Marple (TV Series) A Pocket Full of Rye (2008) User Reviews

Back to basics in this solid refresh for Marple.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 6 October 2015]

After doing Geraldine McEwan a huge injustice in Nemesis, sending her out of a hatchet job of a script, it became clear there was an effort to strip the episode back, and pick out the core of what Christie did so well. The focus for this episode is the characters, not gimmicks.

I'll start with Miss Marple herself, I was a fan of Geraldine, I liked the sparky twinkle in the eye that she had, she was sweet and tough at the same time. Joan will always be the character naturally, but Julia is actually rather wonderful, having read all of the Miss Marple novels I have a mental picture of what I believe her to look like and how I'd expect her to behave, mannerisms etc, and Julia hits the mark incredibly well, there seems a softer side to her. I didn't really identify McEwan in the same way, although I loved her performances.

As for the rest of the cast, I'm a big fan of Rupert Graves, I find his extremely charismatic and very watchable, I liked very much his interpretation of Lance Fortescue. Liz White is excellent as is Matthew Macfadyen. the Crumps are just joyful, verging on being caricatures but they pull it off so much fun, the much missed Wendy Richard and Ken Campbell, who could forget Roger from Fawlty Towers. I loved the cameo from Prunella Scales, what a legend she is.

Overall it's a solid, traditional version. It doesn't exactly get the old blood pressure up in terms of excitement but it's certainly very enjoyable, it's a little slow and padded to begin with, but once Miss Marple arrives on the scene it gathers momentum and becomes excellent. It's subtle and almost softer then some of the loud productions we've had, purposely so I thought. A very good 8/10 The end is so sad.

A smooth and "secure" transition from one Marple to another

[Coventry · 6/10 · 13 January 2021]

Of course I cannot look into the mind of the series' writers, but I like to think it was a very considerate and safe choice to make "A Pocket full of Rye" the first TV-film of the fourth season of "Agatha Christie's Marple". Why? Because they had to introduce a new actress as Miss Jane Marple. After three seasons and twelve episodes, Julia McKenzie replaces Geraldine McEwan as the nosy but observative crime-solving spinster from St. Mary Mead, and the two actresses are very different. For starters, McKenzie is ten years younger, she investigates more actively, and her body language is quite opposite.

Now, since the very first film already, the series sparked controversy, mostly because the writers often made significant changes to Agatha Christie's original stories. Many of adaptations aren't even based on Miss Marple stories to begin with! "A Pocket Full of Rye", however, is a very faithful to the original Christie novel. There aren't any vital changes (regarding, for example, the murderer's identity or motivations) and it is a "real" Marple whodunit. That's why I think it was a wise and well-considered choice to kick off with a new actress.

The story itself, I personally find one of the weaker Agatha Christie mysteries. It has a good and traditional set up, with the murder of a wealthy but obnoxious patriarch and rest of the greedy family members - each of which with their own motives to kill - gathering at the estate. So far so good, but the characters are less intriguing than usually, and the denouement is a bit underwhelming. Pure personally, I prefer the style and charisma of McEwan as Miss Marple, but McKenzie certainly gives a respectable depiction as well.

Nursery Chrymes

[dbdumonteil · 8/10 · 23 November 2015]

Every time she wrote a book based on a nursery rhyme,Agatha Christie released one of her best :"hickory Dickory death" "the crooked house" "five little pigs" "a pocketful of rye " ...and the all time murder mystery best seller "and then were none" was entirely based on "ten little n....." "A pocketful of rye" is certainly one of the most underrated Christie's books.It's perhaps the only one which ends with Miss Marple on the verge of tears ,a scene which was kept in the episode,with the fateful photograph.Besides ,the film begins with Miss Marple and Gladys ,so as to make us feel how Marple cares for her simple-minded servant.

In the book ,Miss Marple appears relatively late in the plot,and most of the time ,she works behind the scenes ;whereas the inspector goes on questioning the numerous suspects,the old maid just watches them,and has conversations ,often which bear no connection with the crimes .Mrs Christie shows her sense of humor when she depicts her heroine explaining the solution to the cop as a teacher would teach arithmetic to a studious pupil.

