"Murder She Said", my first acquaintance in a series of four films with Margaret Rutherford as the legendary Miss Marple character was a jolly good and entertaining experience! It took away some of my initial skepticism about Agatha Christie's murder mysteries not being fit for comedy films, and Rutherford being too boisterous and intimidating for the role of Miss Marple. However, I was still worried about not liking the second entry in the series. "Murder at the Gallop" is based on the novel "After the Funeral" and that just so happens to be one of my personal favorites Christie works. Moreover, it's originally a Hercule Poirot story instead of a Miss Marple story and, again, one that is revolving on a deadly serious murder investigation rather than on the adventures of a noisy and eloquent old spinster! I found out after two films already, though, that you cannot really dislike this Christie/Rutherford franchise. The goofy soundtrack immediately sets the tone for a light-headed yet fast-paced murder pastiche, while Mrs. Rutherford steals the show in every scene she's in (and she's practically in every scene). Admittedly the whodunit aspect here is inferior and the sheer genius of Mrs. Christie isn't at all reflected in these movies. When I first the novel "After the Funeral", I was vastly impressed by the brilliant imagination and ingenuity regarding the killer's identity and motivations, as well as by all the red herrings, misleading clues and plot twists that popped up during Poirot's investigation. Therefore I would definitely recommend reading Christie's source novels as well as watching the films, as they each provide different types of entertainment. "Murder at the Gallop" is just pure, unmemorable fun! Although clearly standing in the shadow of the witty Margaret Rutherford, the entire cast is quite great, with notably fine appearances by Robert Morley and Flora Robson.