But ultimately Rutherford is the reason to give these a try– she’s clearly having a wonderful time and it’s contagious. The best of these are the first two – ‘Murder, She Said’ and Murder at the Gallup’ – thanks to stronger scripts and stories and better casting.
These are not big budget films, but they’re entertaining and the post-war British atmosphere and black and white cinematography provide a perfect setting for murder. Although nothing like the thin, birdlike character that Christie created in her books, the homely and rotund Rutherford is a delight nonetheless. I’m grouping these together because they’re all directed by British director George Pollock and they all star the incomparable Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. Murder, She Said (1961)/Murder at the Gallup (1963)/Murder Most Foul (1964)/Murder Ahoy (1964)
Read More: Best Mother’s Day Movies of All Time 9 to 6. This one is visually flat and, although set in the early fifties, it seems nobody bothered to tell the costume designer. What the film lacks is a distinctive style – something key to a truly successful Christie film. The director is never able to build the suspense, but there are some slight twists that keep things moving – and Lansbury is very good in a role that’s not too challenging for her. The murder victim here is a guest who is killed at a reception thrown by the film company for the locals, but it looks like the intended victim is actually Taylor. Set on an estate in rural England, it uses a tragic story from the forties involving real-life Hollywood star Gene Tierney as inspiration. There’s also Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Geraldine Chaplin and Angela Lansbury as Christie’s spinster sleuth Miss Jane Marple.
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You can believe Elizabeth Taylor and Kim Novak as combative movie stars both looking for a comeback, although believing them as Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I (the characters they’re playing in the film within the film) may be a bigger stretch. This one just barely makes the list – and it’s here primarily because ‘Goldfinger’ director Guy Hamilton, in his first Christie adaption, does well with his all-star cast. You can watch these best Agatha Christie movies on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime. It’s a lengthy list and not everything is available for viewing, but if you want to immerse yourself in celluloid Christie, these are the top Agatha Christie movies.
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1928 saw the first film adaptation of one of Christie’s slightly formulaic but well plotted mysteries and over the next 9 decades there have been about 40 more, plus numerous television productions. Some were good, some not, but they were all very glamorous, they featured great casts, beautiful locations and enough twists to keep you watching. For a while in the seventies and early eighties, all-star Christie adaptations every few years were a cinematic staple.
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I am hoping though that the new version will be successful enough to prompt another series of Christie adaptions, much as the original ‘Orient Express’ did.