One of the characters,the old aunt,has been removed ,but the movie does not suffer for it ,because this lady who spends her time playing patience ,lives in another world.On the other hand,it was necessary to keep the old crazy McKenzie woman (and the news item about the uranium deposits which is read by Marple at the beginning-and not by the inspector-) By and large,the book is very faithful to the novel.Two brief crude sex scenes were not really relevant (we do know that the Young attractive Mrs Fortescue is her golf teacher's lover without it).

Julia McKenzie is a marvelous Marple .But other actors stand out: Rose Hainey in the thankless part of Gladys ,brittle,naive ,victim of a cruel world ,who desperately stammers when she is questioned ;Helen Baxendale as the mysterious cold Mary Dove (more a hawk than a dove ,in fact).Ralf Little ,as the unfortunate sergeant fond of chocolates,a good comic relief .Rupert Graves ,the young gay in Ivory's remarkable "Maurice" ,is exactly as Mrs Christie describes Lancelot:handsome,charming and cheerful.

This is certainly one of the best episodes in the brilliant Marple series,because the plot was complex,and the screenplay well written .

NB :"sing a song of sixpence"(....)influenced John Lennon for two songs: "cry baby cry" (the White Album) ,and mainly "clean up time" (Double fantasy),which has almost the same lines about the king and the queen.

One word: amazing.

[tml_pohlak_13 · 10/10 · 7 December 2008]

Julia Mackenzie replaces Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple in a series that has gained notoriety because of their vast changes to Agatha Christie's original novels. "A Pocket Full of Rye" continues the series (it is not a reboot).

Happily, Kevin Elyot was on board for the first episode of this new series. Elyot is a reliable screenwriter, who manages to stay very faithful to the original book. That being said, I was able enjoy a reasonably close rendition of the book on screen.

This episode was a good start for Julia Mackenzie. I am one of the few who enjoyed McEwan in the role, although I am first to admit she was not the Miss Marple from the books.Surprisingly, Mackenzie's portrayal I enjoyed much more, and is much closer to the Miss Marple of the books.

"A Pocket Full of Rye" is a good start for Mackenzie, and hopefully helps return the series to the books. I am certainly looking forward to seeing her in future films.

Julia McKenzie Terrific in Pocketful of Rye

[hamnh · 10/10 · 27 July 2009]

I truly enjoyed Julia McKenzie's first role as Miss Marple! Not only does she carry the role very well, but the story is true to Agatha Christie's book, down to the very end. I've had difficulty accepting the changes to Christie's works, some of them in this new series being absolutely dreadful. But I've come to terms with it and have enjoyed most of them. If they must make such radical changes to Christie's stories, I hope they at least keep good actors like McKenzie around. With "Pocketful of Rye," there were more views of the English countryside and less garish colors and background music as in the past. These are very good improvements indeed.

Solid murder mystery that holds a tone consistently well and is inoffensive without being bland or dull

[bob the moo · 15 September 2009]

When successful businessman Rex Fortescue is poisoned at his desk it appears to Inspector Neele that he has plenty of suspects to work with. Rex's much younger wife is in line to inherit his fortune. Of his children, Percival felt trapped below him in the business, Lance had a falling out with him and moved to East Africa while his daughter is clearly relieved that her father is dead. Things become more complex when Gladys the maid is also murdered – bringing in the attention of Miss Marple, former employee of Gladys.

I shall leave it for others much better read than I to debate how "faithful" this film is to the source material because, to be blunt, I don't care. If I want something that is accurate and faithful to the book then I shall read the book – not watch an adapted version of the book, what I am looking for from the film is that it works, that it intrigues, that it entertains, that it thrills – really whatever it is trying to do, I hope it does it and that I like it, simple as. I was not so taken by previous ITV Marple films even if some of them did have light entertainment qualities that I appreciated, so I saw the new casting of Marple as a "reboot" of sorts for the series.

