Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #969 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-01-01
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Black & White, HiFi Sound
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4

Amazon.co.uk Review
Never mind purists who bemoan Margaret Rutherford's incarnation of Agatha Christie's celebrated spinster sleuth. These four British films, produced between 1961 and 64, are jolly good, regardless of their tenuous connection with Miss Marple as written, or with Christie herself. One of the films, in fact, Murder Ahoy, is an original screenplay credited as "an interpretation of Miss Marple." And two others, Murder at the Gallop and Murder Most Foul were based on books featuring Christie's other famed detective, Hercule Poirot." But no matter. The redoubtable Rutherford indelibly makes Marple her very own, or, as she proclaims to Inspector Craddock (Charles Tingwell), with whom she locks horns throughout all four films, "I am always myself." Rutherford makes a formidable first impression in Murder She Said, based on Christie's 4:50 from Paddington, in which the armchair sleuth goes undercover as a servant after witnessing a murder on a train. In Murder at the Gallop, based on After the Funeral, where there's a will, there's murder. In Murder Ahoy, Marple discovers a ship of thieves. In Murder Most Foul, Marple deadlocks a jury and joins a theatrical troupe to prove the defendant's innocence.

The Marple films are endearingly modest productions, redeemed by peerless performances and mostly sharp scripts. Ron Goodwin's theme music used in all four films is an irresistible piece of '60s symphonic pop that's a classical gas. None of the actors are suspect. Rutherford gets able support from her real-life husband, Stringer Davis, who portrays Marple's Watson-esque sidekick. Venerable character actors Robert Morley and Ron Moody enliven Gallop and Foul, respectively. And in Murder She Said, that's Joan Hickson, who would go on to acclaim as Miss Marple in the celebrated BBC series. But it's tough to steal a scene from Rutherford, whose Marple displays a keen mind, and, in Ahoy, surprising prowess with a sword! --Donald Liebenson

DVD Description
4 disc box set featuring the following films:

• Murder, She Said (1961)
  
• Murder Ahoy (1963)
  
• Murder At The Gallop (1963)
  
• Murder Most Foul

Special Features

• Total Running Time: 337 minutes
  
• Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen 1.33:1
  
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
  
• Language: English
  
• Region Code: 2
  
• PAL
  
• Black & White

Customer Reviews

better than I remembered
I remember watching these on BBC2 on a Saturday morning as a kid. Forget swap shop, tiswas and gordon the gopher. Margaret Rutherford's Miss Marple ruled.

I was concerned about buying this as things from childhood rarely live up to the memory of them, milky bars just aren't the same (yuk), but this set of films is outstanding. It is said that revenge is best served cold, in this case Miss Marple is all the better for being seen fresh after the gap from childhood to adulthood.

I never realised that Margaret Rutherford had such great comic timing, and she was so subtle. I love the fact that the fun they had together can be seen in the finished produce, and, of course, look out for Joan Hickson (probably the best Miss Marple of all time) as the muttering part time help at the big house.

I can see why Agatha Christie like Margaret Rutherford, she may or may not have liked these versions (depending on who you read) but Christie and Rutherford had one thing in common, an enjoyment of murder mysteries. Rutherford being involved in the investigation of a true life crime.

There is one disappointment with this series - why didn't they make more of them. There were four films - there just seemed to be more of them.

4 Classic Marple Films
Having waited many years for these to turn up on dvd. There here at last. 4 Films on separate dvds in a nicely packaged box. All the films are in full frame and B&W and what you may ask are the condition of these wonderfull dvds, well Warner Home Video have done an good job remastering these movies a few blemishes but excellant picture quality. Fans of these Margaret Rutherford films will surley be thrilled to get this super sleuth in action, she was infact 70 years of age and wore all her own clothes throughout the prodution and her own husband Stringer Davis starred alonside her. A mention must go to the wonderfull music score's which Ron Goodwin composed for all 4 films. So sit back and enjoy 4 wonderfull british movies.

Definitive
Rutherford is the definitive Miss Marple, a part, as another reviewer states, she made her own. I was so pleased to see this boxed set for sale and was not disappointed: this set has something that others have never managed to achieve - a sense of time and place in which the character seems so real and ideally placed. When I watch these films I find myself back in another time when the act of murder most foul was just that, rather than commonplace, but more than this I feel the films in much the same way as when I first saw them as a youngster: they are classics of their kind and delightful to watch.