Spider's Web

This UK television adaptation of Dame Agatha Christie's 1954 West End hit is a lot of fun and a great way to spend a stormy night. Equal parts mystery and comedy, it tells the story of house-wife Clarissa's trials and tribulations when an unexpected body turns up at exactly the wrong time (as if there's ever a RIGHT time!!)

TV fans will recognize the marvelous Penelope Keith from GOOD NEIGHBORS and TO THE MANOR BORN, and she is as fabulous as ever as the slightly muddled Clarissa.

The producers wisely elected to give the teleplay a cozy period setting and it would make a nice addition to any Christie collection if it were ever released commercially. Here's hoping.....

Agatha Christie wrote numerous novels and short stories. She wrote this one as a play. Its original title, "Clarissa Finds a Body", more closely captures its mood, its spirit, and its off-center sense of humor. gridoon2016 commented that it isn't much of a movie. That much is true. Plays must follow a different set of rules and constraints than movies do. You have to judge it on its own merit. Long ago I learned the three jobs of a critic:

To explain: 1. What was done? 2. Was it done well? 3. Was it worth doing?

The first point is easy. It's a classic Agatha Christie murder mystery, drawn directly from the genre that made her famous. Its structure is predictable the way most classic murder mysteries are predictable.

As for was it done well, its mood differs from most of its genre because it has tongue firmly planted in cheek throughout, right from the opening wine-testing sequence. Christie originally wrote the play for an actress who was tired of playing "heavies". She wanted something fun. This masterpiece definitely qualifies. Penelope Keith in the starring role brings to it that level of sarcasm and fun, infused with a bit of panic from time to time. So the plot takes a fresh look at a familiar genre.

Was it worth doing? It's a diversion. It's fresh and it's familiar -- a good combination. It's fun. It's suspenseful. And the ending should satisfy most murder-mystery buffs.

So give it a chance. But be a little patient. Plays often take a little longer than movies to set themselves up, and this one is no exception.

Incidentally, I also have a copy with the Tammie Grimes introductions. Like many program decisions, this one offers yin and yang. On the positive side, it gives you much more information about Christie and her work and about this play. On the negative side, Grimes' sides interrupt the flow of the narrative. Which version is better is entirely a matter of personal taste. But give it a chance. It's worth it.

I say this as I am a fans of Agatha Christie's, and have been for 10 years now. The play is very charming and great fun to watch, and I enjoyed every minute of this telepathy. Visually it has a very cosy and evocative look and is well-photographed. The music matches beautifully the light-hearted tone without jarring, while the dialogue has the spirit of The Queen of Crime's prose balancing mystery, humour and whimsy with no problem. The story is faithful and compelling(the ending included), with plenty of charm and suspense(you are kept guessing right to the end which is the making of a good Christie adaptation), and it was a good idea to keep the characters emotionally synthetic as they were in the play. The acting is very good indeed, though Robert Flemyng and Thorley Walters, while still good, were deserving of more to do. Penelope Keith takes the lead and she commands it wonderfully in a very sharp performance. Holly Aird is enjoyably macabre, and Elizabeth Spriggs evidently looks as though she is having the time of her life, her mannerisms ensure that it is enormous fun watching her. To conclude, very well done with a lot to love about it. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Any Monogram Charlie Chan film from the 1940s is more cinematic and faster-moving than this talkathon-boreathon, which barely qualifies as a film; it really is just a piece of filmed theater - and poorly filmed, at that (for example, there is a scene where it takes 5 minutes for 3 men to accept that there is a dead body in the room - even though the body can be easily seen from the point where they are standing). As the characters talk....and talk....and talk.....and talk....without getting anywhere, it is very tempting to start doing other things while the film drones on at the background. But do tune in for the unmasking of the killer in the last 10 minutes, which is actually chillingly well-done. Penelope Keith is lively in the lead, but she is surrounded by a bunch of stiffs (no pun intended) - excepting the killer's performance in the aforementioned climactic scene. ** out of 4 for that scene alone.

She has been called the most successful female playwright of all time. The big 3 of maybe 20 that she wrote: The Mousetrap Witness for the Prosecution Spider's Web.

At one time, all three of these plays were playing at the same time on The West End row in London. Records were set that probably will never be broken.

I don't suppose action film lovers are going to like scenes filmed inside a few single rooms with a steady camera. I feel sorry for them. But at least they are easily amused and therefore able to enjoy more active and flamboyant fare which is all around and available.

With a current IMDB rating of 7.5 you know its going to be at least good, I do believe that it's a bargain to buy on Prime.

The acting, snappy dialogue, and humor completely won all of us over at our house.