Miss Marple: A Murder Is Announced (1985) User Reviews

One of the best of the BBC's Miss Marple series

[Raquel10 · 9/10 · 2 January 2005]

Like Jack who commented before me here, I saw this show over Christmas on UKTV Drama. I had never seen the Joan Hickson adaptations before now and when I saw the recent ITV Marple's I was told to watch the old BBC adaptations as they are far superior, and they are.

I feel the ITV versions are almost played as farcical comedy whereas the BBC versions are more serious and are far more intriguing and allowing you to get involved in the mystery and none more so than in 'A Murder Is Announced'. I literally had no idea who the culprit was right up until the very end and it was certainly a complex mystery, but an excellent one.

This was originally shown over 3 nights in 1985 however I saw it all in one 3 hour viewing, yet it certainly did not feel like that at all. Joan Hickson is brilliant as Miss Marple. The Geraldine McEwan take on Miss Marple is almost amateurish in comparison. The supporting cast here, including Joan Sims, Kevin Whately and Samantha Bond are all excellent and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has not yet seen it.

Hickson's definitive Marple

[glyntreharne-1 · 7/10 · 2 April 2006]

Now that the campy ITV Marple series is well into its stride it is time to reflect on whether the BBC Miss Marple programmes were as good as we thought. Judged by this outing there is no contest.

Alan Plater's witty script, while faithful to Christie's convoluted plotting, adds colour and shading to the proceedings and clips along at a nice pace. The actors certainly rise to the occasion; Joan Hickson is on top form, her interpretation of an inquisitive old lady from a 1950s country village is totally believable; Renee Asherson's character is rather irritating and the actress reflects this in her performance; Ursula Howells is quite brilliant, making a complex personality convincing; and there is good support from Samantha Bond, Joan Sims, Ralph Michael and a somewhat underused Sylvia Syms.

One of the better Hickson-Marple films

[gridoon2024 · 7/10 · 11 October 2008]

I saved "A Murder Is Announced" for last in my Joan Hickson - Miss Marple viewing marathon, because I've read more than once that it's the best of the series. Personally I wouldn't go THAT far - I'd still rank "The Body In The Library" above it and "Nemesis" about equal - but it is certainly one of the better entries in the series. Not so much for the plot, which is filled with twists ("I'm Pip"!), false identities, coincidences (the killer just happens to be visiting Miss Murgatroyd EXACTLY when she's remembering crucial information about the night of the first murder), but the identity of the killer won't impress any longtime Agatha Christie fans who have learned to be suspicious of repeated unsuccessful murder attempts. And not so much for the direction either, which is at times inspired (the "lights out" moments are really well done) but mostly just functional. No, it's the characters that make "A Murder Is Announced" stand out among most Hickson-Marple films: just about everyone, from the sarcastic, witty Samantha Bond & Simon Shepherd to the tough Paola Dionisotti and from the slightly nutty Mary Kerridge to the calm, smooth-voiced John Castle, they're all strongly drawn and vividly acted. (***)

Delightful

[giddj002 · 23 December 2004]

This is, in my opinion, Christie's best Miss Marple book. The plot is ingenious, carefully woven and highly intricate. The ending is pure brilliance, and you will kick yourself because you didn't guess the identity earlier.

This BBC adaptation is also superb. It has a suitable running length, enough time for the viewer to absorb the information given to them, and Joan Hickson excels as Miss Marple. Her apparent scattiness hides her true genius to the rest of the cast, and Joan Hickson is perfect at playing Miss Marple in this way; far better than Margaret Rutherford and Geraldine McEwan's dreadful attempts . The supporting cast are also very good, featuring Ursulla Howles, Paola Dionisotti, Joan Sims, Sylvia Syms, Kevin Whately and Simon Shepard (of 'Peak Practice' Fame).

Having read the book very recently, and then watched this adaptation over Christmas on UKTV Gold, I can say that the plot is faithful to the original tome. I can highly recommend it.

