Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

grantss Decent murder mystery, based on the Agatha Christie novel "Miss Marple".Good set up, interesting setting, intriguing plot development, thrilling finale. Murderer is a bit obvious from a point but the revelation comes fairly late in the movie, so doesn't spoil it much.Very funny at times too, though, unlike Murder Most Foul, here the humour is overdone and often feels out of place. The portrayal of the ship's captain as dithering, babbling idiot was uncalled for, and introduced far too much slapstick into what should have been a reasonably serious movie.Margaret Rutherford is great, as always, in her role as Miss Marple. Good support from the usual crew of Stringer Davis, as Mr Stringer, and Charles Tingwell, as Chief Inspector Craddock.

bkoganbing In this last film in which Margaret Rutherford plays Ms. Jane Marple, the redoubtable old sleuth finds herself elected trustee of a restored sailing ship of the line which is now used as a training vessel for young criminal offenders. Kind of a British version of an American boot camp for the wayward youth. When one of the trustees dies of a heart attack while at a board meeting while trying to tell in a most dramatic fashion that something is afoul at the ship, Rutherford finds the cause of his death. His snuff box had been laced with strychnine. Does she go to the police with such information, she does not. In this case given the forensic science lab that Scotland Yard has which I daresay is superior even to her own, Inspector Charles Tingwell might have solved the crime on his own. No wonder this man wants to strangle her, she is withholding evidence in point of fact.That bit of business puts Murder Ahoy a bit over the line. It's a maxim in detective fiction that the private eye no matter how much the amateur always shows up the professional. But there are limits as to how far you can take it and I think Agatha Christie stepped over the line in this Marple story.But if she hadn't we wouldn't have had the pleasure of seeing Margaret Rutherford in full Navy regalia taking over the HMS Battledore and giving Captain Lionel Jeffries and his crew fits. Two murders later of ship's officers and we do find the real culprit.What was interesting about Murder Ahoy is that there are two separate criminal enterprises going on at the same time on the good ship Battledore. The first murder sets off a chain of events among the villains in which the group involved in one enterprise comes across the second conspiracy and the motives do get tangled up for the police. But of course not for Margaret Rutherford.Fittingly the whole thing is resolved on Trafalgar Day. It was quite a scheme that the murderer's fear of discovery caused the individual to become so homicidal.Margaret Rutherford is of course wonderful as Ms. Marple and she and Lionel Jeffries have some great scenes. Years ago I could have seen the master of the slow burn, Edgar Kennedy playing the part as Jeffries plays it.I don't think it's as good as some Christie stories, but her fans shouldn't mind at all.

rowmorg Did people really attend these films? In what numbers? Who thought Margaret Rutherford was funny, instead of embarrassing? This is a film whose director cannot decide whether he is making a straight whodunnit or a comedy romp. If the latter, then it is definitely not funny enough, if the former, the plot just won't do. Lionel Jeffries is auditioning for a Carry On part. The scenery in St Mawes could profitably have played a much larger role. I've never seen Derek Nimmo so badly thrown away as in this film. I don't know why he bothered to show up for work. The vicarage-type murder film is still going strong (Inspector Wexford, etc.) but they have purged the over-actors and decidedly peculiar characters (Rutherford), to the genre's benefit, from my point of view.

Lechuguilla The story begins with a murder onshore, and then shifts to a harbor bound ship where the real answers to the puzzle can be found. The story isn't really that interesting. But what makes the film worthwhile is Margaret Rutherford. She is wonderful as the overpowering amateur detective, always two steps ahead of the bumbling police.The main problem with the film is the screenplay, with a contrived plot and some rather obvious plot holes. Further, there's a conspicuous lack of character development. We never really get to know the suspects. In some cases, they are interchangeable. It's as if the screenwriters devised the plot first, and then created stick figure characters, to advance the plot.Aside from the script, the production design is weak. And I found the hammy performance of Lionel Jeffries to be mildly annoying. It's like he was trying too hard to be funny. This problem might have originated with the director.Absent the elaborate costumes, the gorgeous scenery, the flashy cinematography, and the star power of blockbuster films like "Death On The Nile" and "Evil Under The Sun", "Murder Ahoy!" is rather humdrum. But what this film does have is Rutherford's Miss Marple, a battleship of integrity, energy, humor, and intelligence. In this film she dabbles in chemistry with gusto, engages in a fencing duel, and in general converts a lackluster script into an enjoyable whodunit.