In a way this is the case because A Pocket Full of Rye seems more interesting in the mystery and less interested in being camp and gaudy in the way the other films often did. So although we had some flamboyant touches and some "big" names in supporting roles, it never felt daft and these qualities were never overdone to the detriment of the film. So, in theory what it delivers is a solid piece of Sunday night drama. The mystery is not really open to the viewer to solve but it has enough going on in it so I was happy to follow along with Marple and the Inspector as they went about their business. It never gripped me but I was reasonably interested in it throughout and, as a basic approach to these next few films, it does offer me hope that they will be more reliable and sturdy as films.

I cannot say the same for McKenzie though because although she didn't fill me with dread, she didn't give me much to be hopeful about either. Her take on Marple doesn't appear to be fit in anywhere. We've had versions that go the "batty, flamboyant" route, others that are harsher/sharper and others that are a bit colourful and dithery. Again, not looking for brand loyalty, I'm happy to judge each as they come on their own merits but with McKenzie it wasn't clear who she was trying to make her character as she just came over quite ordinary and bland – certainly all I took away from her role as Marple is the comfort that, should she ever be unavailable to finish a film mid-shoot then we can just get Jim Broadbent in drag (and to anyone who says she doesn't look identical to Broadbent clearly is confusing him with someone else). Maybe she was playing it safe though, looking for somewhere middle where she sacrifices making the role her own in favour of not upsetting everyone but she does benefit from a support cast who also do the "solid but not showy" direction. I liked Macfadyen's turn as the Inspector while Graves delivers a good character without ever being camp or ridiculous. Little, Baxendale, the late Wendy Richards, Madeley, Haddock and others all match this as well and I thought the cast were well directed in terms of the tone that the film was aiming for.

So nothing amazing but then it is not awful either. It is a solid murder mystery that holds a tone consistently well and is inoffensive without being bland or dull. I like this approach and will watch the remaining Marple films to see if they hold and build on this, but it must be said that on the basis of this first film, McKenzie's goal is to avoid upsetting anyone's vision of what Miss Marple should be by simply not doing anything in any specific direction.

Solid first outing for McKenzie

[Iain-215 · 7/10 · 7 September 2009]

In this her debut performance as Miss Marple, I thought that Julia McKenzie did a very good job. Her Marple seems kindly, intelligent and respectful. I did grow to like Geraldine McEwan in the role but I think (on this showing) that I will prefer McKenzie's portrayal - McEwan often overdid the 'mischief'.

Kevin Elyot gives us a very faithful version of the book - perhaps TOO faithful! This may seen an odd thing to say in these days of wild plot changes but there are a lot of characters in this novel and arguably too many to fit in to a two hour (with commercial breaks) time slot. The Joan Hickson version of some years ago (of which I am very fond) cut the characters of Elaine and Gerald and I can't say that their inclusion in this new version really added anything. Because of the sheer number of characters few of them come to convincing life. McFadyen is good as the rather clipped and correct Inspector Neele and I also thought Rupert Graves made a suitably personable Lance. Among the women I liked Helen Baxendale as Mary Dove and Liz White as a rather edgy Jennifer and Wendy Richard's cameo as crusty Mrs Crump but none of them were as good as their counterparts for Hickson.

The first hour is played for gentle laughs and then becomes a little more serious when Miss Marple arrives on the scene. It was enjoyable but just a little dull but McKenzie was good and I look forward to seeing her again.

Loved Julia McKenzie as the new Miss Marple

[cloeso9 · 8/10 · 14 July 2009]

I thought nothing could replace the superior work done by Joan Hickson, as my favorite Christie character of Miss Marple. But Julia McKenzie does a pretty good job of it. I thoroughly enjoyed "Pocketful of Rye," and loved seeing my Miss Marple as Christie meant her to be. The story also is very close to Christie's writing, down to the ending. No more cutesy background music, and garish colored backgrounds either. This Miss Marple is down to earth and I'm the more happier for it! If I had one complaint to make, it's the annoying close-up's of the actors faces! At least they've given up twisting the camera at nauseating angles like the previous seasons, but we really don't need to see that much FACE. I could actually see every wrinkle, and even veins in their eyeballs. I hope that the series with Julia McKenzie will continue. Most of the better Miss Marple stories have been done in the first three seasons and they were very poorly done in my opinion. But I am a Marple fan so I'll be checking out future episodes.

