MURDER SHE SAID (MGM, U.K., 1961). Dir George Pollock. Screenplay by David Pursall and Jack Seddon; adapted by David Osborn from the novel “4.50 from Paddington” by Agatha Christie. With Margaret Rutherford, Arthur Kennedy, Muriel Pavlow, James Robertson Justice, Thorley Walters. (86 min, black & white, 35mm print from the Copyright Collection)
While riding on a train, Miss Marple sees what appears to be a murder taking place on another train going in the opposite direction. Regarded as one of the best Miss Marple novels, “4.50 from Paddington” has been adapted for the screen several times, but it is this 1961 film that remains the most popular version despite departing significantly from Agatha Christie’s original. Margaret Rutherford transforms Christie’s prim and fussy elderly spinster into an intrepid force of nature who is like “a giant stone rolling down a hill” (Ron Miller). Christie herself, while praising Rutherford as a “very fine actress,” at the same time judged her to be “never in the least like Miss Marple.” Murder She Said was nevertheless a hit with audiences and critics alike and Margaret Rutherford went on to play the amateur sleuth in three more films.
Thursday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m.
Seating is on a first-come first-serve basis. Doors open at 6:30 pm.