La signora in giallo - Vagone letto con omicidio

Without a doubt the best! of the 4 spin-off TV movies from the 'Murder, She Wrote' TV series.

Superb styling. A great story that pans out well, with a couple of surprising plot twists at the end. More worthy of Lansbury's dramatic scope than, sadly, the rest of the TV spin-offs, this is one film that is well worth setting the set-top box to record.

With wonderful subtle references to other 'train crime' movies: the film noir 'Double Indemnity'; 'The 39 Steps' (the rural train station at which Jessica Fletcher disembarks is amusingly named 'Hannay' after that film's lead character Richard Hannay); and of course another famous Hitchcock train movie: 'North by Northwest'. Plus there are elements of 'The Lady Vanishes' when one of the lead characters disappears; all the more poignant, of course, as Angela Lansbury herself starred as 'the lady' in the 1978 film version of the 'TLV'!

Indubitably a fun film for die-hard fans of the TV series. And the most watchable of the spin-offs. Maybe this is because it was the first (made in 1997) of the 4 movies. But in any case the other 3 spin-offs in this TV franchise are little more than self-indulgent, rambling & soporific TV 'dross'. This initial TV movie, however, is a more 3-dimensional film.

A well-scripted story in which the plot gives Lansbury the chance to really act. Enjoy. It offers a fun couple of hours' viewing.

"Murder, She Wrote: South By Southwest," is a title that's an obvious homage to Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 classic suspenser, "North By Northwest," This is because while a great portion of the Hitchcock classic takes place aboard a train, so does this thriller - and a thriller, it is! I loved Angela's "Murder, She Wrote, series - but this is so much more competent; so much more professional - it's production so much more stylish; so much more like a motion picture.

I'm watching this for the first time right now as I type this because I was drawn to record a wonderfully positive review. On my on screen TV guide, some igno gave it one star...one lousy star! I'm sorry, but this is a full three-star mystery! This is one of the finest, if not the finest, Jessica Flether "murder, She Wrote" mysteries of them all!

It is good to see Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) back in action in the first TV movie after the Murder, She Wrote TV series ended. This time, Jessica meets a woman named Sarah (Mel Harris) while on a train to El Paso. Sarah disappears and leaves her purse behind, setting a stage of events where Sarah is believed to have witnessed a homicide and a criminal is pursuing her to reclaim a possession, leading the involvement of the FBI and leaving Jessica caught in the middle of the mayhem.

This movie possesses the same charm, sleuth tactics and plot twists and turns of the TV series, and is filled with some intriguing plot points and daring investigation scenes that puts Jessica all over the map that one would find compelling. The direction and pacing are pretty good, aside from the plot that tends to drag a little towards the middle of the movie. The acting is also pretty spot on.

With all the finger-pointing and unpredictability elements in the movie, you would be eager to find the truth of the matter and who is behind the all the criminal activities. It is a good TV movie that is a nice throwback to the heyday of the TV series.

Grade B

Anyone who has viewed more than two or three of Jessica's 40-minute TV episodes can set their watch by the little scene where she stops and says "Now let me see if I've got this right" - her chance to help all the dumbos to keep up with the plot.

Well 80 minutes is very different from 40 minutes, and I personally would have welcomed at least one of these idiot-board updates in the course of this bigger and busier version of 'Murder, She Wrote'. No fewer than 37 characters are listed, and their names flung about like confetti, so we only dimly understand who's who in the zoo. But don't let that put you off; the masterly ending will make the same impact anyhow.

The story takes us by rail into the baking sands of Arizona, about as far as you can get from Cabot Cove, both geographically and spiritually. Trains are always good for murder mysteries, with plenty of enigmatic strangers and chance meetings. And with Jessica on board, it's a safe bet that one or two passengers won't quite make it to their destination.

By about the midpoint, we've learned to mistrust every snarling male, but not, of course, certain gracious females who are so keen to confide in Jessica. (This view takes a bit of a knock in the closing stages.)

We can't reveal much more without giving away some key twists that are vastly superior to anything seen in the standard episodes. As for the murder-motive, this relates to a hi-tech agenda that manages to look just as fresh and topical now as it would have done in 1997 - a singular achievement. There are some pleasing touches, like a wacky hotel receptionist (Susan Blommaert) who turns out to be one of Jessica's most devoted fans. And only the inaudible dialogue at a key moment in the dining-car scene lets down the production values.

At the end, Jessica is pointing out the murderer's careless mistakes in her best schoolmarm style. (But regular viewers may like to know that we're spared the usual spluttering "But that's ridiculous..." protest from the other party this time round!)

This was the first TV-movie that continued the mysteries of crime novelist and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher, a role that Angela Lansbury made loved around the world in the popular TV series, Murder She Wrote.

On the outside it may seem like just a feature length episode of that show, but if you look at it closely you'll see that it has some wonderful moments that make it a superior TV-movie. I suppose having said that you really do need to have an interest in this sort of TV mystery formula and if you have a love for the show then you will adore this.

There are some wonderful moments of mystery and intrigue built up and towards the end you are gagging to find out the truth as you always are in these mysteries. Also,as usual with a good mystery, there are some wonderful twists and turns which I'm obviously not going to talk about. I would recommend this to die hard fans of the series and anyone who enjoys a good mystery.