Missing Geraldine!

[mstylianou7 · 6/10 · 28 July 2020]

The production maintains its class with excellent players, except that Geraldine McEwan has been replaced by Julia McKenzie. Unfortunately, McKenzie's Marple appears more apologetic and far less interesting than McEwan's mischievous Marple!

Hugely enjoyable Agatha Christie mystery!

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 7 September 2009]

A Pocket Full of Rye was hugely enjoyable, and a definitive improvement over the other recent Marples with Geraldine McEwan. I will admit I was worried, after how poorly Nemesis and Sleeping Murder were adapted. Julia McKenzie, though she could have done with more screen time, was terrific as Jane Marple. While Joan Hickson is the definitive Marple, MacKenzie fitted the part much better than Geraldine McEwan. When I picture Miss Marple I picture a wise and clever woman, exactly how Joan Hickson portrayed her, and MacKenzie actually manged to stay true to the character of the books too. As for the adaptation itself, I admit I haven't read the book, it was beautifully filmed, and the music was good too. The acting is very fine, from Kenneth Cranham, Prunella Scales, Rupert Graves to the late Wendy Richard, and are careful not to overshadow MacKenzie as she clearly enjoys herself here, and as the series develops as I do hope it will, she will develop too. The story is very clever, and the final solution with a couple of red herrings along the way, is very unpredictable, I was left gob smacked when I found out who the murderer really was. And I never realised Sing A Song Of Sixpence had such an ominous feel to it, and it ws put to good use here. All in all, hugely enjoyable, and a definitive improvement on the Geraldine McEwan outings. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Lacks urgency

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 24 July 2011]

Maybe it's because I've been watching all these Marple films lately, but "A Pocket Full Of Rye" feels a little too familiar mystery fare; apart from the concept of "long-distance murder", I don't think Agatha Christie presented any other particularly new ideas in this story (of course the fact that I remembered who the killer is from the Joan Hickson version did not help matters - I hope in the next season of the series they film ONLY previously unfilmed stories, maybe expand some of the short ones). The direction is strange - plodding most of the time, but with some surprising jolts every once in a while, including some brief but pretty racy sex scenes. The cast, unfortunately, is a bit bland this time around, with Helen Baxendale adequate but not outstanding as my favorite character in this tale, the intelligent Mary Dove. Julia McKenzie is fine in her debut as Miss Marple, and there is a bitterly ironic ending. **1/2 out of 4.

The actors

[jamespvos · 8/10 · 6 July 2009]

What I like about the current Marple series (now shown on PBS - this mystery was shown in America last night)...

Not only have most of the actors in these series of Christie mysteries had experience in rep theater in Britain, but the repeat use of some of the actors in the Poirot and Marple have become their own "Christie" rep group! I like that.

I have no criticism of using the different actors in the role of Jane Marple. These accomplished actors are giving their interpretations to what's become a mythic role in the Christie oeuvre. The each bring their theater background to the role and that's great!

Best to date...but could have been better.

[benbrae76 · 7/10 · 13 September 2009]

The producers of "Marple" for some quirky reason that only they know of, came to their senses with this adaptation. Was the only reason this happened because it was Julia McKenzie's first outing as Miss Marple? I can't imagine that they finally realised that Dame Agatha knew best after all.

This was a faithful and a reasonably good adaptation of her novel, and after severely denigrating most of the other episodes of "Marple" stated (falsely in my opinion) to have been based on Agatha Christie's works, it's a pleasure for me to actually commend at least one of them. One can only wonder why Agatha Christie's other works (including the later "adaptations" starring Julia McKenzie) weren't treated with the same respect?

One query, and I'm by no means a prude...why was a totally irreverent and irrelevant 10 second panting sex scene included? Definitely not a Christie idea. Have such crude scenes become an essential factor in the modern era of film-making?

