This is a day late, but I thought I'd post it anyway, since it features one of my favorite actresses; I found this on Janet Rudolph's Mystery Fanfare site:
Happy Birthday, Margaret Rutherford
In honor of Dame Margaret Rutherford's Birthday (May 11), TCM is showing four movies in which she portrays Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Check your local listing for times.
Murder She Said (1961)
Murder at the Gallop (1963)
Murder Most Foul (1964)
The Alphabet Murder (1965)
Margaret Rutherford Biography from TCM
Gifted, endearing character player, in films since the mid-1930s. A master scene-stealer, Rutherford personified the eccentric English spinster in a number of famous comedies, including David Lean's classic "Blithe Spirit" (1945), as the enthusiastic, bicycle-riding psychic, Madame Arcati. In "The Happiest Days of Your Life" (1950), she teamed beautifully with Alistair Sim for a rollicking secondary school farce. With her plump figure, small and piercing eyes, and bulldog expression, Rutherford could embody a spirit of prim, stiff-upper-lip efficiency or could play a classic, fidgety bungler with equal ease. She made a memorably nervous Miss Prism in a sterling film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's farce, "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1952). Rutherford is perhaps best known as the indomitable title character in four "Miss Marple" mystery films of the 60s. Most of Rutherford's credits are British, but she won an Academy Award for her hilarious rendition of a daffy duchess down on her luck in the old-fashioned, all-star Hollywood anthology drama, "The V.I.P.s" (1963). This much-loved trouper was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire in the late 60s shortly before her death.
I know there are some purists who dislike Rutherford's portrayal of Miss Marple, but I have to say that the films in which she starred as MM are a real hoot. Besides that, apparently she and Agatha Christie were friendly with each other, so perhaps Dame Agatha did not object to humor being added to her stories. Besides the films listed above, there's another one, Murder Ahoy, which is a lot of fun, and also features Mr. Stringer, who was the on-screen gentleman friend of Miss Marple.
Fricka wrote:
This is a day late, but I thought I'd post it anyway, since it features one of my favorite actresses; I found this on Janet Rudolph's Mystery Fanfare site:
Happy Birthday, Margaret Rutherford
In honor of Dame Margaret Rutherford's Birthday (May 11), TCM is showing four movies in which she portrays Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Check your local listing for times.
Murder She Said (1961)
Murder at the Gallop (1963)
Murder Most Foul (1964)
The Alphabet Murder (1965)
Margaret Rutherford Biography from TCM
Gifted, endearing character player, in films since the mid-1930s. A master scene-stealer, Rutherford personified the eccentric English spinster in a number of famous comedies, including David Lean's classic "Blithe Spirit" (1945), as the enthusiastic, bicycle-riding psychic, Madame Arcati. In "The Happiest Days of Your Life" (1950), she teamed beautifully with Alistair Sim for a rollicking secondary school farce. With her plump figure, small and piercing eyes, and bulldog expression, Rutherford could embody a spirit of prim, stiff-upper-lip efficiency or could play a classic, fidgety bungler with equal ease. She made a memorably nervous Miss Prism in a sterling film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's farce, "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1952). Rutherford is perhaps best known as the indomitable title character in four "Miss Marple" mystery films of the 60s. Most of Rutherford's credits are British, but she won an Academy Award for her hilarious rendition of a daffy duchess down on her luck in the old-fashioned, all-star Hollywood anthology drama, "The V.I.P.s" (1963). This much-loved trouper was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire in the late 60s shortly before her death.
I know there are some purists who dislike Rutherford's portrayal of Miss Marple, but I have to say that the films in which she starred as MM are a real hoot. Besides that, apparently she and Agatha Christie were friendly with each other, so perhaps Dame Agatha did not object to humor being added to her stories. Besides the films listed above, there's another one, Murder Ahoy, which is a lot of fun, and also features Mr. Stringer, who was the on-screen gentleman friend of Miss Marple.
Thank you so much for posting this!!
Also, Janet Rudolph had posted a list of mystery novels that have a Mother's Day theme, on her Mystery Fanfare site: Mother's Day Crime Fiction
Mother's Day: So many infamous Mothers in Mysteries, but this is just a sampling with emphasis on the Mother's Day Holiday. If I listed all the mysteries and crime fiction with famous and infamous mothers, the list would be way too long. Be sure and scroll down to the Psycho Trailer!
MOTHER'S DAY MYSTERIES
Angel at Troublesome Creek by Mignon F. Ballard
How to Murder Your Mother-in-Law by Dorothy Cannell
Mother's Day Murder by Wensley Clarkson
A Darkly Hidden Truth by Donna Fletcher Crow
Motherhood is Murder (Shorts) by Mary Daheim, Carolyn Hart, Shirley Rousseau Murphy and Jane Isenberg
Murder Can Upset Your Mother by Selma Eichler
Bon Bon Voyage by Nancy Fairbanks
Murder for Mother: Short Story collection, edited by Martin S. Greenberg
Murder Superior by Jane Haddam
The Mother’s Day Murder by Lee Harris
Mother’s Day by Patricia MacDonald
Mother's Day by Dennis McDougal
Mother’s Day Murder by Leslie Meier
Mom, Apple Pie & Murder: A collection of New Mysteries for Mother’s Day, edited by Nancy Pickard
Mother’s Day by Joshua Quittner and Michelle Slatalla
A Mother's Day Murder by Genevieve Scholl
Happy Mother's Day!
Fricka wrote:
I agree, becke and dulcinea3. I tend to not think of these movies as really adaptations of Christie novels, but more loosely based on them in order to provide Margaret Rutherford an acting vehicle. I know that the Alphabet Murders was a Poirot story, and I'm pretty sure that neither Murder at the Gallop or Murder Ahoy were based on any Miss Marple stories(if on any Christie stories at all!) They still are a lot of fun to watch, I think, mostly because MR chewed up her scenes as MM with more than a touch of Ham, if you get my drift. In addition, the music that was chosen to accompany these productions was a light and cheerful tune most of the time, so it again gave the idea that we're being taken for a good natured romp. I like Murder at the Gallop because it features Robert Morley, another hammy actor. Between his bulging eyes, and Margaret's facial contortions, I almost laugh myself silly.Incidentally, Joan Hickson, who later on went to play Miss Marple herself, is featured(albeit briefly) in one of these Rutherford films. Joan played the cook in, I think it was, Murder Most Foul( Verrrry loosely based on What Mrs. McGillicudy Saw!)
Anyway, changing the subject a bit, I'd like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all our mothers and grandmothers who are members of our forum! Hope you've had a great day!
My dad got my mom a gift card from Olive Garden, so after we got back from early church service this morning, we went to an early lunch there. We also had left-overs which we brought home in to-go boxes,which gets me off the hook for supper as well as lunch prep today! Hooooray!
