Murder Ahoy (1964)

Murder Ahoy (Dir: George Pollock, 1964). 

The fourth and final entry in MGM’s Miss Marple series. 

Here the amateur sleuth boards the retired battleship HMS Battledore, now used by charity Trust for the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents, in order to investigate the death of one of the charity's trustees. It is anything but plain sailing as more crew members are bumped off and Miss Marple's own life is at risk as she uncovers embezzlement and theft on board. 

The only title in the series not directly based on an Agatha Christie novel; the opening credits bear the legend “original screenplay by David Pursall and Jack Seddon based on their interpretation of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple”. The wording here is key as, with a markedly more comic tone, this is definitely Pursall and Seddon’s interpretation rather than Christie’s.  However, having previously adapted three Christie novels, the writers prove more than adept at recreating a murder mystery with twists and turns worthy of the author. 

Wary that the franchise was in need of a refresh, the decision to set much of the movie on board the HMS Battledore gives it a slightly different flavour from other series entries. With Miss M spending much of the film aboard ship she relies heavier than usual on her land based contact and constant companion Mr Stringer (Stringer Davis). It’s nice for Davis to have a bit more to do and this different dynamic also serves to shake up the formula somewhat. 

Again, Rutherford is wonderful as Miss Marple; nothing like the character in the books, but an excellent comic creation in its own right. There is nothing quite as priceless here as when she danced the twist in Murder at the Gallop (George Pollock, 1963), but she does get to demonstrate her considerable fencing skills! As always, a cast of familiar vintage British stars offer sturdy support, most notably Lionel Jeffries whose terrific comic performance as ship's Captain Sydney De Courcy Rhumstone almost steals the movie from Rutherford. Also keep an eye out for Brit comedy favourites Nicholas Parsons and Derek Nimmo, both of whom register well in smaller roles.

This was to be Rutherford’s last Miss Marple movie, although she and Davis did make one more appearance in character for a brief cameo in The Alphabet Murders (Frank Tashlin, 1965). This MGM attempt to repeat the success of the Miss Marple series with a similar comic Poirot series was less successful, despite a screenplay by Pursall and Seddon and a quality cast headed by Tony Randall. 

Like its predecessors Murder Ahoy is all very silly, yet also highly entertaining. Later Christie adaptations may have been more faithful but few have provided as much fun as this quartet of quality comic gems.  Purists may disagree, but this naval nonsense is hard not to warm to and concludes the series in ship shape fashion.