La dernière énigme

Gwenda and her husband have moved to a country home in Britain. She grew up in New Zealand and is surprised that she remembers some of the sights in and around her new British home. Well, it turns out she was born and lived in Britain but was sent to New Zealand to live following a family tragedy. But what exactly that family tragedy was and why she was sent away, she has no idea and Miss Marple offers her help. But someone does NOT want the past to be dug up and this could mean danger for Gwenda.

I thought this was a weaker episode of the Miss Marple shows considering so much was told through conversations and flashbacks...an awful lot of it. This tended to make for a more passive episode experience. Still, it was interesting and is worth seeing...as are all the Marple shows.

I love the film adaptations of Agatha Christie's books starring Joan Hickson. You can't help but love them for their purely English decorum and a certain primness, for their slowness and attention to detail. "Sleeping murder" is somewhat different from such classic films as" The Moving Finger" or "The Murder on Vicarage" because it is one of lady Agatha's most terrifying stories. But at the same time, the film retains its slowness and true English atmosphere. I must admit that I was somewhat lacking in the disclosure of the characters of Gwenda and especially Giles, who turned out to be a rather gray character. Kennedy, of course, is excellent, played just brilliantly. The film itself is very atmospheric and brilliantly staged. The finale is just great, congratulations to the creators! In General, it is one of the best film adaptations with Joan Hickson in the title role. 10/10

Currently we are enjoying a spate of Joan Hickson's Miss Marple series on our free to air channel. I have watched the other adaptations of Agatha Christie's novel with Geraldine McEwan and while they were fine performances (story lines got a bit muddled) the JH ones are bringing back the original plots and stories. Only one thing is grating me is that the character of Gwenda supposedly from New Zealand is speaking with the most dreadful "Stryne" (Australian) accent. Good grief, the producers only had to go down to Earls Court and pick out a few Kiwis to hear the difference. Also, I get the picture that Gwenda was from a more refined family ( upper middle class) in which her accent would have been more cultured with a hint of "fush & chips" in it. Other than that I'm very much enjoying JH version.

'Sleeping Murder' keeps rolling around on afternoon BBC television, and I have been drawn into the story twice so far. I don't like Miss Marple, so perhaps that is why I find this a decent story - I can't compare it to the books, and the world's oldest detective only crops up every now and again to explain the plot to the newlywed couple. I love the idea of Gwenda subconsciously buying a house from her past, and the details she uncovers, such as the pattern of the wallpaper in the cupboard and the steps in the garden. The history in the house, and the subsequent family tree research, had me hooked. The 'whodunnit' wasn't exactly taxing - just look for the most dubious character, battling with a bad case of pantomime villain - but the unravelling of the clues kept me interested (just about - at times this felt like an epic, instead of an installment of a detective series). The setting, period detail, and characters were all evocative of a storybook version of an era gone by. Perfect Sunday afternoon fodder.

Sleeping Murder is one of my favourite Agatha Christie books, I will warn you though I find it very creepy. As an adaptation, this version is surprisingly faithful, much more faithful than the Geraldine McEwan adaptation; that started off well but was ruined by some unnecessary plot changes. This 1987 adaptation looks wonderful, with some beautiful photography and lovely scenery and costumes without being too fancy. A number of scenes gave me nightmares when I first saw it, especially the ending. The book had real nervous edge and left some really haunting imagery inside your head, and the adaptation did very well in that aspect. The script is good, the pace isn't that slow, the music was haunting and beautiful and the acting was solid. Joan Hickson as usual is terrific in the title role, and Geraldine Alexander, like Sophia Myles in the recent version, was entirely captivating as Gwenda. Frederick Treves despite the shaky Scottish accent is quite effective as Kennedy, but John Moulder-Brown is rather wooden as Giles. All in all, a very effective adaptation of an excellent book. 9/10 Bethany Cox