Murder Ahoy (1964)

This is the fourth and final Miss Marple film starring Margaret Rutherford. And, like the rest, Inspector (now Chied Inspector) Craddock is on hand. However, after successfully solving the other cases, Craddock is insane as he doesn't just assume she's right when she thinks a recent death was a murder. This death involved some poisoned snuff...and soon the trail leads to a merchant marine training ship where Captain Rhumstone (Lionel Jeffries) is in charge. There, more folks die through some very difficult to imagine poisonings...so much so that the Chief Inspector thinks her theory is "rather fantastic" and complicated...which it is.Despite the inclusion of Lionel Jeffries (who is usually in comedies), this film isn't a comedy but a very good installment in the series....and a bit better than the previous one. Worth seeing.

Ever since I was 11 I've loved Agatha Christie and Miss Marple. And while they are not perhaps films that die-hard traditionalists of Christie's work the four George Pollock-Margaret Rutherford Miss Marple films are entertaining enough still. Murder Ahoy is the fourth and last of the series, and for me it is also the weakest. The main problem is the story, which is rather contrived and confusing at points(Christie's lack of involvement and that it wasn't based on any of her work- even with a couple of moments where there are echoes of it- was all too evident here. While the sword-fighting scene is tacky and just felt silly compared to everything else going in the film and while there are some witty and funny moments the script does sketch over the characters too much so we never get to know anybody. However, the setting, locations and period detail are great, and the black and white photography is crisp. Pollock's direction is smooth, the film goes by at a good- if not as zippy as the other three- pace and there are some decent clues and solving of them. But the strongest points are the music and the cast. The music is deliciously catchy, just love the opening theme. Margaret Rutherford steals the film and is simply terrific(if somewhat unconventional) as Miss Marple, her in the naval uniform alone is guaranteed the viewing, while Lionel Jeffries seems to be having great fun as the Captain. Overall, not great but definitely worth watching. 7/10 Bethany Cox

The story begins with a murder onshore, and then shifts to a harbor bound ship where the real answers to the puzzle can be found. The story isn't really that interesting. But what makes the film worthwhile is Margaret Rutherford. She is wonderful as the overpowering amateur detective, always two steps ahead of the bumbling police.The main problem with the film is the screenplay, with a contrived plot and some rather obvious plot holes. Further, there's a conspicuous lack of character development. We never really get to know the suspects. In some cases, they are interchangeable. It's as if the screenwriters devised the plot first, and then created stick figure characters, to advance the plot.Aside from the script, the production design is weak. And I found the hammy performance of Lionel Jeffries to be mildly annoying. It's like he was trying too hard to be funny. This problem might have originated with the director.Absent the elaborate costumes, the gorgeous scenery, the flashy cinematography, and the star power of blockbuster films like "Death On The Nile" and "Evil Under The Sun", "Murder Ahoy!" is rather humdrum. But what this film does have is Rutherford's Miss Marple, a battleship of integrity, energy, humor, and intelligence. In this film she dabbles in chemistry with gusto, engages in a fencing duel, and in general converts a lackluster script into an enjoyable whodunit.

I can't praise the opening theme by Ron Goodwin enough . If it doesn't get your feet tapping it's only because you've had your legs amputated or your ears cut off . It's amazing that Goodwin's theme to the MGM Ms Marple movies weren't nominated at any of the more prestigious film awards . In fact it's somewhat criminal that the only major award nomination Goodwin ever received was for FRENZY where he was nominated for a Golden Globe The rest of Goodwin's score might be criticised for being intrusive but like Sergei Prokofiev's Peter And The Wolf it need not apologise for telling the audience how they should feel . I'm afraid however that Goodwin probably deserved a better film because MURDER AHOY is camp nonsense mainly down to David Pursall and Jack Seddon's original screenplay , a screenplay that Agatha Christie herself didn't like hence didn't allow MGM to produce anymore original movies featuring Ms Marple and you can see her point , I mean the sword fight is just laughable . I also guess that in 1964 audiences in Britain were getting fed up with these quaint very English murder mysteries and were far more interested in an anti-hero like James Bond