REVIEW: Marple A Caribbean Mystery (S6.E1)

ITV

A Caribbean was the first episode of series 6 and was first broadcast on the 16th June 2013. It was adapted by Charlie Higson and directed by Charles Palmer. 

Story 

Miss Marple travels to the fictional Caribbean island of St Honore in need of a holiday and to recover from a bout of pneumonia. Whilst there, an elderly major (Oliver Ford Davies) tells her lots of boring tales, including one about a murderer. So when he is found dead the next day, from apparent natural causes., Miss Marple is suspicious. Her suspicions are confirmed when two more brutal murders are committed. 

This is one of my favourite Agatha Christie novels, I love the fact we see Miss Marple in unfamiliar territory. Charlie Higson has certainly made a brilliant adaption. His script is funny, action packed and filled with clues. Of course, as with any TV adaption, there have to be changes, and there are a few minor ones here, but they add to the story rather than take away from it. Firstly, some characters are removed , including Dr Graham, Senora de Caspearo and Miss Prescott.  The characters of Ian Fleming, James Bond and Mama Zogbe are added. Mama Zogbe in particular helps to add  to the whole voodoo set up.

Talking of voodoo, Higson adds an element of the supernatural 'voodoo' into the plot. This is a great addition to the plot as it adds to the scenery and helps to set the scene and bring out the Caribbean feel. One thing that I know has annoyed some fans is the inclusion of Ian Fleming and American ornithologist James Bond.  However, I think it's a great addition, it also helps to keep the period feels and gives us a time scale by including real historical characters.

In conclusion, a great script that makes it a fantastic episode. I hope that if there is another series of Marple, which has still not been confirmed, Charlie Higson will be asked to write some more, maybe he could do Nemesis as it't a sequel to A Caribbean Mystery?

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REVIEW: Marple The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side (S5.E4)

ITV

The series five finale was first broadcast on 2nd January 2011 and was adapted by Kevin Elyot and directed by Tom Shankland.

Story 

Miss Marple's best friend Dolly Bantry (Joanna Lumley) had recently sold her home Gossington Hall to American movie star Marina Gregg (Lindsey Duncan) and her younger director husband Jason Rudd (Nigel Harmon). When she moves in, Marina decides to host a party for all the villagers of St Mary Mead, but on the day of  the even, local busybody Heather Badcock drinks a poisoned martini and dies...

This is probably the strongest story ever adapted with Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple, rather than some of the short stories etc, and Kevin Elyot pulls it off marvelously. The script is entertaining from start to finish. Of course, there are a few minor changes, like the exclusion of Mr Badcock, Miss Knight and Giuseppe and exchanging Inspector Craddock for Inspector Hewish. Ardwyck Fenn is renamed to Vincent Hogg and Ella Zeilinsky is renamed Ella Blunt. However, the plot, murders and motive are all the same making at a very faithful adaption.

Direction, locations, soundtrack

Tom Shankland's direction fits the setting of the film: a cosy English village so it isn't very dark. However, this works well with the story. It also has a classy edge, and the parts where they are at the film studio are excellent. The areas of St Mary Mead, including Danemead, Miss Marple's house, were shot in Bledlow, Buckinghamshire. The soundtrack hasn't been released, but can be heard in part in A Caribbean Mystery.

Cast and characters 

In this episode, we get to see more of Miss Marple's home life, as it's set almost entirely in St Mary Mead. I think it's a great shame the character of Miss Knight was omitted because she's such a fun character. I could imagine Julie Walters playing her well.

Joanna Lumley, who previously played Dolly Bantry in the Geraldine McEwan film The Body in the Library returns to play the role opposite Julia McKenzie, and she's absolutely fabulous (forgive the pun). Lumley and McKenzie have such a great relationship, it's so believable. You can see that they are having the time of their lives. I really hope we get to see Dolly Bantry again, she's one of my favourite of Miss Marple's companions.

Of the guest cast, Lindsey Duncan stands out as Marina Gregg, as well as Nigel Harmon and Jason Rudd. Hugh Bonneville makes an excellent Inspector Hewish and Caroline Quentin was great as Miss Badcock.

Just a bit of continuity, Vincent Hogg and Lola Bruster stay at Bertram's Hotel when they are in London, when we see the outside of their hotel it's the same location and it says Bertram's Hotel on the sign.

REVIEW: Marple The Blue Geranium (S5.E3)

ITV

WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW
Julia McKenzie stars as Miss Marple in the first film to be adapted from a short story, this one based on the short story of the same name published in the Thirteen Problems (1930). It was adapted by Stewart Harcourt and directed by David Moore and was first broadcast on 29th December 2010.

Story

Miss Marple comes forward with new information that could save an innocent man from the gallows, but as nobody will listen to her, she must rely on her old friend Sir Henry Clithering, who was the commissioner of Scotland Yard some years ago. The information concerns the 'blue geranium' murder case that happened six months ago whilst Jane was visiting friends in the picturesque village of Little Ambrose. But will her evidence save George Pritchard in time?

