Miss Marple - 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye) by BBC Home Entertainment

**No Spoilers**The Body in the Library:It's early Friday morning and Dolly Bantry is just barely awake. She hears footsteps on the stairs and gently attempts to stir her sleeping husband by whispering, "Tea. Arthur." Their young maid, Mary, enters but she isn't bringing tea, she cries, "Oh! Ma'am, ma'am, there's a body in the library!" Sobbing, she whirls around and leaves. Dolly sits for a moment in stunned silence before prodding Arthur awake. Arthur not believing it to be true; Dolly must be imagining things due to her bedtime-murder-mystery-reading, reluctantly and grumpily marches himself downstairs to get to the bottom of such nonsense! Well, turns out it's true. There's a blonde, platinum blonde, dead in their library!Dolly races to the village to fetch Miss Marple so that she can get a look at the body before Constable Palk arrives. Dolly is sure that her friend Jane will figure out this dreadful situation. Unfortunately, Arthur is quickly presumed to be guilty of something, if not murder then some kind of suspicious association with the dead young woman when he can't explain her body's presence, he doesn't have an alibi, and everyone knows that "where there's smoke..." How can there be a body in the colonel's library and he not know a thing about it? Things turn even worse for Arthur, if that's possible, when in combination of not having an alibi, he is linked to the victim!The body is identified as 18-year old, Ruby Keene, a dance hostess at the seaside resort, The Majestic Hotel, where Arthur had recently dined. Inspector Slack, who is assigned to the case, immediately jumps to the conclusion that Colonel Bantry is indeed guilty. Arthur had means and opportunity and while a motive is not known, Slack feels sure it will come to light.No matter what, Dolly has unwavering faith in her husband and most especially in Miss Marple. She confidently proclaims, "I'm sure Jane's worked it out already!" Jane replies, "Well...it's like Tommy Bond and the new school mistress, Mrs. Martin. She went to wind up the clock and a frog jumped out." Her answer is met with blank stares and silence...even from Dolly. Fortunately for Bantry, Chief Constable Colonel Melchett is a friend and neighbor of his and wields his influence to reel in Slack, thereby keeping him out of the nick. Melchett also happens to be an admirer of Jane's keen detection skills and looks to her for her insight and observations.To do their sleuthing, Dolly whisks Jane to The Majestic to solve this terrible murder of a young woman and in the process "save" Colonel Bantry. While at the Majestic, Jane reads in the paper that a young girl has gone missing and she is certain that her disappearance is connected in some way to Ruby's murder. Inspector Slack dismisses Jane's connection theory until, sadly, the young girl's body is found.The Body in the Library is my favorite Miss Marple movie, in this set. Joan Hickson is and remains my favorite Miss Marple. I love, love, love her. I love her appearance. She is tastefully and immaculately dressed in respectable, tidy tweed. She is prim and proper as befits her sensibilities, age, and station. Her hats are wonderfully subdued and suit her perfectly. There is nothing silly, stereotypical, fussy, or frilly about her. She is very much no-nonsense and rather stern. While she does give the impression of an old, scatty, and slightly doddering nosey parker; upon further observation this is a false impression. I like how there is nothing ridiculous about her. She is undaunted by the judgment of those foolish enough to underestimate her. In fact, she uses people's propensity for writing her off, by their first impression of her, to her advantage. She plays the nosey-old-lady card at every opportunity.I also adore Hickson's voice and elocution. She has a deliberate and measured way of expressing herself and the script delivers the usage of outstanding vocabulary; she speaks in a formal style. She is in no way frivolous in her speech. She does not banter or blather! And her facial expressions are marvelous! Her steady blue gaze burns a hole right through her doubters and naysayers. She unflinchingly stares down the most intimidating of killers. She observes everything, is a "noticing sort," and misses nothing. Miss Jane's mind is razor sharp like a "bacon slicer."Colonel Melchett, very familiar with Jane's ability, calls her redoubtable and further says, "...she has a forensic intuition that is developed to the point of brilliance." Once you get to know her and how her mind operates, you will agree completely with Melchett and learn that her village parallels make perfect sense! (Trust me, even Tommy Bond, the frog, the clock, and Mrs. Martin will make sense in the end.)We are introduced to Sir Henry Clithering the very influential and powerful retired Chief of the CID of the Met. Sir Henry's name will pop up throughout the Miss Marple mysteries. Clithering is a longtime admirer of Miss Marple's keen mind. He lends credence and respect to her "interference" in most of the murders she solves and prevents. In fact, he says of her, "She is one of the most formidable criminologists in England. I would lay you almost any odds that you would not recognize her as such. An elderly spinster, sweet, placid or so you would think, yet her mind has plumbed the depths of human iniquity and taken it all in a day's work. She knows the world through the prism of her little village and its daily life. By knowing the village so thoroughly she seems to know the world."Even under pressure from Jane's advocates, Sir Henry and Colonel Melchett, Inspector Slack does not jump on the Miss Marple Bandwagon. He smirks and politely gives her the time of day only because he is made to do so. So Slack, condescendingly listens (as instructed) but doesn't go so far as to take anything Jane offers seriously. After all, she's a "flaming amateur." In all fairness to Slack, he doesn't know Jane yet, and has no way of knowing that she's anything more than her misleading appearance. He is definitely not the only one, the culprits are also lulled into a false sense of security by what she seems to be! And then there's that thing she does, spouting seemingly dotty village comparisons, which give the impression that she must be quite doolally! But don't you be taken in for a minute. You will regret it. The guilty and Inspector Slack certainly end up doing so!All the characters are brilliantly portrayed. Inspector "Gotcha!" Slack's reactions to Miss Marple are priceless and so entertaining. A bit of humor in the midst of murder. I'm happy to say that you will see him again in; Murder at the Vicarage; (where he is still not on the Marple-band-wagon); 4:50 From Paddington (still not there yet); They Do It With Mirrors (getting there), and The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side (finally there.) He is stubborn, believes she is just lucky, and he's a slow learner. Note: Slack is in the Joan Hickson versions only.The solution to who killed young Ruby Keene isn't immediate. This film is 2 hours and 22 minutes long. There are clues to whodunit but they are definitely not a trail of