Spider's Web

A brilliant adaptation of Agatha Christie's comic-thriller with a cast led brilliantly by Penelope Keith. It is a must for any fans of the author looking for a classic Christie!

This UK television adaptation of Dame Agatha Christie's 1954 West End hit is a lot of fun and a great way to spend a stormy night. Equal parts mystery and comedy, it tells the story of house-wife Clarissa's trials and tribulations when an unexpected body turns up at exactly the wrong time (as if there's ever a RIGHT time!!)

TV fans will recognize the marvelous Penelope Keith from GOOD NEIGHBORS and TO THE MANOR BORN, and she is as fabulous as ever as the slightly muddled Clarissa.

The producers wisely elected to give the teleplay a cozy period setting and it would make a nice addition to any Christie collection if it were ever released commercially. Here's hoping.....

Any Monogram Charlie Chan film from the 1940s is more cinematic and faster-moving than this talkathon-boreathon, which barely qualifies as a film; it really is just a piece of filmed theater - and poorly filmed, at that (for example, there is a scene where it takes 5 minutes for 3 men to accept that there is a dead body in the room - even though the body can be easily seen from the point where they are standing). As the characters talk....and talk....and talk.....and talk....without getting anywhere, it is very tempting to start doing other things while the film drones on at the background. But do tune in for the unmasking of the killer in the last 10 minutes, which is actually chillingly well-done. Penelope Keith is lively in the lead, but she is surrounded by a bunch of stiffs (no pun intended) - excepting the killer's performance in the aforementioned climactic scene. ** out of 4 for that scene alone.

I say this as I am a fans of Agatha Christie's, and have been for 10 years now. The play is very charming and great fun to watch, and I enjoyed every minute of this telepathy. Visually it has a very cosy and evocative look and is well-photographed. The music matches beautifully the light-hearted tone without jarring, while the dialogue has the spirit of The Queen of Crime's prose balancing mystery, humour and whimsy with no problem. The story is faithful and compelling(the ending included), with plenty of charm and suspense(you are kept guessing right to the end which is the making of a good Christie adaptation), and it was a good idea to keep the characters emotionally synthetic as they were in the play. The acting is very good indeed, though Robert Flemyng and Thorley Walters, while still good, were deserving of more to do. Penelope Keith takes the lead and she commands it wonderfully in a very sharp performance. Holly Aird is enjoyably macabre, and Elizabeth Spriggs evidently looks as though she is having the time of her life, her mannerisms ensure that it is enormous fun watching her. To conclude, very well done with a lot to love about it. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Being a mystery buff since childhood, Agatha Christie's books to me are all masterpieces of the genre and perhaps beyond. Their startlingly astute human observations, their pearls of wisdom, and their well-defined main characters (even without knowing their backstories) add up to perfection, with depth but not inscrutable depth.

With all that background, I somehow had never heard of this work or this film.

What a revelation. Entertaining characters and exceptional acting, all in the great tradition of literate British film. Let the Marvel fantasy universe entertain the children. We adults can delight in writing that doesn't take us for imbeciles and actually took some effort and work.

I learned it was written as a stage play, which would explain the very few foibles in the script and story line.

This is a delightful little work and a perfect film for those thinking they've seen all of the fine Christie cinematic works.

A 10.