Truly Miss Marple, The Curious Case Of Margaret Rutherford

I recently discovered, and watched, a really interesting, absorbing documentary about an actress who became a national treasure, and is now fondly remembered, at the very least, for being the original Miss Marple. Margaret Rutherford had an interesting and tragic early life, but, despite this, she went on to become a legendary comic actress, an Oscar Winner, and starred as Miss Marple in 4 popular films. In ‘Truly Miss Marple, The Curious Case Of Margaret Rutherford‘, which is currently available to watch for free on Youtube, we find out more about this most beloved of stars.

Her full name was actually Margaret Rutherford Benn, and she was part of the same aristocratic family as Anthony Wedgewood Benn, aka Labour stalwart Tony Benn (they were 2nd cousins). But her early family life was marred in shame and tragedy, as her father William Rutherford Benn murdered his own father after being released from a lunatic asylum into his family’s care. He was committed to Broadmoor, but was released in 1890. Margaret was born 2 years later, their only child, and William moved his family to India, but tragedy was never far away, and when Margaret was three, her pregnant mother Florence hanged herself. Margaret was then sent to England to live with an aunt. As an adult, Margaret never had children herself, it was believed she thought she may have inherited a strain of madness and did suffered from depression, and was possibly bipolar, throughout her life.

I love to watch Margaret Rutherford in anything, she was formidable and expressive, and was particularly good in Blithe Spirit as the (faux) medium Madame Arcati. It is a classic, glamorous comedy, and she is just brilliant in it. She had such fantastic comic timing, lighting up films like Trouble in Store (1953), The Importance of Being Earnest (1952) and Passport to Pimlico. But it is the Marple films for which she is best remembered, although she was certainly not Agatha Christie’s idea of the tall, prim but also quietly Victorian lady that was her Miss Marple. Rutherford’s Marple, usually accompanied by her real life husband Stringer Davis, was bossy, adroit at physical comedy that Agatha’s Marple would never have indulged in. The films are great, funny and often fairly true to the story (although one, Murder Most Foul, was based on Mrs Mcginty’s Dead, which was originally a Poirot novel), but they created a new image of Miss Marple that became indelible even though it wasn’t particularly authentic, at least until the days of Joan Hickson.

Margaret Rutherford died in 1972 at the age of 80, Stringer Davis, who was forever devoted to her, died the following year. She is fondly remembered for her brilliant characterisations and her witty persona, but her true story is as dramatic as any film she starred in.

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