Film Costume
1964 (worn)
| Place of origin |
Margaret Rutherford (1879-1972) was one of the most popular stage and film performers of the mid-20th century. She made her screen debut in 1936, but it was in Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit (1945), as Madame Arcati, that she established her screen career. She appeared in several of the most popular film comedies of the era including Passport to Pimlico (1949), The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) and The Importance of Being Ernest (1952).
In the 1960s, Rutherford portrayed Miss Jane Marple, Agatha Christie’s amateur detective, in four films: Murder, She Said (1961), based on 4.50 from Paddington; Murder at the Gallop (1963), based on After the Funeral; and Murder Most Foul (1964) based on Mrs. McGinty's Dead. Murder Ahoy! (1964) was her final Marple role although not specifically based on a book.
The films deviated from the original plots and depicted Miss Marple as a more active, colourful character, who was bossy and eccentric. Christie was an admirer of the actress and dedicated her 1963 novel The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side to Rutherford, but was critical of the films. Rutherford wore her own clothes for the part and also had written into her contract that her husband, Stringer Davis, appear alongside her.
In the 1960s, Rutherford portrayed Miss Jane Marple, Agatha Christie’s amateur detective, in four films: Murder, She Said (1961), based on 4.50 from Paddington; Murder at the Gallop (1963), based on After the Funeral; and Murder Most Foul (1964) based on Mrs. McGinty's Dead. Murder Ahoy! (1964) was her final Marple role although not specifically based on a book.
The films deviated from the original plots and depicted Miss Marple as a more active, colourful character, who was bossy and eccentric. Christie was an admirer of the actress and dedicated her 1963 novel The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side to Rutherford, but was critical of the films. Rutherford wore her own clothes for the part and also had written into her contract that her husband, Stringer Davis, appear alongside her.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Costume worn by Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple in Murder Ahoy!, 1964 |
| Physical description | Cream cape fastened at the neck with three buttons, with woven pattern in vertical stripe down the centre back in red and brown and attached scarf in the same design |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by J.B. Stringer-Davis |
| Object history | The cape was purchased from a shop called The Spinning Wheel in Stratford-Upon-Avon. |
| Association | |
| Summary | Margaret Rutherford (1879-1972) was one of the most popular stage and film performers of the mid-20th century. She made her screen debut in 1936, but it was in Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit (1945), as Madame Arcati, that she established her screen career. She appeared in several of the most popular film comedies of the era including Passport to Pimlico (1949), The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) and The Importance of Being Ernest (1952). In the 1960s, Rutherford portrayed Miss Jane Marple, Agatha Christie’s amateur detective, in four films: Murder, She Said (1961), based on 4.50 from Paddington; Murder at the Gallop (1963), based on After the Funeral; and Murder Most Foul (1964) based on Mrs. McGinty's Dead. Murder Ahoy! (1964) was her final Marple role although not specifically based on a book. The films deviated from the original plots and depicted Miss Marple as a more active, colourful character, who was bossy and eccentric. Christie was an admirer of the actress and dedicated her 1963 novel The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side to Rutherford, but was critical of the films. Rutherford wore her own clothes for the part and also had written into her contract that her husband, Stringer Davis, appear alongside her. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.192-1978 |
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| Record created | July 1, 2009 |
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