Practically perfect

[Iain-215 · 10/10 · 4 April 2008]

Superb adaptation of one of the best Miss Marple novels. Joan Hickson is probably most people's idea of the perfect Miss Marple and she really does shine here. Whilst some of the BBC adaptations can seem a little slow these days (this one was originally shown over three nights) this one fairly flies by! The grainy, nostalgic feel seems particularly appropriate here and Hickson is given a superb supporting cast. Almost all are brilliant but special mention must go to Ursula Howells who brings the hugely complex Miss Blacklock to brilliant life. Simon Shephard and Samantha Bond are very effective as the supposed siblings, Joan Sims and Paola Dionisotti make a sympathetic Hinch and Murgatroyd and Sylvia Syms a sharp tongued Mrs Easterbrook. There's also a delightful cameo from Joyce Castle as the frail, gentle Mrs Goedler.

I can't really heap enough praise on this. The McEwen version is worth a look too but this really does knock spots off it.

Delightful adaptation of a brilliant book

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 11 October 2009]

The book A Murder Is Announced is a brilliant book, one of my favourite Agatha Christies, intricately woven and quite complex. This adaptation is a million times better than the Geraldine McEwan version, and not only was it faithful to the book, but it almost surpassed it. The adaptation is lovingly photographed, with stunning locations and costumes. The music is beautiful, reminds me a bit of a day in the country, peaceful and relaxing. The script is well crafted, the plot is brilliantly constructed and like I've said already, the adaptation is very faithful to the book. The lights-going-off scene was very haunting, and gave me nightmares when I first saw this when I was 11, six years ago, just like in the book, that scene was underplayed in the Geraldine McEwan version. The acting was very, very good, Joan Hickson doesn't just play Miss Marple, she IS Miss Marple. There was one scene with a sideways close up into Hickson's face, and that moment in particular was extraordinary. Samantha Bond was lovely as Julia, and Ursula Howells was superb as Letitia Blacklock. Joan Sims also delights as Amy Murgatroyd, and before he did Inspector Morse Kevin Whately did this, and he is a breath of fresh air as Sergeant Fletcher. Everyone else was just as superb. In fact, I have no criticisms of this at all, the ending will have you completely by surprise if you haven't read the book, the length was just right and everything about this was delightful. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Definitive version

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 8 August 2015]

I can understand why many people see this as the best of Joan Hickson's adaptations. The production values are so high, the casting director did a fantastic job and got every characterisation spot on. ITV's remake I did enjoy and compares well with this one, partly because it moves at a pace. This version is far more intricate, more detailed and of course more true to the novel. Joan Hickson was of course born to play Miss Marple, to this day I don't think anyone catch match her, she was incredible. It's funny, I was 5 when this was transmitted, and I have a vivid memory of the scene where Miss Murgatryod is strangled with her washing, think that's why I was so keen to watch them again (and again.) As with all Agatha Christie's it's the endings I enjoy, and this is one of the best, if you've not seen it, you are missing out. Ursula Howells, Renee Asherson and Paola Dionisotti are particularly brilliant. a definite no questions asked 10/10

First-Rate Miss Marple Outing

[BaronBl00d · 10/10 · 17 November 2012]

There really is not anything wrong with this adaptation. Good acting. More than competent direction. Clever scripting. Nice settings. Joan Hickson. I love Margaret Rutherford and love her Miss Marple movies. I say that unequivocally and unabashedly, BUT Joan Hickson is the embodiment of what Agatha Christie wrote in her Miss Marple novels. Hickson is that good. She is barely in the first hour and a half, here and there - but comes on strong for the final act. Lucky for us most of the detecting is being done by Inspector Craddock played very capably - and nicely - by John Castle. The suspects are all played with unusual skill. Ursala Howells plays a woman who has her house overrun when the local newspaper announces a murder will take place at her home at 7:00. Things go as the newspaper plans - two more people additionally die in the course of the investigation - and red herrings litter the sidewalks where the characters walk in this film. Howells is very good in her role, as is Renee Asheron as her live-in companion. The young leads are all good and easy on the eyes(especially Nicola King). What I really was impressed with was that though this was made for TV, it in no way seems to compromise anything that would stand in its way of putting a cheaper product out there. Much of that credit should go to director David Giles - he has a very professional background preceding this vehicle. At the heart of all this is a quaint village, a cast of victims and suspects, a ripping mystery, and one Joan Hickson as Miss Jane Marple. I love her line to the inspector qualifying why she might be a good person to go nosing about - "An old lady asking questions is just an old lady asking questions. The music is also wonderful.

