Murder at the Gallop Murder at the Gallop Murder at the Gallop (1963) is the second of four Miss Marple films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was based on the novel "After the Funeral" by Agatha Christie, and starred Dame Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Charles "Bud" Tingwell as Inspector Craddock and Stringer Davis (Rutherford's real-life husband) as Jane Marple's friend Mr. Stringer. The film changes both the action and the characters. The original novel featured Hercule Poirot rather than Miss Marple, and Christie's trademark suspense was replaced by light comedy. The film also stars Sir Robert Morley and Dame Flora Robson and was
Miss Marple (TV series) Helen Hayes for television broadcast. Thus these three titles were the last to be dramatised under the BBC's agreement. The adaptations are mainly true to the original novels. Joan Hickson, who played Miss Marple, was an octogenarian herself during most of the series' production. Decades before, she had appeared in a minor role in "Murder, She Said", in which Margaret Rutherford played Miss Marple. Hickson had also appeared in a stage adaptation of the novel "Appointment with Death" in 1946, after which Christie sent Hickson a note that read, "I hope one day you will play my dear Miss Marple."