For that silly scene I must deduct a point, another point deducted for a somewhat stodgy over-all production, and yet one more deducted as I'm of the opinion that Julia McKenzie is a little too young and a tad too forceful for the role. Otherwise I would have awarded ten points. This episode and "A Murder is Announced" are by far the best of the episodes in the entire series, because only in those two, was the genius of Agatha Christie not abused.

Julia McKenzie is good, but the settings are absurd

[lucyrf · 5/10 · 30 July 2012]

Julia McKenzie is an excellent Marple, and all the cast are good. The script stays pretty close to the book - but not close enough. The dialogue sounds too expository, and too ironed-out. We miss Christie's wit and social observation. The clothes are perfect - conservative, like the era. The golf hotel is wood-panelled and convincing. But, but, but... the producers made one huge, thumping mistake. Agatha Christie did not write Downton Abbey. The jumped-up Fortescues (old F came from Romania) did not live in a stately home, they lived in a tasteless Tudoresque mansion somewhere like Sunningdale. The architecture is lovely to look at, but laughably wrong. And you couldn't run a house that size on a cook, a butler, a maid and a housekeeper. And you couldn't walk to the hotel through the miles and miles of grounds! The script has been tinkered with: the original story had a reason for Miss Marple to be around, and to help the police. There was a batty aunt who invited her to stay in the house. And the cops in charge usually get told by someone high up to give Miss M every assistance. Here, the cops using her as an unpaid sergeant was never really explained. And the daughter who is supposed to be plain and awkward is as pretty as the rest of the cast. And nobody said "hack it" or "not my bag" in the 50s.

Julia McKenzie shines in "Pocketful of Rye"

[TammyServo · 10/10 · 28 July 2009]

Julia McKenzie makes her debut as Miss Marple in a finely tuned Agatha Christie story. Not only is McKenzie very good as the village amateur sleuth, but the story is terrific and a close adaptation to the original book. I noticed some recognizable faces including Matthew Macfayden (MI-5), as the Inspector. Although I recognized the name, I had to double-check that it was actually the late Wendy Richards (Are you Being Served?) as Mrs. Crump. McKenzie makes a more intellectual, sympathetic and serious Miss Marple in her tailored suit and sensible shoes. I've read almost all of Christie's books in the past few years and think she's perfectly fine in the role, if not a tad youngish. I'm looking forward to the next episodes. From the previews there will be the usual non-Marple stories in the mix, but I've learned to keep an open mind.

Julia McKenzie's debut as Miss Marple

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 21 May 2013]

It's been many years since I've read the books, but it's my understanding that while the stories McEwan appeared in were rewritten Christie, this one, "A Pocketful of Rye" is more faithful to the book. Perhaps this bodes well for the McKenzie series.

The story concerns the Fortescue household - its patriarch, Rex, is poisoned. It comes out that he was running his business into the ground, according to his son Percival, who worked in the family firm.

Marple becomes involved when her former maid, who is working at the Fortescue household, winds up dead as well. Marple soon learns that plenty of people wanted Rex dead: His much younger wife, his son Percival, and his son Lance. And Rex's death is just the beginning, with the murders mimicking a nursery rhyme.

I notice on this board that there is a lot of discussion about the different Miss Marples. I've seen Margaret Rutherford, Angela Lansbury, Helen Hayes, Joan Hickson, Geraldine McEwan, and McKenzie. My favorite, of course, is Margaret Rutherford, who was hilarious but, like Peter Ustinov, she has nothing to do with the character created by Christie. However, both Ustinov and Rutherford's characterizations worked great in the movies.

Lansbury was delightful, but on the young side; McEwan, too knowing; Hickson, too dry with no warmth. For me, Helen Hayes and McKenzie are what I envisioned in the books. A sweet little old lady with a knowledge of people gleaned from living in the tiny village of St. Mary Mead.

