Murder Most Foul (1964)

Murder Most Foul is the third of four Miss Marple films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Loosely based on the novel Mrs McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie, it stars Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Bud Tingwell as Inspector Craddock, and Stringer Davis (Rutherford's real-life husband) as Mr Stringer. The story is ostensibly based on the original Christie story, but notably changes the action and characters. Hercule Poirot is replaced by Miss Marple and most other characters are not in the original story.

The film was released in 1964 and directed by George Pollock, with David Pursall credited with the adaptation. The music was by Ron Goodwin.

The title is a quote from Hamlet (I.v.27-28), where the Ghost comments about his own death, "Murder most foul as in the best it is/But this most foul, strange and unnatural."

The third film in the MGM series, this was preceded by Murder, She Said and Murder at the Gallop, and followed by Murder Ahoy!, all with Rutherford starring as Christie's famed amateur sleuth.

Synopsis

Margaret McGinty, a barmaid and former actress, is found hanged, and her lodger, Harold Taylor, caught at the scene, seems plainly guilty. Everyone believes it to be an open-and-shut case ... except for Miss Marple. She is the lone holdout in the jury that tries him, leading to a mistrial.

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