Clever Christie story is given top-notch treatment...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 12 February 2008]

A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED in the Chipping Cleghorne Gazette at the very start of this clever Christie tale about an announcement in the local paper that sends several people to Little Paddocks cottage, just curious observers who wonder if anything actually will happen as predicted ominously in the quaint cottage shared by Letitia Blacklock (URSULA HOWELLS) and her old friend Dora Bunner (RENEE ASHERSON). Indeed, when the lights go out that evening, a man enters and a gunshot sound alarms the gathering, only to find that the intruder himself is the murder victim and Miss Blacklock has a flesh wound which makes her look like the intended victim.

The storyline soon involves a bunch of others and it becomes clear that nothing is really what it seems as to the identities of several people and the purpose of the murder scene. This is one of the most enjoyable of all the Agatha Christie books that I read years ago at a time when I was going through a number of her books, as a mystery fan. I always found this particular story one of special interest, and could easily have pictured Olivia de Havilland as Letitia Blacklock (what a name!!), the kind of role that would have been perfect for her at a time when she was playing more difficult roles.

However, the casting here is highly satisfactory with most of the British cast doing well in their parts--notably SAMANTHA BOND, SIMON SHEPHERD and SYLVIA SYMS.

This was later remade for the series starring GERALDINE McEWAN, all of which are less well regarded than the series here with JOAN HICKSON as Miss Marple. Hickson has a pensive, inquisitive look that makes us believe she is slowly coming to realize the truth, while McEwan is only able to suggest a sweet little old lady with a sly look, but never intelligent enough to unravel the mystery.

Lying and killing are an old lady's knitting business

[Dr_Coulardeau · 10/10 · 17 January 2011]

Never believe an old lady who seems inoffensive and brittle if not endangered. The nicest and fairest mug can hide the worst and sneakiest criminal. But not in the eyes of Miss Marple because she sees with her brain and not with her sole eyes or sole heart. The story is fairly crooked enough to hold you till the end and all along it points at some possible culprits, some of them being pure liars, and yet it is not what you may think. The best liars are always those who do not tell lies, aren't they? But Miss Marple will use her ocular scalpel and dissect these true lies to reveal the lie in the truth like the worm in the fruit. She is a darling old lady but do not try to fool her and in this case one tried and too many others did not realize they were trying. A few rulers will fall on a few knuckles. Fascinatingly thrilling, though charmingly slow except at the speedy Gonzalez end.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID

Idolatry

[keith-moyes-656-481491 · 7/10 · 2 September 2010]

A Murder is Announced starts with one of Christie's most audacious set ups, proceeds clearly and logically through a convoluted plot, involving three murders and three different people who are not who they seem to be, and eventually arrives at a satisfyingly elaborate denouement.

In this three-part adaptation of the book Miss Marple tends to flit around on the edge of events and it is not until the end of the first episode that she is actually involved in the investigation. Nonetheless, she still manages to provide the crucial insights that unlock the mystery.

This is a fairly expansive production, so for once a Christie story can be told without too much compression, over-simplification or compromise. However, this means that any flaws in the story must be attributed to Christie, not to the screenwriter. And there is a flaw: a massive flaw.

Charlotte Blacklock realises that Rudi Schertz can scupper her plans to inherit the Goedler fortune, so she decides he has to be eliminated. But why eliminate him in such a showy, elaborate and risky way?

Firstly, as far as anybody else is concerned, there is no possible connection between a Swiss hotel worker and a respectable English woman who just happens to have dined at the hotel a couple of times. If she just kills him on his way home from work there is no reason why she should even be questioned, let alone be regarded as a suspect, so she wouldn't even have needed an alibi.

Secondly, why locate the murder in her own home, with herself as the apparent intended victim? This immediately draws her right into the centre of the investigation and raises the possibility of her imposture being exposed, even if she is never actually suspected of the murder.

Finally, why plan the murder in such a risky way? When the lights go out she has to open a door, slip through, fire three shots in pitch darkness (one of which has to be fatal) and slip back into the room again, without being detected. Given the darkness and confusion, this might be feasible, but only if everything goes exactly to plan – including things over which she has no control. For example, what would she have done if someone had just happened to be standing in front of the door when the lights went out or when she tried to slip back into the room? What if Rudi Schertz hadn't died instantly? What if someone simply noticed her absence (as actually happens)?