And St. Mary Mead is one thing that's missing from all of these adaptations, at least the most recent ones. Someone commented that Miss Marple putting all these things together in a murder mystery is a bit of a stretch. But Miss Marple put everything together by remembering similar behavior in her village. It gave her keen insight into human nature. That thought process is never covered in these scripts. She just comes up with an answer with no explanation of how.

It was great to see Matthew MacFadyen of "MI-5" as the patient detective, very underplayed and just right. Rupert Graves was wonderful as Lance, charming and relaxed. Ben Miles was appropriately businesslike and uptight as Percival.

All in all, lovely scenery, good story, good performances, good direction.

A new Miss Marple takes over from Geraldine McEwan...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 5 July 2009]

Actually, I pictured an older woman as Miss Marple, but JULIA McKENZIE does nicely in the role of the sly sleuth who's always one step ahead of the detective on the case. She has a sympathetic, intelligent look that suits the role.

A POCKET FULL OF RYE is a nifty Agatha Christie story--always with those improbabilities lurking around every corner but cleverly disguised as satisfying enough to pass inspection. The use of the nursery rhyme theme is something Christie has done before, but seldom better than here. The revelation of the murderer, however, came as less than a surprise to me since the murderer, in this case, is the most logical suspect.

Well acted and staged, very faithful to the novel, it's a pleasure to watch. RUPERT GRAVES does a good job as one of the sons, as do the other British players with whom I'm unfamiliar.

Hopefully, this indicates the new series will stick more faithfully to the original--even though I see from the trailer that MURDER IS EASY has been turned into a Miss Marple story when she wasn't in the book at all. And that happens to be one of my favorite Marple stories.

Half a spoof,half a movie....

[igorlongo · 9/10 · 4 July 2010]

The first outing of McKenzie as Marple was certainly a difficult one.As other fellows reviewers have remarked it,they were so eager to not disappoint purists that poor Julia(an excellent actress indeed) was left with nothing to do except to be a nice and understanding but not so clever schoolmistress,totally lacking the sharp and steely glint in the eyes making Joan and Geraldine two very different but equally redoutables birds of prey.Without a touch of eccentricity,present usually in all the versions of Marple( in Joan Hickson it was her complete lack of pity,as a sort of righteous Madame Defarge ,a real Nemesis with a scourge and a whip in her arthritical hands;in Geraldine McEwan it was her dizzy and batty compassionate understanding of everyone,ruthless or hopeless as they could be)it's quite impossible to understand why a serious copper as Matthew McFadyen was compelled to hear her theories.Luckily ,after a bit of confusion here and in Evans,Great Julia has found her way,partially in Easy and very skillfully in the marvelous Mirrors,and now is at last a Superior Sleuth as Marple must be. Same can be told of this version of Rye.The first half of the movie is actually a version not of the book but of the T R Bowen version of the book.But it's a very telegraphed version ,and so overacted that the result is simply a not so pleasant spoof of the previous movie:gosh,if I want to watch Hickson ,I watch Hickson ,not a second rate version of her movies.The second half,instead,when they had finished everything it was put in the Hickson movie,magically the movie picked its own shape,the characters like creepy Mary Dove ,batty Jennifer and stuffy Percival were better developed and the very good actors had at last something to act(not Lance,Rupert Graves was always good from the beginning ,as the excellent McFadyen).People acting only in the first half of the movie as a particularly pointless Cranham(he was a much better Rex Fortescue when he played George Barton in Sparkling Cyanide) were left with nothing to do.People appearing only in the second half as sinister Prunella Scales and slick and soapy Larkin were luckier and more in the possibility to make a good impression,even if their parts were so short! No, Kevin Elyot is perhaps the better adapter of Christie works.But they must left him to fight for himself,without the obligation to steps in other one's shoes.And in Mirror Crack'd ,he has demonstrated again that he can do something good in itself ,without the silly burden to mimic past versions of the same book.But until now ,They Do It With Mirrors is the only McKenzie movie standing out as a very good ,flawless TV Movie on the same level of the better Hicksons and McEwans.

