Addio Miss Marple

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

A young couple are looking for a home. The wife is from New Zealand and reared by relatives after her parents die. They locate a home and begin to remodel. As they do, the woman begins to feel like she's been there before identifying features of the house that were long ago removed. Most significantly, she suddenly recalls seeing a woman being strangled in the house. A woman named Helen...

This was the last of the Marple mysteries published and (to my mind) thankfully, Christie didn't kill off her detective (as she eventually does with Poirot). But the mystery is nothing special to be honest but the couple is attractive, and as they revisit the past, they stir up a murderer who strikes again and then comes after the young wife (nicely played by Geraldine Alexander) in a fairly suspenseful climax (for a Christie-based film).

P. S. One odd thing about this episode. We briefly meet Miss Marple's nephew Raymond and his wife, Joan (played by Amanda Boxer). For some reason, the writers create unspoken hostility between Joan and Miss Marple. It's never explained and once the mystery gets going it's never referred to again. Puzzling.

A slow ponderous tale, the last full-length Miss Marple to be published. It had in fact been written during the forties and Christie had intended it to be published after her death. It has the usual surprise twists and turns that we have come to expect from Dame Agatha, but this substandard television production lacks pace and the invasive music ruins any sense of atmosphere. The acting is equally uninspiring, however, John Moulder-Brown appears to be perfectly cast as the vacuous male lead.

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

What a film! Watching 'Sleeping Murder' scared me more than any other Miss Marple film, mainly due to the suspense. The version with Joan Hickson was much, much better than that with Geraldine McEwan, mainly because the director stuck to the plot and didn't add a silly romance between the protagonist and her aide to supposedly warm the hearts of the audience. I thought that the house used was just right, and the gradual tension brought about by new discoveries (some gruesome) added a thrill to the plot. The main actress came across as a genuine damsel in distress and her husband loyal and devoted. One of the few films to make me frightened.