breadcrumbs. In figuring out this puzzle, the only question you have to ask yourself is; what in the world have Mozart and fingernails got to do with anything?A Murder is Announced:In the Chipping Clegghorn Gazette a murder is announced. It is to take place at Little Paddocks at 7:00 PM. A collective gasp runs through the village at the prospect of attending a murder. We are introduced to the characters of the story as they read this announcement in the Gazette. What does it mean? "It means a drink! Probably bad sherry." Or so thinks Miss Hinchcliffe. The simple prospect of a drink, even bad sherry is enough to stir her interest. She will attend! In addition to Hinchcliffe, we meet: Murgatroid; Edmond Sweatenham and his mother Mrs. Sweatenham; Colonel and Mrs. Easterbrook; Vicar and Mrs. Harmon (who just happens to be Miss Marple's niece--how convenient!) After reading the advertisement, all are intrigued and plan to attend the murder. The only problem is that the people living at Little Paddocks know nothing about it! As they too sit around their morning table reading the Gazette, they wonder what is going on, and who in the world would post such an ad! The young Patrick Simmons, who "fancies himself a joker" is instantly suspected by the mistress of the home, Miss Leticia Blacklock. Nope, he denies it. As does his sister, Julia, "who just fancies herself." Miss Dora Bunner, companion to Miss Blacklock, is very sweet but "scatty" and obviously not the culprit. Also ruled out are the two other occupants of the household, the "boringly anonymous", lodger, Mrs. Phillippa Haymes and the "crazy", foreign cook, Hannah. So, what does Leticia Blacklock think it means? With resignation, she says it means that, "Half the village of Chipping Clegghorn will arrive at seven o'clock." She then goes to make sure there is a bottle of sherry in the pantry. Probably bad sherry.As expected, just prior to the announced time of seven p.m., all of the above (except the vicar, he has a confirmation class) are gathered at Little Paddocks enjoying the central heating and awaiting the countdown to the murder. The clock begins to chime seven and just as Patrick and Phillippa get ready to serve the sherry, there is a crackling noise and the lights go out! There are excited exclamations, then the door bursts open, a torch shines about into the pitch black room, dazzling everyone, and the intruder shouts, "Stick-em-up! Stick-em-up, I tell you!" All seem to think it's quite fun and pretty impressive until three shots are fired. When the lights come back on there is blood dripping from a grazing bullet wound in Leticia Blacklock's ear...and yes, wouldn't you know it someone is killed. But...was it suicide, an accident or murder? Murder! Of course! Who says there is no truth in advertising? So who was this masked intruder and why was he shooting at Miss Blacklock?Miss Marple becomes involved in the case when she is recommended to Inspector Craddock by another appreciative higher-up in the constabulary. Upon Craddock contacting her, she forthwith invites herself to stay with the Harmons and before you can say "Bob's your uncle," she is on the case, using her nosey-old-lady disguise to get the information that everyone is not sharing with Inspector Craddock. Needless to say, she turns Inspector Craddock's hypotheses inside out and upside down, and rightly so! Agatha Christie is brilliant in weaving a masterpiece mystery with the most interesting characters. This is another lengthy offering clocking in at 2 hours and 34 minutes.A Pocketful of Rye:"Sing a song of sixpence, a pocketful of rye. Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie..." This old, children's ditty is the central theme in the murder of wealthy and prominent financier Rex Fortescue, who dies while in his office, "his counting house," and what's this? he has a pocket full of rye. He has been poisoned with taxin derived from the yew tree.When Fortescue's murder hits the papers, Miss Marple is notified of his death by a helpful neighbor because a girl Jane has trained, Gladys Martin, works as a maid for the Fortescue family. Upon learning this, Miss Marple begins following the drama.When a second murder, connected to Rex Fortescue occurs, Jane hears about it on the wireless. Out of concern for Gladys, Miss Marple hurries to the scene. Her taxi is met at the gates of Yew Tree Lodge, the grandiose home of the Fortescue family. Jane is denied entrance; all visitors must be vetted. Due to Miss Marple's connection being "only" to the maid, her request for entrance is not considered necessary, and she is denied entrance. Refusing to leave, she insists upon sending a scrawled message to Inspector Neale who is heading up the investigation. Her message is brief, "Sing a song of sixpence." After reading the note, Inspector Neale completely dismisses her with the comment, "I think the old girl's got an attic to rent..." and shoves her note into his pocket to be forgotten. Inspector Neale sends Sergeant Hay to the gate to send Miss Marple away but she insists on staying, certain that Gladys is in danger! Unfortunately, it isn't long before he is dragging Jane's note out of his pocket and she is asked inside; she's on the case!The characters involved in this interesting mystery are: Adele Fortescue, the "young enough to be his daughter" wife of two years to the murdered Rex; "pettifogging clerk," Percy Fortescue, Rex's eldest son and his wife, the "invisible" Jennifer; the "excellent, cool, and superior," housekeeper, Miss Dove; the feisty cook, Mrs. Crump and crotchety butler, Mr. Crump; Gladys "the rabbit," the simple-minded maid; and Mrs. Henderson, the "much addicted to Scripture," sister-in-law to the victim; all of whom live under the roof of Yew Tree Lodge. Returning to Yew Tree Lodge after several years absence, on the evening of his father's murder, is the prodigal son, Lance Fortescue and his good wife, Patricia. And the final player in this drama is Viviene DuBois, golf instructor and special "friend" to Adele Fortescue. Which of these committed this crime? Or wait, was it someone else?Also, what in the world have the nursery rhyme and blackbirds to do with anything? Be sure, Miss Marple soon has it all figured out. Inspector Neale finds himself saying to his sergeant, "I'm beginning to wonder who is running this investigation." Of course there is no mystery there, it is Miss Marple. Indeed.Some might say that the Hickson versions of Miss Marple are outdated. I would agree that the images are not as crisp as today's high definition technology delivers. I love them anyway but can see why an attempt at updating these stories was a good idea and attempted. Christie's mysteries are a treasure and should be seen by generations to come. However, I don't go along with tampering with the characters and story lines of the originals. This set is in keeping with Christie's writing, the sensibilities of the era in which the stories were written, and the period of time depicted. I recommend the Hickson versions above all other Miss Marple films to date.While the subject matter is murder, I appreciate that there are no detailed autopsies. There are no sex scenes or bad language; adult situations, however, are presented.