As the source text was a short story with few characters and not very detailed, but the program still had to last the usual length of 90 minutes, Stewart Harcourt clearly had to embellish the plot a bit, adding characters and adding red herrings to liven it all up. He keeps the base characters of George and Mary Pritchard and Nurse Copling, but gives George a brother Lewis and Mary a sister called Phillipa who are married. This doesn't make any difference to the plot at all, except we have more motives and suspects. More characters are added such as Hazel, Rev Dermot, Dr Frane and Eddie Seward. Eddie Seward is the first to die, adding more deaths and more action to the plot but his death isn't linked: he committed suicide.

One important point is that it's all told from Miss Marple's perspective as she recalls the murder to Sir Henry, very much in the style of the Thirteen Problems. Although it's a shame that there wasn't the whole Tuesday Night Club set up, which could have had Dolly Bantry and Raymond in it, it's more interesting to have Miss Marple trying to save George Pritchard from the gallows. It's a very good script and proves to us that a short story can be filmed for a hour and a half TV film.

REVIEW: Marple The Secret of Chimneys (S5.E2)

©ITV

The second episode of Julia McKenzie's second series was broadcast on 27th December 2010 and was adapted by Paul Rutman and directed by John Strickland.

Story 

Miss Marple accompanies a young friend Virginia to her ancestral home Chimneys where an important Austrian diplomat wishes to make a business deal. However, when he is found dead in a tunnel, Miss Marple investigates and uncovers the secrets at Chimneys. 

The original novel of The Secret of Chimneys didn't feature Miss Marple. but this adaption also has the Miss Marple short story The Herb of Death woven into the plot.  Most of the characters and the setting are from the novel, but the murderer and one of the methods is from the short story. There are some major changes therefore, including making Virginia one of Caterham's daughters when she is not, removing Superintendent Battle and replacing him with Inspector Finch. This is a sensible change as Battle appears in numerous Christie stories, including Poirot's, but isn't present in the series, so it makes sense to dispose of him here. The new version of the story works well, Miss Marple doesn't feel like a spare part here, she is involved with the story.

Direction, locations, soundtrack

John Strickland's direction to me is good, but nothing special. There is no dark tone or special camera techniques, it just serves it's purpose. I'm not complaining, but I prefer a darker tone to these films. The exterior location used for Chimneys is Hatfield House, the interior is Knebworth House and there are some scenes shot in London as well.

Cast and characters 

Julia McKenzie as always gives a great performance, we see her more as a motherly figure here to Virginia, and sympathetic towards Bundle and Treadwell. She has a brilliant relationship with DI Finch, wonderfully played by Stephen Dillane. Dervla Kirwan is great as Bundle, who greatly resents her father wanting to sell Chimneys, and Ruth Jones plays Miss Blenkinsopp well. 

Marple: The Pale Horse Review (S5.E1)

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Julia McKenzie returns as Miss Marple for her second series firstly in the Pale Horse, which was adapted by Russell Lewis and directed by Andy Hay. It was first broadcast in the UK on 30th August 2010.

Top 5 Agatha Christie Present Ideas

With Christmas approaching rapidly, here is a selection of the best Christie themed gift ideas: 

1. Agatha Christie's Poirot The Definitive Collection 
Series 1-13 (DVD)

This box set includes every single episode of Poirot from 1989 - 2013, including the recent thirteenth and final series. A must have DVD collection for any fan.
Starring David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson, Pauline Moran and Zoe Wanamaker.

£91.98 from Amazon

Marple Endless Night Preview

Copyright ITV

The elderly sleuth's latest case Endless Night will be broadcast on 29th December 2013. 

ITV have announced that the last installment of series 6 will be broadcast on 29th December at 8.00pm as part of their Christmas lineup.
The episode was adapted by Kevin Elyot (Curtain: Poirot's Last Case) and produced and directed by David Moore (Merlin). Endless Night was filmed in March 2013 in the Home Countries and London.

In Endless Night, whilst staying with her recently widowed friend Marjorie Philpot (Wendy Craig), Miss Marple meets Mike Rogers (Tom Hughes), who plans to build the perfect home on the local beauty spot Gypsy's Acre in Kingston Bishop. However, when he meets wealthy American heiress Ellie Goodman (Joanna Vanderham), he falls in love, and they marry.
Miss Marple meets them again whilst on holiday in Rome, where they are on holiday, but when they arrive back in England later on, events spiral out of control resulting in a tragic death. Miss Marple must solve the riddle of Gypsy's Acre, but in doing so she must put her own life in very serious danger.

Alongside Julia McKenzie are a talented cast including Glynis Barber (Dempsey and Makepeace), Aneurin Barnard (Moonfleet), Hugh Dennis (Outnumbered), Rosalind Halstead (Sherlock) and Tamzin Outhwaite (Foyle's War).

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Even though Endless Night wasn't originally a Miss Marple story, I have absolute faith in Kevin Elyot for giving us a fantastic adaption. After all, he wrote the screenplay for some of the best ever Christie adaptions including Death on the Nile, Five Little Pigs, Curtain and The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side. David Moore's previous directing credits include Poirot Sad Cypress and Marple The Blue Geranium, both of which are well directed, so I'm sure this latest one will look stunning.

On a final note, what is the future for Marple? Both Polish broadcaster Ale Kino+ and the Australian trailer for Marple series 6 claim that this series is the last, but this hasn't been confirmed by ITV yet. It would be a great shame if there were going to be no more Miss Marple films. We've lost Poirot, do we have to lose Marple too?