AaronCapenBanner George Pollock once again returned to direct Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Stringer Davis as Mr. Stringer, and Charles Tingwell as Inspector Craddock, in this original story not directly based on an Agatha Christie novel. Here, Miss Marple investigates the death of a fellow trustee member that leads to Maritime murder, and uses her trustee status to go on board a naval ship to investigate the murder, and reports that one of the officers is operating a crime ring from it, which of course leads to more murders... A bit of a step down from the first two pictures, being not as atmospheric, and a bit too much comedy, but still has a fine British cast to make it seaworthy.

Marcin Kukuczka A crucial moment for the trustees' meeting at the Cape of Good Hope Youth Reclamation Centre. The well tailored niece of late Sir Hubert Marple, modest about the 'achievement of her illustrious family,' is indeed touched by the warmth of their welcome. On the minds of all the participants is the significant ship Battledore, the place which 'provides a safe haven for those who are in peril on the sea of life,' aimed at socializing young hooligans. The bishop's pompous speech seems to break any word and time limit and yet...fellow Cecil Ffolly Hardwicke, having visited the Battledore, insists on speaking up. Indeed, something urgent occupies his mind, something of utmost importance. However, just before he seems to be allowed to pass on whatever is on his mind, he unexpectedly passes away. The shock is the feeling of every witness of this tragic death; yet, suspicion fills the mind of only one person – the distinguished niece, Miss Marple (Margaret Rutherford), who is, in no way, temporarily 'unhinged' but proves to be always...HERSELF.Miss Marple discovers that dead Hardwicke's snuff (its considerable amount) has been stolen just while he was being taken away and she draws some breathtaking conclusion while experimenting on its little amount that has remained. The powerful sleuth 'damns the torpedoes' with 'full speed ahead' to pursue the investigation on board a ship. With a delightful and insightful view on the ship where all are anxious to get rid of this unwelcome 'Neptune's mother,' it soon occurs that, indeed, there is something going on aboard the Battledore, something far more than hanky-panky between the sexes...The fourth film with Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple is not based on any of Agatha Christie's novels but is entirely based on the interpretation of Miss Jane Marple by David Pursall and Jack Seddon. That is one of the reasons why MURDER AHOY has met lots of critical views. Some critics perceive it as 'somewhat heavy combination of homicide and hanky-panky' while others see it as a considerably cheap entertainment. Unfortunately, many of the critical views are quite unfair to the movie which, in my opinion, contributes to the whole series of the films and also has plenty offer.It is, naturally, MARGARET RUTHERFORD who makes even the less clever lines executed unforgettably. She 'creeps about' to uncover what is unavailable for others. She beautifully blends detective features with comedy undertones and does it powerfully in all scenes: her gestures, her moves, her splendid way of executing her lines. The climactic manifestation of skills on the screen occurs to be the scene when she is fencing with the villain. Nevertheless, there are many more scenes worth attention, including her experiment with the snuff, her entrance on board a ship, the library scene as well as the encounters with chief Inspector Craddock (Charles Tingwell) and Mr Jim Stringer (Stringer Davis, her real life husband). Like in the preceding films, there are similar touches and cutting remarks between Miss Marple, a real sleuth, and the policeman convinced solely by proved fact. This time, Mr Stringer does not give Miss Marple 'a leg up' but propels her in the library where a significant book is being discovered.The whole naval atmosphere is provided funnily on board the Battledore, particularly by Lionel Jeffries who portrays an amusing, 'outmaneuvered' captain, a bigoted patriot who owns a blade allegedly granted to his great grandfather by Admiral Nelson himself. He indeed cannot ignore the death of Nelson but what about his attitude towards more recent deaths around him? Yes, some wit may appear old fashioned or artificial in certain context but the hilarious scene of broken bottle which he considers a 'diabolical waste' and the finale when, at last, a woman will be at the helm of the ship, constitute the best moments of humor handled by Lionel Jeffries. William Mervyn as Connington, Joan Benham as funny Matron Alice Fanbraid, Norma Foster as delicious Shirley and Miles Malleson as eloquent bishop give adequate performances.Thanks to the direction of George Pollock, the cinematography by Desmond Dickinson and music score by Ron Goodwin, the film is supplied with similar charm as all the other preceding parts, MURDER SHE SAID, MURDER AT THE GALLOP, and MURDER MOST FOUL. There are nice little touches of images, the additional hints of symbols and the haunting visuals about interior shadows that aid the doom-filled atmosphere of the movie. Of course, much of what happens to Miss Marple is predictable but it is in no way boring but effectively entertaining.MURDER AHOY brings the curtain down on the unforgettable portrayal of Agatha Christie's Jane Marple that Dame Rutherford created. Still, however, after all these years, we can admire her talent and say frankly 40 years after her death: "What an old darling she was!"

gridoon2018 If the filmmakers of the Marple series with Margaret Rutherford made the rather audacious decision of basing two of their stories on Hercule Poirot books, in "Murder Ahoy" they went one step further by making up a whole new story with Miss Marple! It's actually a pretty solid mystery, but although it has the "Christie formula", it lacks the "Christie touch". The characters of the suspects (apart from the mostly comic-relief captain of the ship where most of the action takes place on) are not distinct enough to make you care "whodunit" as much as you should (though there is one great red herring near the end). Nevertheless, Rutherford is still great fun to watch as Miss Marple, with some memorable lines ("Softly softly catchee monkey!"), and she looks smashing in her naval uniform. This film also has the most outrageous climax of the series, with Marple engaging in an extended swordfight!! **1/2 out of 4.

JLRMovieReviews This outing has Miss Jane Marple becoming a trustee for the Battledore ship, when an uncle of hers dies of old age. She attends the next meeting and already another murder falls at her feet, when a fellow trustee, having something important to say about his latest visit to the Battledore, keeps getting interrupted by the speaker who has the floor and finally getting a chance to speak and taking a whiff of his snuff, he begins, but abruptly dies.Of course, Craddock and the "very brisk" doctor think the victim died naturally from a heart attack. But Miss Marple finds out through some spilled snuff that he was poisoned by strychnine. She is determined to go aboard the Battledore to find out what he was trying to relate to other trustees and apprehend the killer.Rutherford is great as usual, with witty lines abound, but this entry, costarring Lionel Jeffries and written expressly for the screen and not based on Agatha Christie material, is probably the weakest of the four in the series. But, you'll probably enjoy it anyway, with Marple and Mr. Stringer trying to keep two shakes ahead of Inspector Craddock.