Here are the three episodes of the Hickson/Marple series from the 1980s that were not part of the A&E release of the other nine. This BBC/Warner Brothers set is a better quality product than A&E's, but they are the only way to have the entire series. This classic show deserves a new release with improved picture and sound quality. As it is now the sound and picture are good but the camera work is so beautiful it deserves the best possible cleaning up, and the musical score is ingenious for a television production.This episode, A Murder is Announced, is perfectly cast. But then the whole series is excellently cast. Older stars lead in this episode. Ursula Howells, not very well-known in the USA but one of the fine actresses from the 40s and 50s in England, Renee Asherson, Olivier's Queen Catherine in Henry V, and Joan Sims, the true queen of the Carry On movies, anchor down the eclectic team. John Castle is a very appealing Inspector Derwent Craddock. And there is the masterful Joan Hickson's Miss Marple, as always. What a great comedienne she was. Her long turtle-like head with those beady little blue eyes and wry twisted mouth speak volumes without seeming to do anything at all but peer or perhaps muse on something in her mind. There is usually a great character part written in to these episodes, and in A Murder is Announced we are introduced to a classic "foreigner in England" named Hannah. She is a refugee from Hitler's Europe and appears to have fled from someplace like Transylvania or Albania. Elaine Ives-Cameron is over the top but perfectly so.A Pocket Full of Rye is very funny yet possesses its poignancies in one of the deaths. A horrid nouveau-riche family, the Fortescues, are a nutty collection of vile people, the kind who cropped up in England and America after the war, fancied themselves aristos when all they were were glorified hillbillies.Miss Marple is especially acid in her quiet remarks about the house to which she has come to seek out the killer of poor Gladys, the housemaid who Miss Marple had trained in St Mary Mead. Charm and ghoulishness, as usual, are all tossed together, with black humor, dry acerbic to make this my favorite of the entire series.Inspector Neal is performed with boyish charm and gentleness by a young and handsome Tom Wilkinson. A veritable post-war Prince Charming. There are two outstanding comedic performances from Selina Cadell as Miss Dove and Annette Badland as poor Gladys Martin, the housemaid. Cadell is like a tainted Snow White who is first seen gazing at herself in a mirror. Miss Dove is played with an unflappable aplomb and clear-eyed menace, it's a very funny performance by an actress who shows huge comedic talent in a difficult role.Poor Gladys Martin is a simple country girl who has little choice in life other than to be one of the last of the old-fashioned housemaids of the lowest order. She is a good girl but she's also an imbecile. However, Gladys is a brilliantly written character and is hilariously performned with a ponderous twitching quality by Annette Badland.Her Poor Gladys is my favorite housemaid of all in this series. Frank Mills is the lugubriously oily butler of the new age (England after WW2).The Body in the Library is a more famous Christie story and this is, like the rest of the series, the best adaptation of a Marple story you can get on film. Great supporting work from Moray Watson and Gwen Watford as the Bantry's.David Horovitz's Inspector Craddock is very prickling and conceited and arrogant but somehow he's likable, and he does occasionally unbend to Miss Marple, who he refers to as "that nice grey cobra".Get this series while you can because I don't think, the way things are going, there may ever be another, improved, release of Hickson's Miss Marple, which is sad.

