Murder at the Gallop (1963)

Miss Marple (Margaret Rutherford) is back to investigate a murder that the police won’t. A wealthy old man is scared to death by a cat. Which one of his heirs is the murderer?

Marple’s buddy (and real life husband) is back as Mr. Stringer (Stringer Davis). It’s been a bit since I watched Murder, She Said (1961), but I feel he had a bit more to do in this film. Robert Morley is recognizable in his significant part. He seems to show up when a pompous Englishman is needed.

Based on the Agatha Christie novel After the Funeral, which is actually a Hercule Poirot story. Christie herself is mentioned by Rutherford, citing a fictitious book titled “The Ninth Life”.

While it’s amusing to watch Rutherford waddle around and poking her nose into someone else’s affair, Murder at the Gallop is not much of a mystery. There’s a lot going on and Marple just solves the murder, ex machina style. AMRU 3.