Murder at the Gallop is the second of four Miss Marple films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was based on the 1953 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 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 Robert Morley and Dame Flora Robson and was directed by George Pollock, with James P. Cavanagh credited with the adaptation. The music was by Ron Goodwin. The film's location shots included Amersham, Little Marlow and Hilfield Castle. This is a sequel to Murder, She Said and was followed by Murder Most Foul and Murder Ahoy!, all with Rutherford starring as Christie's famed amateur sleuth.
Plot
While Miss Marple and Mr Stringer are soliciting donations for a charity, they visit Mr. Enderby, a rich and eccentric recluse. He tumbles down the long entrance staircase, apparently the victim of a fatal heart attack. Knowing that Enderby had a pathological fear of cats, Miss Marple becomes suspicious when she finds one in the house. She also finds a piece of mud bearing the print of a riding boot, but when she goes to Inspector Craddock, he is sceptical, believing that Enderby died of natural causes. Undeterred, Miss Marple eavesdrops when Enderby's family gather for the reading of the Will. There are four beneficiaries: fourth cousin George Crossfield, niece Rosamund Shane, nephew Hector Enderby and sister Cora Lansquenet. Each receives an equal share of the estate. Cora declares that she believes Enderby was murdered. The next day, when Miss Marple goes to see her, she finds Cora dead, stabbed in the back with a hatpin. Cora's companion of many years, timid Miss Milchrest, can provide little information. Miss Marple decides to take a "holiday" at the Gallop Hotel/riding school, as it is run by Hector Enderby and the other two surviving heirs and Miss Milchrest are staying there. When Inspector Craddock questions them and Rosamund Shane's spendthrift husband Michael, none of them can produce a satisfactory alibi for the time of Cora Lansquenet's death. An attempt is made to do away with Miss Marple, but is foiled by the intended victim. Miss Marple then discovers that the piece of mud found in Enderby's house came from shady art dealer George Crossfield's riding boot, but her case against him is dashed when she learns that each of the heirs visited Enderby on the day he died, to ask for money. Crossfield has meanwhile found out who the murderer is, but he is locked in a stall with an excitable horse and is trampled to death. By this point, Miss Marple knows the identity and motive of the killer, but has no definite proof. She therefore lays a trap, pretending to have a heart attack at a dance at the hotel while doing the twist with Stringer. The police doctor places her in a room by herself, declaring it to be too dangerous to move her until morning. During the night, the criminal makes one last attempt to silence her, but Miss Marple is ready. The killer's motive is revealed to be a seemingly worthless painting owned by Cora, which actually was very valuable.
Hector Enderby later proposes marriage to Miss Marple but she turns him down, as she is opposed to blood sports and he is an enthusiastic fox-hunter. After she leaves, he mutters to himself "That was a narrow escape!"