These sorts of objections could be raised against many of Christie's most famous stories. The real reason it is often difficult for us to solve her mysteries is that the murders are sometimes so irrational that there is no way the explanation can be logically deduced. Moreover, it is characteristic of Christie stories that the significant clues only make sense retrospectively. Once you know what really happened, the clues all fit, but the clues themselves are not really sufficient to lead anyone (not even Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot) to the explanation of the mystery.

Of course, if you want to enjoy an Agatha Christie mystery you just have to accept that the reasoning is likely to be somewhat tenuous and the solutions are going to be a bit far-fetched. These are just the conventions of the classic 'whodunit'. In this case, I suspect Christie just fell in love with the initial premise and relished the challenge of devising a sequence of events that could have lead up to it. The fact that the premise itself makes no sense is not really relevant. The test of a good Christie story is not plausibility, but ingenuity.

Nonetheless, I do get a little irritated by those IMDb reviewers who object to any changes that screenwriters make to her sometimes preposterous plots. Christie is nearly always good fun and there is no doubt that she came up with some great puzzles, but she wasn't always writing at her peak. Because this series is relatively faithful to her books it soon becomes apparent that some of her stories are significantly cleverer than others and some are actually quite threadbare.

In the more recent Geraldine McEwen and Julia McKenzie series, the screenwriters were allowed to make very free adaptations of her books. This often resulted in radical changes and significant improvements - especially to some of her weaker stories. I particularly like the changes made to Nemesis, At Bertram's Hotel and A Sleeping Murder, where many of the characters are completely new inventions, the mysteries are more convoluted and intriguing and the overall result is more dramatically satisfying.

However, it is quite clear that many people find it inconceivable that you could improve on the 'Queen of Crime' and consider it blasphemous for anyone to even suggest it.

For me, this kind of blanket rejection is not criticism, it is idolatry.

One of my favorites

[qasdfghj · 10/10 · 16 April 2012]

The premise of this story is so silly that I love it. It runs like a classic Agatha Christie whodunit. The group of individuals get an invitation to party where they are openly told a murder will occur. Their interest and intrigue and British-ishness made it laugh out loud funny for me at times.

Also, Miss Marple is wonderful. I like the feel of these episodes and the acting far better than the newer shows. In fact, I highly recommend all of the older episodes of Miss Marple, besides perhaps "Nemesis".

You must have a soft spot for British mystery... if you do, you will love it.

Too many unanswered questions

[crumpytv · 7/10 · 27 December 2022]

Joan Hickson was the definitive Miss Marple and I liked the way she didn't actually feature in this a lot, just at the important time.

The cast is an excellent ensemble of familiar faces, and looking back from 2022, how young many of them were.

I don't know whether it was the adaptation, although I did read the book many years ago, but none of it made much sense.

The whole plot was very confusing, with too many characters names to remember, and the denouement did not reveal why the murder was announced in the way it was, how the perpetrator was physically able to overpower Joan Sims character, why the broken lamp was in the loft etc, etc. Most of all the first murder could have gone wrong on so many levels it was totally ridiculous.

Now, I am sure Agatha Christie would have written it in a way that was plausible.

Enjoyable none the less.

Entertaining but totally inconsistent

[chris-impens · 5/10 · 7 November 2010]

Much as I admire the Miss Marple setting, this particular episode makes no sense unless it is assumed that in the 1950's (1) British policemen were totally incompetent, (2) elderly ladies moved very quickly, had no problems strangling people much taller and stronger than themselves, and were virtuoso marksmen in dark crowded rooms, and (3) murderers preferred complicated plots, involving may accidental elements, over direct action. As a result of (1), the victim is believed to have killed himself with a rare body shot, with a pistol that may or may not be the colonel's (why his wife lies about it we'll never know) and which is bound to carry the murderer's fingerprints and not his own. None of this is investigated. Quite understandably, the police sergeant started a second life as Morse's assistant, assuming the name of 'Lewis'.

enjoyable

[elmochook · 21 June 2003]

I really loved this adaptation. I felt it stuck closely to the book and it was well casted. I initially hesitated to see this version after being extremely dissapointed with "Ten Little Indians/And then there were none.

Rent it - I think you wont be disappointed either

Simply excellent.

[tonygarraway2009 · 9/10 · 1 January 2018]

The first thing I would say is that I consider Joan Hickson to be the definitive Miss Marple. It's as simple as that. The depth and warmth she brings to the character is pure brilliance. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy Margaret Rutherford's relatively lightweight portrayal from the early 60s, but Joan Hickson just seems a total natural for the role.

