Miss Marple: The Body in the Library

To be honest, a 2-and-a-half-hour episode of the Joan Hickson Miss Marple series may seem like a fearsome prospect to some, given the fact that most of the regular approximately 100-minute episodes feel slow and plodding. Surprisingly, "The Body In The Library" turns out to be not only the longest, but also probably the best-paced film in the series out of the 8 I've seen so far! The "body" of the title is discovered right away, and the murder investigation begins shortly afterwards. Therefore, you're caught up in the mystery before you have the chance to start worrying about its length. And this particular Agatha Christie story is thick enough to support that length: there are few slow spots, and although you might figure out bits of the plot (like the relevance of the second dead body), the revelation of the killer(s) is still a shocker! Personally I have not been crazy about Joan Hickson's interpretation of Miss Marple so far, but this is one of her best outings and she has some good introspective moments. The supporting cast is solid, and David Horovitch's Inspector Slack is (thankfully) not the off-putting loudmouth of such later episodes as "They Do It With Mirrors". (***)

EDIT: Having now seen all the Marple films twice, "The Body In The Library" is, in my opinion, the best of the series. If you don't like this, "A Murder Is Announced" and "Nemesis", don't even bother with the rest.

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.

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.

A simple plot: a the body of a young woman is found in the library of a manor house in Kent. She can be traced to a sea-side hotel, and the list of suspects is endless. The police are baffled. So, who do you call in? Scotland Yard? The FBI? No. Just call Miss Marple, the elderly sleuth from St Mary Mead. She may look innocent, but her mind has plummeted the deaths of human inequity, and is as sharp as a meat cleaver.

This is the first of the twelve adaptations made by the BBC between 1984 and 1992, all featuring the late, great Joan Hickosn, who is regarded as the definitive Miss Marple. Hickson truly shines as Miss Marple, able to convey a sense of depth in the character, and to really capture Miss Marple as Christie described her: on the outside, seemingly dotty - a fluffy, gentle old lady more concerned with knitting than murder; but on the inside, a detective genius, but very modest, also.

The supporting cast are really quite good, too. Gwen Watford is delightful as Mrs Bantry, in whose library the body is found. Her dependence on Miss Marple, and the way that she acts as though Miss Marple were her nanny, always asking questions in a sweet, child-like way is quite charming. Moray Watson (whom you may recognise from the Darling Buds of May) is also very good as the proud, military man Colonel Bantry, who appears very strong, but, as Miss Marple says, like most military men, is unusually sensitive. The rest of the cast are good too, particularly, David Horovitch as Chief Inspector Slack, the zealous police officer who is always trying to outdo Miss Marple in detective skills, but rarely succeeds, much to his own chagrin!

The period detail is also excellent, and really recreates a Britsoh sea-side resort in the years directly after WWII, with people gradually starting to enjoy themselves again, and really getting into the swing of leisure, dinner and dancing. The costumes are realistic, as are the characters. The eventual solution will surprise you!

This adaptation far surpasses the new ITV series featuring Geraldine McEwan, who, in my opinion, is far too racy nd modern to play Miss Marple. If you want a more wholesome, realistic Miss Marple, who is more like the Miss Marple of the books, I highly recommend that you watch this.

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