I saw this videotape because I am a rabid Bette Davis fan and I am trying to see all her films (I'm actually getting pretty close). However, in hindsight, I really wish I hadn't seen this dreary film. Despite having Miss Davis and Helen Hayes in the lead as Miss Marple, the film had almost no energy and had so many logical flaws it could hardly be considered a mystery at all.
Helen Hayes perhaps comes off best in the movie, as she is a competent though less than inspired Miss Marple. Leo McKern as the chief inspector just looks awfully old and immobile (though in one silly scene they make it look like he is running after a suspect). And Bette Davis is pretty depressing to look at, as she was in horrible health at the time the film was made and looked like death warmed over,...but this didn't impair her since her character was supposed to be old and frail. It's too bad, though, that this part was so small and insignificant. John Mills is just okay as Davis' husband--he was a terrific actor and it's a shame his role was so dumb. As for the rest of the cast, they were complete unknowns and deserve to remain that way! Their acting was very amateurish and shrill for the most part.
Now despite my complaints about some of the acting, my real problem with the movie was the script. I am not an Agatha Christie reader, though I doubt if the blame for this bilge could be dumped on her but instead on some screen writer. Many of the characters were completely one-dimensional caricatures and seemed so unbelievable (such as the hot-headed American, his histrionic and confusing wife, etc.). Also, again and again, logic seemed to go out the window and characters did the most impossible and stupid things--particularly when two of them died in the most ridiculous ways. First, the doctor (whose role was completely ill-defined and vague) tried to escape by driving through the gate surrounding the mansion. The car SHOULD have been able to plow through it, but instead explodes! Second, the young man who tries to escape by paddling across a small pond. The boat begins to sink (who would keep a leaky boat at the lake--especially one that leaky?) and he drowns even though he appears to be only about 50 feet from shore! And, when this hapless fool is drowning, the young cop tries to save him but first starts to undo his coat and his tie and puts up the most pathetic attempt at rescue I have seen since the Three Stooges films! As for the mystery itself, I really lost interest in who did what or why. By the time the movie was over, I was begging for it to stop. Rotten acting and a terrible script made this an endurance contest!
Considering just how BAD this film was, I can imagine that poor Dame Agatha is spinning in her grave like a rotisserie! She deserved better.
Helen Hayes perhaps comes off best in the movie, as she is a competent though less than inspired Miss Marple. Leo McKern as the chief inspector just looks awfully old and immobile (though in one silly scene they make it look like he is running after a suspect). And Bette Davis is pretty depressing to look at, as she was in horrible health at the time the film was made and looked like death warmed over,...but this didn't impair her since her character was supposed to be old and frail. It's too bad, though, that this part was so small and insignificant. John Mills is just okay as Davis' husband--he was a terrific actor and it's a shame his role was so dumb. As for the rest of the cast, they were complete unknowns and deserve to remain that way! Their acting was very amateurish and shrill for the most part.
Now despite my complaints about some of the acting, my real problem with the movie was the script. I am not an Agatha Christie reader, though I doubt if the blame for this bilge could be dumped on her but instead on some screen writer. Many of the characters were completely one-dimensional caricatures and seemed so unbelievable (such as the hot-headed American, his histrionic and confusing wife, etc.). Also, again and again, logic seemed to go out the window and characters did the most impossible and stupid things--particularly when two of them died in the most ridiculous ways. First, the doctor (whose role was completely ill-defined and vague) tried to escape by driving through the gate surrounding the mansion. The car SHOULD have been able to plow through it, but instead explodes! Second, the young man who tries to escape by paddling across a small pond. The boat begins to sink (who would keep a leaky boat at the lake--especially one that leaky?) and he drowns even though he appears to be only about 50 feet from shore! And, when this hapless fool is drowning, the young cop tries to save him but first starts to undo his coat and his tie and puts up the most pathetic attempt at rescue I have seen since the Three Stooges films! As for the mystery itself, I really lost interest in who did what or why. By the time the movie was over, I was begging for it to stop. Rotten acting and a terrible script made this an endurance contest!
Considering just how BAD this film was, I can imagine that poor Dame Agatha is spinning in her grave like a rotisserie! She deserved better.