This 3 part serial is beautifully filmed. It captures perfectly the essence of an apparently normal middle class and sleepy English village from the 1950s. Everybody and everything looks perfectly respectable and decent, at least from the outside. However there are people in the village with secrets and it isn't long before events take a dark turn when a forthcoming murder is announced in the local newspaper.

Other than Joan Hickson, there are two performances that I think stand out. Ursula Howells is excellent as Miss Blacklock, the lady with a dark secret. John Castle is also excellent as the Inspector, who has a tricky job getting the locals to provide vital information in order to solve the crime.

Overall excellent . 9/10.

Miss Marple's understated genius the main attraction

[barryrd · 9/10 · 26 August 2021]

I thoroughly enjoy watching Joan Hickson as Miss Marple and this story with her as the star sleuth is a great example. Her quiet, unassuming character is very refreshing as she listens attentively and comments on all that's going on. Always asking questions and making shrewd observations, she eventually honed in on the guilty party.

What I like about her is how comforting her presence is to her friends as well as the viewers. The one exception is the local police who like to run the show and solve the crime. Miss Marple is usually two steps ahead of them with her sharp analytical mind and her keen sense of human behaviour. Those who know her will suggest that the authorities have a chat with this small village mastermind whose reputation is known far and wide.

The mystery here did succeed in puzzling me almost to the end. Ursula Howells is also brilliant as the host of the murder party being held at her home. The people of the village show up for the announced murder which seems to have all in attendance baffled.

The script is totally scintillating with the sharpest wit and best storyteller being none other than Joan Hickson as Miss Marple. Seldom has a Christie classic been so faithfully adapted to television. Agatha Christie novels and their dramatizations live on with viewing audiences and this story with Ms. Hickson starring is a prime example of her appeal.

Aunt Jane is coming to stay

[Bernie4444 · 10/10 · 18 April 2021]

A man dies in Chipping Kleghorn and suddenly Aunt Jane is coming to stay. As with most of Agatha Christie's movies, everybody and nobody could have done it. Miss Jane Marple is the catalyst that helps Inspector Craddock (John Castle) and others to view the situation differently and extrapolate the "who" that done it.

It is interesting that the inspector in some movies is related to Jane and in other movies not. Inspector Craddock here is interesting as he is polite and tolerant of the people he is interrogating.

It is fun to try and match the real names of the actors with the part that they are playing. Would you suspect that Hannah is (Elaine Ives-Cameron)? Or that Miss Hinchcliffe is (Paola Dionisotti)?

Anyway, keep your eyes open, as there is not a wasted movement or word in this movie.

A man dies under mysterious circumstances in Chipping Kleghorn and suddenly aunt Jane is coming to stay.

[Bernie4444 · 10/10 · 19 April 2021]

As with most of Agatha Christie's movies, everybody and nobody could have done it. Miss Jane Marple is the catalyst that helps Inspector Craddock (John Castle) and others to view the situation differently and extrapolate the "who" that "done it." It is interesting that the inspector in some movies is related to Jane and in other movies not. Inspector Craddock here is interesting as he is polite and tolerant of the people he is interrogating.

It is fun to try and match the real names of the actors with the part that they are playing. Would you suspect that Hannah is (Elaine Ives-Cameron)? Or that Miss Hinchcliffe is (Paola Dionisotti)?

Anyway, keep your eyes open, as there is not a wasted movement or word in this movie. You will find yourself repeating key lines.

The Magic Dog

[Warin_West-El · 6/10 · 14 January 2023]

This story is much better than The Moving Finger but not as good as The Body in the Library. I highly recommend you read the review entitled "Idolatry", that reviewer covered most of my viewpoints.

I thought this story was progressing splendidly until the murder of Miss Murgatroyd occurred. That particular sequence of events was SO formulaic I became quite angry. As one reviewer wrote:"the killer just happens to be visiting Miss Murgatroyd EXACTLY when she's remembering crucial information about the night of the first murder." The likelihood of such a synchronicity was highly improbable. BUT the real insult to the viewer is, two women are intensely working on recreating the events of the murder and suddenly, out of the blue, one woman races off to collect her (seemingly magical) dog. That just didn't wash. We're supposed to believe the dog's SO damned important that waiting an additional three minutes to agree on the name of the probable murderer before leaving was just too much to ask of any human. REALLY?

