The Sittaford Mystery
- Episode aired Apr 30, 2006
- TV-14
- 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
The death of the presumptive future Prime Minister is predicted during a séance in a snowbound country hotel, and he is found stabbed to death in his room the next morning.The death of the presumptive future Prime Minister is predicted during a séance in a snowbound country hotel, and he is found stabbed to death in his room the next morning.The death of the presumptive future Prime Minister is predicted during a séance in a snowbound country hotel, and he is found stabbed to death in his room the next morning.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFor the fifth time in twenty-five years, Robert Hardy once again plays Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
- GoofsThis film is set in 1952. In the cottage at Exhampton, Miss Marple is seen speaking in an Ericofon single-piece telephone. But this phone wasn't put in production until 1954, and was adopted by the British Post Office as late as 1974.
- Quotes
Emily Trefusis: If I were the nervous sort, I'd say there's evil in this house.
Miss Jane Marple: The house is bricks and mortar. If there's evil, it's in somebody's heart.
- Crazy creditsFollowing the credits, there is an in memoriam title card for Michael Attwell who played Archie Stone. Attwell died in 2006, the year this film was released.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Hard Quiz: Episode #3.4 (2018)
Featured review
All the ingredients for a good mystery during the first hour...
This is a review of the first installment in a two-part version of THE SITTAFORD MYSTERY on TV. Once again, although there is no Miss Marple in the original story, the writers have planted her in the midst of all the characters staying at an old inn. That's not the objection most of the comments here have to make. What IS resented is the fact that story elements have been drastically changed by the writers of the teleplay, even changing the identify of the murderer in the original story.
This is the kind of thing bound to upset purists who want their Agatha Christie stories told without all the unnecessary changes. What upsets me is that, first of all, GERALDINE McEWAN does not make a plausible Miss Marple. She's much too mild-mannered and lacks the intelligent inquisitiveness that Joan Hickson displayed so well in her interpretation of the role on the former British series.
But secondly, not having read the original recently, I was totally unaware of all the changes when viewing the first hour and I found it an engrossing kind of story, if a bit confusing in the way the narrative unfolded, especially with regard to the opening scenes at the Egyptian tomb. But TIMOTHY DALTON gave a compelling performance, using his personality to put some life into the role of Captain Trevelyan (whom I later found out dies in the first chapter of the Christie story). It took a whole hour for his death to take place here.
But that was a minor change, according to all these other comments, and at this point I have no idea what awaits in the second installment.
I can only say that despite all these "flaws" in the presentation, I thoroughly enjoyed the story with its ingredients of a fierce blizzard, an old country inn, a seance where a death is predicted, an assortment of strange guests, and a bevy of competent British players, some of whom (Rita Tushingham in particular) I never would have recognized without reading the cast list. It was nice to recognize JAMES WILBY as Mr. Kirkwood, proprietor of the hotel.
So, while I confess I did enjoy the first segment, I can understand why many were disappointed in the drastic changes to the story. The writers did the same thing with several other Christie "adaptations," including one of my favorites, EASY TO KILL (even the title was changed to "Murder Is Easy" and it ruined a perfectly good Christie story by changing the emphasis to the romantic leads and practically leaving the murderer out of the story).
Personally, I enjoy all of these Christie stories but do not think Miss Marple or Poirot should be injected for the sake of whatever following these kind of things have on TV.
This is the kind of thing bound to upset purists who want their Agatha Christie stories told without all the unnecessary changes. What upsets me is that, first of all, GERALDINE McEWAN does not make a plausible Miss Marple. She's much too mild-mannered and lacks the intelligent inquisitiveness that Joan Hickson displayed so well in her interpretation of the role on the former British series.
But secondly, not having read the original recently, I was totally unaware of all the changes when viewing the first hour and I found it an engrossing kind of story, if a bit confusing in the way the narrative unfolded, especially with regard to the opening scenes at the Egyptian tomb. But TIMOTHY DALTON gave a compelling performance, using his personality to put some life into the role of Captain Trevelyan (whom I later found out dies in the first chapter of the Christie story). It took a whole hour for his death to take place here.
But that was a minor change, according to all these other comments, and at this point I have no idea what awaits in the second installment.
I can only say that despite all these "flaws" in the presentation, I thoroughly enjoyed the story with its ingredients of a fierce blizzard, an old country inn, a seance where a death is predicted, an assortment of strange guests, and a bevy of competent British players, some of whom (Rita Tushingham in particular) I never would have recognized without reading the cast list. It was nice to recognize JAMES WILBY as Mr. Kirkwood, proprietor of the hotel.
So, while I confess I did enjoy the first segment, I can understand why many were disappointed in the drastic changes to the story. The writers did the same thing with several other Christie "adaptations," including one of my favorites, EASY TO KILL (even the title was changed to "Murder Is Easy" and it ruined a perfectly good Christie story by changing the emphasis to the romantic leads and practically leaving the murderer out of the story).
Personally, I enjoy all of these Christie stories but do not think Miss Marple or Poirot should be injected for the sake of whatever following these kind of things have on TV.
helpful•86
- Doylenf
- Feb 17, 2009
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Miss Marple: el misterio de Sittaford
- Filming locations
- Dorney Court, Dorney, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(Sittaford House interiors)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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