Rhymes and Crimes

[shanty_sleuth · 7/10 · 6 July 2009]

I'm not always a Christie purist, and most of the time the changes in these adaptations do not really bother me as much as they'd bother others. The only times I do get upset with changes are when the changes add nothing to the story, or when they are completely ridiculous and do not better Christie's original ideas. Thankfully, little is changed in this particular adaptation, in which Julia McKenzie is handed her knitting needles and tweed as she steps into the role of Miss Marple from her successor Geraldine McEwan.

I'll be honest - McKenzie is a much better Miss Marple than McEwan was. McEwan did not seem serious enough, and was hardly the character that Christie had invented. McKenzie is warmer and more in the vein of Christie's character, although she's no Joan Hickson (unsurprisingly).

The tale here is of a fractured family, whose patriarch is poisoned at his office one day. A quantity of rye is mysteriously found in the dead man's pockets. The dead man was pigheaded and very much disliked, so there is no shortage of motives or suspects. Unfortunately, the case thickens when his young gold-digging wife is poisoned while drinking tea and eating bread and honey, and the parlormaid is strangled with a clothes peg on her nose. The murders copy the nursery rhyme, "Sing a Song of Sixpence." But why? Fortunately, Miss Marple (who trained the parlormaid Gladys) decides to investigate and seek justice.

This is a very run-of-the-mill outing, despite its extreme faithfulness to the text. I think it's because the book was not one of Christie's best. It's a standard murder mystery, with plenty of clues and red herrings to fool viewers. The solution is satisfying, but certainly a difficult one to guess at. The main problem I have here is that nothing quite engages the viewer. The scenes plod along, and the acting is very stale for the most part. Matthew Macfadyen is fine as Inspector Neele, but he isn't quite as interesting as one would expect. Rose Heiney does well as the gullible Gladys, but we see very little of her. Lucy Cohu is a lifeless Pat - I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but I much preferred Frances Low in Hickson's version. Rupert Graves is great as Lance, but Ben Miles' Percival is stuffy and uninteresting. Helen Baxendale is excellent as Mary Dove, Liz White is alright as Jennifer, Anna Madeley is a good Adele, but Hattie Morahan's Elaine is rather useless here. Joseph Beattie and Chris Larken play Vivian Dubois (Adele's lover) and Gerald Wright (Elaine's lover) respectively, but neither of them have enough screen time to make an impact. Ken Campbell's Crump was rather too silly as comic relief, and Wendy Richard played Mrs Crump well (RIP). Last but not lease was a small cameo by Prunella Scales, who did a convincing take on the tragic Mrs Mackenzie.

All in all, I did enjoy this adaptation, but it could have been better. Julia McKenzie will certainly do a fine job as Miss Marple, so I don't think I should worry about her.

What Goof ?

[seaside-chris-55931 · 10/10 · 7 October 2019]

I have spent a rainy afternoon thoroughly enjoying this again. I was puzzled by the so called goof on this website, which refers to a postcard having two stamps and then later seen to have one stamp. If you look closely and don't blink , you will notice that there are two postcards. The first one (with two stamps) says "All the best from Gravesend. Missing you a lot. Yours ever Bert". The second one (with one stamp" ) is the one Miss Marple reads out, which says "Lots of nice looking girls here but not one that's a patch on you. Be seeing you soon. Don't forget our date. And then it's happy happy ever after. Love Bert." Or is this "goof" included just as a test to see how much we are paying attention ? !

A subdued debut for Julia McKenzie

[grantss · 6/10 · 13 July 2016]

A wealthy, elderly businessman, Rex Fortescue, is murdered, poisoned. In one of his pockets is a handful of rye. His death brings his children together and it is apparent that none of them liked him much. Soon another member of the Fortescue household is also poisoned. Miss Marple takes a special interest in the case when the house's maid is murdered - she used to be her maid. It appears that the murderer is killing his victims according to a nursery rhyme...

Quite dry and unengaging, and, while she doesn't do anything wrong herself, not the most auspicious start for Julia Mckenzie. As when Geraldine McEwan was playing the part, Miss Marple is a bland character and needs colourful and/or engaging characters around her to make the story interesting. Unfortunately, in this case, there is nobody around to liven the episode up.