It was blatantly (and painfully) obvious that Murgatroyd was about to be murdered. So that was a gratuitous and unreasonable death. In fact, one has to ask: Why didn't the woman take Miss Murgatroyd with her to pick up the dog, so they could finish their conversation while driving? That whole segment was WAY too manipulated. And it tarnished my belief in the notion that Christie is a great writer. Skilled writers don't MAKE events happen, they LET events happen.

People can intelligently disagree whether Joan Hickson's version is the best characterization. However, imho, she's not always spot on. Sometimes she fails to manifest that cutting edge which presents herself as a kindly old lady on the outside YET has a keen eye out for liars. She TALKS about not trusting people but we often fail to see that in her eyes. Hickson needed to manifest a placid disarming face with a big Cheshire cat grin while at the same time flashing her cold intense eyes. She didn't do that. And the "real" Miss Marple would have.

I've never read Christie but I understand this series does a fair job of staying true to her books. As other honest commentators have stated: Christie's works are uneven. Some of her stories are keen whereas others are outright dogs (couldn't help it).

One of the best Miss Marple mysteries.

[OzOverTheRainbow · 10/10 · 7 July 2022]

It is well adapted from the book and very well acted.

Joan Hickson is the perfect Miss Marple. So much better than the later BBC versions with Geraldine McEwan who shouldn't have been allowed within a million miles of the role.

This is just a perfect Miss Marple mystery. I like the house used in the filming. It's my idea of a perfect cozy English country house!

Pretty good except for...

[petsteph1 · 7/10 · 28 June 2008]

It's a great mystery, good characters and a pretty good script. Joan Hickson is definitely the most credible of all the Miss Marples and she really brings the character to life. I liked most of the three episodes and the only question I have is this: Couldn't the BBC find any heterosexual actors to play the heterosexual roles??? Watching most of the male supporting cast lisp and wriggle their way thru the scenes was at times excruciating. Given society's current infatuation with those of us who just have to be our mothers or fathers regardless of physical gender, I could understand a casting slip here or there, but for every male romantic lead to be wildly and clumsily gay was just too much. I needed to sit thru every scene to enjoy the wonderful plotting but my respect for the production dropped with every arched eyebrow and unconvincing smile. Would the BBC cast a drag queen as Mike Hammer or an albino as Mahatma Gandhi? Probably. Otherwise a great mystery well adapted for TV and well produced.

Sheer joy from start to finish

[gingerninjasz · 10/10 · 23 June 2023]

This is the first Miss Marple I can actually remember watching when it was first broadcast in 1985. A certain murder stuck in my mind, but for anyone who watches this it will remain in the memory for years to come. This is without doubt the peak of the Marple series. I am torn between this and Sleeping Murder for my own personal favourite, but this is easily the best adaptation they ever did.

The story begins when various villagers notice an advertisement in the local Chipping Cleghorn newspaper about a murder to take place at Miss Blacklock's house at 7pm. No one can really quite believe it - least of all the Blacklock household, which also contains companion Dora Bunner, nephew and niece Patrick and Julia Simmons, young widow Phillipa Haymes and foreign maid Hannah - but nevertheless just before 7pm half the village turn up expecting a murder game to take place. As it is, the lights go out, someone bursts open the door and shouts "Stick 'Em Up!" before three gunshots ring out - and soon after a genuine corpse lies dead on the floor. It's a great start, but it gets all the more mysterious as it goes along.

In comes Inspector Craddock (a marvellous John Castle) to investigate and initially is prepared to dismiss it as a stunt gone wrong. He discovers the dead man is Rudi Schertz, who worked at a local hotel nearby. But it is only when he goes there to check out the man's background that he encounters Miss Marple, who is staying there on a visit to see her niece, the vicar's wife Mrs Harmon. And it is her who queries the whole bizarre scenario and urges him to investigate further by questioning the waitress at the hotel (Liz Crowther), where he learns the dead man was paid to do the stunt. But why? And by who? It turns out it may of been a cover for a very sinister murder - and the killer is not finished yet.

