I was introduced to movies adapted from Agatha Christie novels by the 1945 black and white movie, AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. Although I had read Christie, I had no idea that there had been adaptations of her novels. I was very excited to see this wonderfully dark mystery movie. Do you remember "Ten Little Indians" from childhood? A group of strangers have been invited to a large house on a remote island. They are soon being killed one by one for crimes they were supposed to have committed.
I discovered Christie's Ms. Marple movies approximately the same time I saw ATTWN. I have been fan since that time. Some years ago, I taped three Ms. Marple 1960s movies that were shown back-to-back on late night television. They are MURDER AT THE GALLOP*; MURDER MOST FOUL* and my favorite, MURDER, SHE SAID. Now, every once in a while on a lazy day, I slip the tape in the VCR and enjoy. All of these movies star Margaret Rutherford as Jane Marple, Charles Tingwell** is Inspector Craddock; Craddock thinks Ms. Marple is a pest, but acknowledges that she is a pest with a history of being right 99 percent of the time. Actor Stringer Davis is Jim Stringer, a soft spoken gentle man who at Ms. Marple's bidding goes to extreme lengths to help her in her quest for justice. Davis was also married to Rutherford. The titles of Ms. Marple movies (and novels) can be confusing because several have two or three titles. As one who loves to read mystery novels, I have been fooled many times by this and have duplicate books at home to prove it. For instance MURDER, SHE SAID was first published as 4:50 FROM PADDINGTON and later as WHAT MRS. MCGILLICUDDY SAW. If you love old black and white's, these movies are a joy to watch. When you see that one is being shown, tape it. I have always felt that Lt. Columbo had a little Ms. Marple in his blood. They are both like dogs after a bone -- they don't let go.
I recommend the Ms. Marple movies below
MURDER SHE SAID (1962): As Ms. Marple is riding a train, another passes by and she sees a murder taking place, the problem is, no one believes her. She goes undercover to find the murderer.
MURDER AT THE GALLOP (1963): This time Ms. Marple spends time at a riding academy to investigate the murder of a wealthy recluse.
MURDER MOST FOUL (1964): As the lone juror who believes the accused is innocent, Ms. Marple joins an amateur theater group to catch the real killer.
* Murder at the Gallop and Murder Most Foul were both adapted from Poirot novels and made into Ms. Marple vehicles.
** You can listen to a 2001 telephone interview with then 78 years old Charles Tingwell who had an upcoming movie titled INNOCENCE, in which an elderly man and woman fall in love. See link to your right.
Good quiet evening movies available from Amazon And There Were None and the old black and white The Thin Man movie. It is the first of THE THIN MAN series.
Vannie(~.~)