The mystery is quite interesting but even that feels subdued. The ending is particularly lacklustre, especially as you don't know the fate of the murderer.

Overall: watchable, but one of the dullest Miss Marple episodes.

A very good adaptation!

[harrykivi · 8/10 · 9 June 2022]

"A Pocket Full of Rye" is definitely one of my favorite Miss Marple books. I find the ending of the book to be superb and one of Christie's best. This episode marks "the new wave "in the series, because Miss Marple is not played by Geraldine McEwan, but Julia McKenzie. It's very good start for her.

Let's start with the good aspects.

. The production values of this episode are great. The music fits the good-looking scenery and the acting's solid for the most part. Julia McKenzie is a delight as Miss Marple, very close to the character in the books. Matthew Macfayden and Kenneth Cranham are fine in their roles. Rose Heiney is surprisingly sympathetic as Gladys, Liz White, Helen Baxendale are good and Rupert Graves gives a captivating performance as Lance.

. The mystery is very intriguing indeed. There are great twists, turns, especially at the ending. The solution is very suprising and neat (Lance is the killer).

But....

. There were scenes that did not have a place in the story. The two sex scenes for instance caught me very off-guard and the characters of mister Crump and Ralph Little's police officer were not as developed as they could have been. The story is fast-paced and sometimes maybe bit too much, because the information tends to flow very quickly out of the characters mouths.

Overall, a pretty good one.

8/10 HK.

I prefer the version with Joan Hickson

[dakjets · 6/10 · 16 October 2019]

As a big supporter of Miss Marple's cinematography, Julia Mckenzie is absolutely good in the role of this famous novel character. But in this movie, it doesn't work. It's not McKenzie's fault, or the other cast. The mistake is, in my opinion, that the director has changed too much. The transition from novel to film has not been successful. Among other things, an important character has been removed and a new one has been entered. This is annoying, and makes the story lose some of the dynamics. Agatha Christie spent a lot of time developing her novel characters, and everyone plays a major role in solving the crimes. Another major change is the sequence of actions happening. This is at the expense of both excitement and the viewer's ability to guess who the killer is. Finally, I would like to point out that Joan Hickson's fantastic performance in this filmization makes it difficult to follow it up. But it would have helped if they had been more faithful to the novel when they made it.

Stolid...

[ernesto66 · 5/10 · 6 July 2009]

I believe "stolid" is the right word to describe this latest version of Miss Marple. The new series seems to be an earnest, though in my opinion misguided, attempt to appease fans who hated Garaldine McEwan and her much more zesty movies.

Say what you will about the last Marples, they were never dull. Yes, some of the plots and characters were retooled to inject more life into the proceedings, motivations rethought and endings changed. But Christie did all that herself, in adapting her written works to the stage. And McEwan made Jane more appealing, not to mention more energetic, than anyone since Rutherford more the cape.

I hate revisionism as much as the next person but I do recognize the appeal in letting your material breathe. 100% faithful, the McEwans were not. Down to the sprightly new theme music, 100% fresh they were. "Rye" is not, and in spades.

Unfortunately, one of the things lost in the yawns here is a wonderful performance by Julia McKenzie. She looks determined to do the role justice, and she holds her cuteness in check admirably, but it's all in the service of a show that any of the other Marples could have done just as well. She is so restrained by the narrow confines of the script that she isn't allowed to shine at all. Given the chance to inhabit the character instead of stuff herself into Saint Joan Hickson's sensible shoes, one day I'm sure she'll be great. Here's hoping.

Julia McKenzie takes the reigns

[safenoe · 8/10 · 4 December 2021]

Julia McKenzie is the new Mrs Marple with a smooth transition (unlike the Bewitched controversy with the two Darrens). Helen Baxendale provides welcome support where I was kept guessing until the very end. Ralf Little also appears, kind of a prelude to his lead role now in Death in Paradise.

I was kept guessing till the very end, and it was. The final scene when Miss Marple read the letter from Gladys (Rose Heiney) was moving.