This adaptation is sheer joy from start to finish. Everything and everyone seem on top form, and with it's 3 part format it is able to take it's time in interviewing the suspects, as well as fitting in all of the numerous incidents that occur in this absorbing mystery. But the thing that strikes you most when watching this is the sheer fun in the performances. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, and there is a lot of humour in the wordplay. I particularly loved the exchange in the tea room between Dora Bunner (Renee Asherton) and Miss Marple when they talk about the villagers. At one point Dora tells her that she's heard that Edmund Swettenham is a communist. "Well, he must be very lonely in Chipping Cleghorn," replies Miss Marple without missing a beat. And I enjoyed Patrick Simmons' (Simon Shepherd) quip when the first visitors come to the Blacklock house on seeing the advertisement in the paper. "There's somebody at the door," he announces solemnly. "Mr and Mrs Borgia from across the road."

Indeed Simon Shepherd and Samantha Bond's performances as siblings Patrick and Julia are a joy to behold. They are great fun, and they play off each other perfectly with their witty wordplay. They are just two of many who stand out in this adaptation. Others include Paola Dionisotti and Joan Sims as companions Miss Hincliffe and Miss Murgatroyd. They make a great double act, sparring off each other and their attempts to reconstruct the shooting at Miss Blacklock's house is one of the highlights in this mystery. It's also interesting that their lives can be looked upon either as a closeted lesbain couple or in more old fashioned terms as just two companions living together, but nothing is ever explicitly inferred. Ursula Howells also deserves credit for her portrayal of Miss Blacklock, but in a different way. Hers is more dramatic as the investigation becomes convinced she was the intended target for murder, and the way she gradually begins to crack with fear and grief is superb. Last but not least is John Castle as Inspector Craddock. He is without doubt my favourite out of all the inspectors that Miss Marple has to deal with, and with his monotone voice, laid back demeanour and hints of humour makes him compelling to watch. He also adds a human face to the investigation, which is crucial to the fact this is a murder investigation. What I find so wonderful about this adaptation is it's ability to mix it's humour with it's more serious aspects. There are at least two more murders (I shan't reveal who) but unlike some detective dramas their deaths are not treated flippantly. Those characters are genuinely mourned and the aftermath of one character's death (when fetching in washing) is affectingly moving and beautifully judged.

There's little else I can add to my praise. It is the pinnacle of the Miss Marple series, and shows why the series was so revered. If you are introducing anyone to this series, start them off with this. It is a sheer joy.

How Did She Get The Gun?

[miketypeeach · 7/10 · 29 August 2020]

How did the murderer come by the gun used in the crime? It didn't belong to the murderer, nor the intended victim. Little did the intended victim realize that their little sideline would lead to death. We aren't specifically told how the gun found its way into the hand of the murderer, so you'll have to rely on your understanding of wanton sexual desire to discover it-and when it was delivered. How the weak are easily manipulated!

The death of the final victim is too unbelievable to have happened. How would the killer have known that anyone, especially that person, would have sussed it out? No, it's an impossibility. Actually, the entirety of the crimes are too wild to be believed. I will say that the actors were wonderful, as was the production value. Pity that the original was digitally processed and sharpened. That ruins it a bit for me. Nonetheless, Ms. Hickson's portrayal remains as the best of the Miss Marple series.

A Bit of a Stretch Even for Christie

[frankelee · 5/10 · 18 December 2018]

I don't know that you can criticize a Miss Marple story for being absurd, that's what a Miss Marple mystery inherently is, but this one does play out a bit silly. The first third of the mystery actually doesn't feature Marple at all, but rather a detective questioning each and every one of the witnesses to a murder (which happened in the dark) for about 45 minutes. It's actually not terrible to watch, the characters are pretty entertaining and silly, but I don't think it's a very wise way to present things all the same, and certainly isn't great television.

I definitely was not a fan of how the information was presented, the police didn't bother to investigate the crime scene itself, just asked silly old English townspeople to repeat to you a scene you already watched. Then when they finally move on to collecting more clues (largely by questioning other silly English people not strictly from town) the detached nature of the mystery causes things to get shoehorned in, in a rather conspicuous way. I guessed who the killer was correctly only halfway through the whole thing. And then the crimes to cover up other crimes, even though they make the guilty party exponentially more likely to be caught, I guess that's a staple of the genre, but they were especially silly here.

Really, if you had all the actors play it as a joke and directed the script as a comedy, I would never have guessed it wasn't a true satire of Christie. Without changing a single line.