Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery

This movie is a departure for Miss Marple, with an unruly cast of characters in the Caribbean; far different from St Mary Mead and the other English country settings. We find out that Miss Marple's nephew has sent her off for a well needed rest after an illness. She appears at odds with the others at the resort but does strike up a friendship with one of the staff who senses her loneliness and takes her to her own village for a welcome change.

Joan Hickson, as the often underestimated but formidable Miss Marple, seems older and rather tired and the conversations lack her usual wit. She is also put off with the overtures of Frank Middlemass, who is retired from the military and goes around boring people with endless monologues from the past. Nevertheless, once the usual murder takes place, she steps into her role. She strikes up an alliance with a wealthy and ill-mannered Donald Pleasance, who realizes that she is much more than a little old woman with knitting needles in her hands. Miss Marple makes it clear that she has no use for his boorish behaviour and often ignores him until he shows some courtesy. Together, however, they make progress with a group of rather unsavoury guests at the resort. Miss Marple also has the benefit of a much better relationship with the local police than she does at home.

After this Caribbean holiday (certainly an unusual twist in Miss Marple's adventures), she is once again at home in her garden with her nephew. He apologizes for the wet weather but she tells him how glad she is to be back. I think viewers too will prefer the English countryside to this tropical setting. We feel Miss Marple is more herself in her natural habitat.

The casting of Donald Pleasance as one of the guests would probably immediately make you think he's the guilty party in A Caribbean Mystery. After all look at his career and the roles he's played for the most part. But this much I will give you, he's not the perpetrator in this Miss Marple mystery starring Joan Hickson. Oh, he's a disagreeable individual, but murder isn't in his makeup this time around.

Not like you haven't got a whole resort hotel filled with likely suspects. On doctor's advice Joan Hickson has left St. Mary Mead for the sunny climate of Barbadoes and she's booked into a hotel run by the husband and wife team of Adrian Lukis and Sophie Ward. A Colonel Blimp like guest played by Frank Middlemass who makes a crashing boor of himself to Hickson and the rest of the guests is found dead in his room the next day after he tells Hickson he's on to a murderer from back in his days in the colonial service. Some blood pressure medicine is found at the scene that doesn't belong to him. That sets Hickson's little gray cells inside her gray head working.

Two more murders follow before Hickson figures it out. And figuring prominently is the glass eye that Middlemass had.

Hickson as Marple is the oldest Marple out there unless someone tells me different. She was in her 80s doing this role. But her powers if anything seem to increase with age.

Jane Marple is always good viewing for anyone wanting to get their little gray cells in action.

Many years ago before Joan Hickson started in the role, Margaret Rutherford was my favourite Miss Marple and couldn't envisage changing my mind. However now, for me Hickson is the best, and this is the best episode, just! She is ably assisted by an excellent Donald Pleasance.

Miss Marple is enjoying a holiday in Barbados recovering from a recent illness. However, an ex colonial police officer called Major Palgrave (Frank Middlemass), boasts to Miss Marple about a murder story and takes a photograph out of his wallet which apparently has a murderer's face on it. However, he suddenly sees that person and quickly puts the photograph back into his wallet. Miss Marple didn't take it very seriously at the time but when Major Palgrave is found dead the next morning, she wishes she had when more murders follow.

By far and a way the best version of Christie's whodunit. It was filmed in Hollywood in 1983 as a lacklustre TV movie starring Helen Hayes as Miss Marple and was saddled with an indifferent script. This BBC production is lengthly, but there is more attention to detail and a first rate cast including Donald Pleasance, Frank Middlemass and not forgetting Hickson's Miss Marple. All do fine work in their roles.

This is worth sitting down to watch. Not your typical Miss Marple, as it takes place in Barbados. However, all the usual ingredients are there to make this a worthwhile diversion. I agree that there are some changes from the book, but on the whole these are positive. Give it a go.