This American region-1, NTSC-standard collection brings three early Miss Marple serials from the BBC production; The Body In The Library, A Murder Is Announced and A Pocketful of Rye. The very high quality of all the Joan Hickson Miss Marple adaptations is well known. The charming production, often imbued with a little humour and always warm and beautiful to look at had as its star a superb Miss Marple, indeed Agatha Christie's own choice for the role. These three serials, presented as they were broadcast in two or three episodes each are no exception.Of most interest to fans in the UK (seeing as the complete box set is available on Region 2 PAL DVD) is the bonus feature, a BBC South West regional show from the 90s called "Western Approach", a local interest magazine. This particular episode centres on the celebrations in Torquay to mark the centenary of Agatha Christie's birth. Made to the standard of any other local TV programme from 1990, it nevertheless is a fascinating half-hour for anyone who loves Christie or the fine south Devon town itself. We're treated to interviews with David Suchet, Joan Hickson (a rarity itself) and the moment when Poirot (Suchet) got off the Orient Express at Torquay station and presented Miss Marple (Hickson) with a bouquet of flowers. This is still something the English Riviera Tourist Board mention in their "Agatha Christie Mile", a self-guided walking tour of Torquay. The town itself looks particuarly nice in the September sunshine, more than can be said for the fashions and amdram crime weekend over-acting!Picture quality is supposedly remastered on the three serials, though it's a little disappointing throughout. Anyone who has the UK box set will already have everything apart from the bonus feature, which may or may not be reason enough for a real Marple fan to buy it. If the price is right it's worth a go.

Joan Hickson makes a very good Marple. This series is also very loyal to Agatha's written text, which always makes for a fan's good viewing. Obviously this series was shot in the mid 80's and early 90's, but to me this doesn't diminish the quality of the movies. Along with "Miss Marple Classic Mysteries" it comprises all the episodes of the Miss Marple (1984) series. I think worthy noting that the episodes in this set is can't be found anywhere else to date. Therefore, it is an absolute must-have if you want to complete your collection.The episodes included in this set are:The Body in the Library (1984);A Murder is Announced (1985) andA Pocket Full of Rye (1985).It also includes "Crime does pay" described as a historic meeting of Miss Marple (Joan Hickson) and Poirot (Suchet) in a centenary celebration of Agatha Christie.

The casting is very good so the characters are enjoyable. Joan Hickman is my favorite Miss Marple. They three movies follow the books very well. These movies were made for TV as three episodes. Unfortunately the end credits and beginnings are between each episode. A minor moment for fast forward or a bathroom break

Joan Hickson was chosen by Agatha Christie herself to play Miss Marple.She is good but a little too meek and mild especially for a murder case. A littlemore umph in her character would have been great. I enjoyed the set though.

Great Agatha Christie who done it movies