Watch Murder She Said For Free

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I'm glad to see that this film gets a pretty good rating by IMDb reviewers; it's quite a neat little mystery.The real attraction here is the wonderful performance of Margaret Rutherford, at age 72. Apparently Agatha Christie didn't at first like Rutherford in the role...but then, authors don't always understand that films are a totally different medium than books, and in my view Rutherford is exactly what the audience (and I) wanted in the role.The next best thing in the film is the story itself. Miss Marple is riding in a train, and witnesses a murder in a passing train. Of course, no one believes her, so she decides to investigate on her own...and ultimately does find the body of a young woman at a country estate. The question is -- who is the murderer among the slightly odd characters that live at the estate or are visiting relatives. It's good that Miss Marple displays moments of great courage, as well as moments of great fear...makes the character seem more real.There are really only 3 actors here that most Americans are going to recognize -- Rutherford, James Robertson Justice (who plays the crippled owner of the estate), and -- surprisingly -- Arthur Kennedy. Kennedy. Kennedy is one of those actors who sometimes seemed typecast in ne'er do well roles; unfortunately, it sometimes made one overlook just how good he was. He nicely here, although we never learn why there is an American doctor working in the British countryside.Unlike many British films of the era, this one never lags...it keeps a good pace.And by the way, her friend -- played by Stringer Davis -- was Rutherford's real husband.Simply delicious, with a most surprising end.

Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mystery, "4:50 from Paddington", gets a fine screen-translation here, with Margaret Rutherford excellent as Jane Marple, the impertinent lover of whodunits. After witnessing a murder on a train, Marple deduces the victim's body was thrown overboard near the country estate of an eccentric British family; she proceeds to land herself a job as maid to the household in order to investigate further. A memorable yarn, though the plot peaks at the midway point, with the discovery of the corpse; the concluding events consist mainly of finger-pointing. Terrific early scenes complimented by excellent cinematography by Geoffrey Faithful and a lively score from Ron Goodwin. Remade for television in 1987 with Joan Hickson in the lead, who appears here as Mrs. Kidder; also in 2004 as part of "Agatha Christie's Marple", featuring Geraldine McEwan. **1/2 from ****

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.

"4:50 From Paddington" is probably one of Agatha Christie's best Miss Marple stories, with lots of interesting & diverse characters, and a fairly simple but very clever misdirection at its center. Having seen the other two filmed versions of this story (the 2004 one with Geraldine McEwan is undoubtedly one of the high points of that series), this one held few surprises for me, though it must be said that, for all its comedic overtones, it follows the story quite closely (apart from eliminating Marple's friend, who witnesses the crime, and Marple's niece, who goes undercover as a housekeeper to investigate it - Marple herself assumes these roles here!) and it plays the serious moments seriously; the ending, an one-on-one between Marple and the killer, is quite effective. Margaret Rutherford is utterly delightful as Miss Marple and she's blessed with a solid supporting cast, but I would like to have seen the fascinating family dynamics of this tale explored a little more. The music theme is fantastic. *** out of 4.