Miss Marple: The Body in the Library

I have been watching on TV the 1984 version of Miss Marple.

This one is with Joan Hickson in the eponymous role.

What a delight having been subjected to the unsuited Geraldine McEwan version (2004) series in recent times.

The difference between the two is so marked as to be astonishing.

Maybe you should watch both just to see how good Joan Hickson is.

So if you are an aspiring actress do compare and contrast.

Poor Geraldine McEwan, how could you follow what is a definitive portrayal ?

So if you like Christie and Marple - Joan Hickson is number one and second is some far distant even broad daylight. I'd say Geraldine McEwan was in the rear of the pack myself.

The sleepy peaceful home of the Bantry's is woken to the shattering news that the body of a young platinum blond woman has been found in the Library. Somehow she seems unreal, Dolly Bantry seeks the help of her friend Jane Marple, and the pair seek to unravel the mystery, enquiries lead them to the seaside.

This version mirrors the book in so many ways, it's a truly faithful adaptation, as the saying goes 'if it ain't broke don't fix it.' I understand that a few elements are missed, but it would have been impractical to attempt to squeeze it all in.

Straight away Joan Hickson shows us why she is the definitive Miss Marple, endorsed by Agatha Christie herself, she'd play the role from 1984 - 1992 and make it her own. She is truly wonderful, even after her introduction you just know that she is Miss Marple.

Other performances I liked, firstly Gwen Watford, she is delightful as the ditsy Dolly Bantry, so excited that a body has been found, she clearly loved a bit of drama, I'm so glad she returned in the final episode too. David Horovitch played Slack so well, I can see why he was made a recurring character, I'm sure he was overused but I get why. Trudie Styler is a brilliant Josie Turner, she helps to make the ending quite brilliant, all in a look.

It is very long, they certainly put as much of the book in it as possible, it's very faithful, possibly guilty of being a little slow in parts. That somehow seems not to matter, it's a gorgeous production and well worth watching. 8/10

The Bantry's wake up in their home one morning to find the body of a young woman they have never seen before, lying in their library. They duly call the police and the girl is identified as a dancer from the Majestic hotel (several towns away) and the time of death is established. However, with more of a link to the girl than he realised and no alibi for the time of the murder, Colonel Bantry finds himself a suspect at worst and a point of gossip at best. Mrs Bantry decides to get away for a bit and, hoping to clear her husband's name, asks her friend Miss Marple to accompany her to the seaside and the Majestic Hotel, to carry out their own investigation.

Structuring the delivery of the story a bit differently from some of the other BBC Marple films I had seen, this film jumps right into the mystery and only really gives background in flashback scenes during interviews and the investigation generally. This approach works well early on because it sets out a solid pace and urgency early on. The BBC Marple films generally have a slow pace so, even though it did gradually settle down to what I expected, it gave it a nice boost early on. The story is the usual complex mix of mystery and characters delivered with a good sense of period; it won't win over those used to 45 minute chunks of CSI etc but it does have a certain style and charm of its own. I'm not being snobby when I say that about CSI because I must confess that at times I found it frustratingly slow and occasionally a bit too subtle for my tastes but generally the quality of the material works.

The material is also structured well to, as normal, use the police almost as much as it uses Miss Marple. Looking back it seems risky (can you imagine a Columbo where he is sidelined for big sections?) but it works well and compliments the feel of the film. Hickson is, as many have said, the definitive Marple and only looks better and better the more ITV insist on wheeling out McEwan in their versions. She is classy and thoughtful and she very much fills the idea of the elderly spinster that I have in my head (and it seems Christie had in hers). She benefits from having Watford as a companion for much of the film and she is quite fun as a contrast. Horovitch gives his usual good turn; he is not as good as Marple of course but unlike some other "bumbling cop" performances he is given a good cop and he always plays it as such. Support from the rest of the cast is roundly good without anyone dominating the rest of them.

Overall then this has the usual "faults" of the BBC Marple series in that it is quite complex (and doesn't really help you out along the way) and it can be frustratingly slow at times. However for fans of the series these may not be faults; either way the film is an engaging mystery that is well written and well delivered by the cast. I could have happily had it 30 minutes shorter and tighter/slicker as a result but as it was it still worked well enough and certainly fans will enjoy it.

For a Christie near-addict, I find it difficult to even watch the Geraldine McEwan versions...esp. since Hickson was so flawless! I gather Christie herself had chosen her originally. Geraldine: way to ditsy. Rutherford: trying too hard to be comical and the novels are not comedies ! Hickson is scarily CONVINCING as the amazingly shrewd, analytical "old maid" who can still flutter and cluck on occasion...but the intelligence she brings to the role should discourage others. It's like Olivier in Richard III...and possibly Henry V. Case closed; find something else to play. Also: why fiddle with the setting? Christie set it in prewar England. And the supporting cast: most of whom I gather have sadly passed on--just show how deep the "bench" was in the matter of character actors of a certain generation. I doubt you could rustle up the same caliber today.

Joan Hickson played the role as if she was born to do it, same as David Suchet for Poirot. Both are definitive performances and that's all there is to say.

Geraldine McEwan is a fine actress. Sadly, she follows in Hayes' and Rutherford's footsteps in completely failing to capture Miss Marple such as Christie wrote her, a frail old lady with wise eyes and a mind beyond sharp. I even caught a glimpse of McEwan with a positive SPRING in her step in one of her scenes, for Goodness' sake!! Way too youthful, way too OTT.

Joan Hickson, RIP.