this movie, which I highly recommend, prepare for great tensions and a number of misleading predictions. Worn in lots of mysteries, lots of suspicions - yes. But isn't that what should emerge from a perfect detective story? Never ignore 'dotty old maid' and never skip a 'dotty old thriller' that may truly surprise us all. Indeed, a sleuth's work is never done and Miss Rutherford makes us look forward to more ...

Margaret Rutherford stars for the first time as Dame Agatha Christie's sleuth Miss Jane Marple in "Murder, She Said," which costars Arthur Kennedy, James Robertson Justice, and her real-life husband, Stringer Davis, as her closest friend, Mr. Stringer. On a train ride, she witnesses a murder taking place on a passing train, when the shutter concealing it flies open. Of course, no one believes her. So she proceeds to investigate the murder herself, despite Inspector Craddock's (Charles Tingwell) discouragement to do so. But, all that is secondary to Miss Rutherford. Margaret Rutherford is Miss Jane Marple and gives the performance of a lifetime in all four movies of this mystery series. The best one of the four in terms of story, acting by all concerned, and sheer entertainment, in my opinion, would be the second one, Murder at the Gallop. Murder Ahoy and Murder Most Foul follow. But all of them I would rank as between 7 and 10. If you've never seen these, then you're missing one of the best things ever to come from not only British cinema, but cinema itself.Maragaret Rutherford rocks! Long live Margaret Rutherford!

Benign affair with Margaret Rutherford in the role that she was born to play-the feisty murderer solver Jane Marple.When Marple witnesses a strangulation on another passing train, this opens up quite an adventure for our problem solver. She pretends to be a maid and goes to work for quite a dysfunctional family.Until the very end, Arthur Kennedy is terribly miscast as an affable benign doctor whose in love with the crusty old patriarch's daughter. What a nasty family we have there with everyone obviously waiting for the old man to close his eyes so that they can inherit a fortune.Marple literally digs for clues and the end scene, after the murder is resolved, even gets a marriage proposal from our old gentleman.