Murder Ahoy *** (1964, Margaret Rutherford, Lionel Jeffries, Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell, Stringer Davis, Nicholas Parsons) – Classic Movie Review 864

Margaret Rutherford’s fourth and final outing as Agatha Christie’s spinster detective Miss Jane Marple, the 1964 comedy thriller Murder Ahoy, has a breezy nautical flavour, as she investigates the murder of one of her fellow trustees of a fund that rehabilitates young criminals.

That takes her aboard the British Navy ship used to train the juveniles, much to the annoyance of its Captain, Sydney De Courcy Rhumstone (Lionel Jeffries). She soon finds herself exploring the mysteries behind more killings aboard the ship, as well as investigating a ring of thieves.

Murder Ahoy is fun but a little bit too bright and breezy. There’s too little suspense or tension in George Pollock’s amiable direction. And there is too much flabby dialogue in David Pursall and Jack Seddon’s moderate, rather unfocused and uninspired original screenplay, which uses Agatha Christie’s character Miss Marple but not one of her stories.

Yet it does use elements of the Miss Marple novel They Do It with Mirrors, specifically the rehabilitation of delinquent youths as a cover for honing their criminal skills. But instead of a Victorian estate in the novel, the delinquent boys are housed on board the retired ship the Battledore, and go ashore to commit crime at the command of their criminal mastermind.

However, the British stalwart cast are all shipshape. Jeffries, Charles Tingwell as Scotland Yard man Chief Inspector Craddock, William Mervyn as Commander Breeze-Connington, Nicholas Parsons as Dr Crump, Miles Malleson as Bishop Faulkner, Derek Nimmo as Sub-Lt. Eric Humbert, Joan Benham as Matron and Rutherford’s real husband Stringer Davis (as Mr Jim Stringer) prove admirable foils for the great Rutherford.

Indeed it’s the actors and their salty characters who pepper this movie that are Murder Ahoy’s main saving grace.

Also in the cast are Francis Matthews, Terence Edmond, Henry Oscar, Gerald Cross, Norma Foster, Lucy Griffiths, Bernard Adams, Tony Quinn, Edna Petrie, Roy Holder, Henry B Longhurst, Colin McKenzie, Desmond Roberts, Ivor Salter, Arnold Schulkes, Paddy Smith and Billy Dean.

The notable music score is again by Ron Goodwin. Location shots include Denham Village and St Mawes, in Cornwall.

It follows Murder, She Said (1961), Murder at the Gallop (1963) and Murder Most Foul (1964). Of the four films, Murder, She Said is the only one that uses a Miss Marple novel (The 4.50 from Paddington).

Rutherford and Davis reprised their roles once more for brief cameo appearances in The Alphabet Murders (1965).

There is a jokey reference to Christie play’s The Mousetrap when Miss Marple says that she’s reading a ‘rattling-good detective yarn’ and adds: ‘I hope I won’t be giving too much away if I say the answer is a mousetrap!” She says she’ll ‘say no more – otherwise, I’ll spoil it for you!’ Mousetrap audiences are asked not to reveal the ending.

Margaret Rutherford is now advertised by MGM as ‘Academy Award winner’ after her 1964 win as Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the The V.I.P.s (1963). It was future Poirot star Peter Ustinov who accepted the award on her behalf.

Margaret Rutherford (1892–1972).

Murder Ahoy is directed by George Pollock, runs 94 minutes, is made and released by MGM, is written by David Pursall and Jack Seddon, is shot in black and white by Desmond Dickinson, is produced by Lawrence P Bachmann and is scored by Ron Goodwin, with Art Direction by William C Andrews.

Terence Edmond, who plays Sergeant Bacon, was famous for PC Ian Sweet in the TV series Z Cars (1962-1964).

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 864 derekwinnert.com