Murder She Said

From her train window, Miss Marple sees a woman strangled on a passing train. The police find no body, and Inspector Craddock doubts her. With help from her friend Mr. Stringer, Marple works out where the body was dumped and gets hired as housekeeper at Ackenthorpe Hall, home of a rich, quarrelsome family. She finds the body in a stable, along with a clue: a compact that plays "Frère Jacques." Two heirs die. Marple uses the compact as bait and unmasks Dr. Quimper, the family doctor. The dead woman was his wife, and he planned to clear out the heirs and marry Emma Ackenthorpe.

1. CameoThe future Marple was already there

   Joan Hickson, who would play the BBC's Marple more than 20 years later, shows up here as the housekeeper Mrs. Kidder.

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2. Behind the scenesHer husband on screen

   Mr. Stringer, Marple's loyal sidekick, is Stringer Davis, Margaret Rutherford's real-life husband. He doesn't exist in the books.

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3. Behind the scenesRutherford Hall got renamed

   In the book the house is Rutherford Hall. To avoid repeating the star's surname, the film called it Ackenthorpe Hall.

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