Miss Marple - Set 1 (1975)

Classic Christie

This is a classic Agatha Christie show. You should rate the show not the service. No reason to knock Christie. December 26, 2007

"More tea, vicar?" With that we say good-bye to the last of the marvelous Miss Marple movies with the incomparable Joan Hickson

"Why didn't we think of that?" asks Gwenda Reed as she and her husband, Giles, walk in the garden of their estate. A murderer had been captured the night before with his hands around Gwenda's neck, and she and Giles couldn't understand how they had been so deceived by the person.

"Because you believed what he told you," Miss Jane Marple patiently explains to the young couple. "It's very dangerous to believe people. I haven't for years." And so ends Sleeping Murder, one of four full-length Jane Marple mysteries, all part of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple - Collection 1.

No murderer should underestimate this slightly frail, inquisitive and observant woman, long a resident of the English village of St. Mary Mead, who is given to wearing tweeds and sensible shoes. Miss Marple has a mind as logical as a trap. When murder has been done, those aged eyes see things, especially in the behavior and habits of those around her, which lead to retribution. As played by Joan Hickson, Miss Marple is invariably courteous and very much of the old school when it comes to manners. She may occasionally offer advice, but is remarkably realistic. "Good advice is almost certain to be ignored," she says, "but that's no reason for not giving it." Hickson's Miss Marple is not without empathy or friends, but she essentially is a person quite satisfied to do her gardening. She does not twinkle.

Each mystery runs about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Sleeping Murder (1987) involves a long-ago crime, an obsessive love and recollections of the past by Gwenda Reed which may be madness or may be true.

4:50 From Paddington (1987) is the story of a murder glimpsed on a passing train. When Miss Marple arranges for a young woman to be placed as a maid in Rutherford Hall, murder begins to stalk the Crackenthorpe family, already beset by intrigue and snide jealousy.

A Caribbean Mystery (1989) sees Miss Marple in the Bahamas, where ruthless murder is let loose in the small resort where she is staying. Here is where Jane Marple first meets the rich Mr. Jason Rafiel, who much later sets her inquisitive and ruthless instincts to work in Nemesis.

The Mirror Cracked From Side to Side (1992) gives us a tragedy which leads to retribution, encompassed by a story of love. Miss Marple finally understands what has happened, and it is a bitter-sweet resolution.

Joan Hickson is a marvel as Jane Marple. Many have played the character, usually with distinction, but Hickson has set the bar extremely high. She filmed all 12 Miss Marple books, starting with The Body in the Library in 1984 when she was 78 through the last, The Mirror Cracked. She was 86 then, and died six years later in 1998. As good as the other Miss Marples have been and are, she still is the best. Lending great support in these four movies are a wide range of superior British actors, including such favorites as Fredrick Treves, Donald Pleasence, Frank Middlemass, John Castle, Claire Bloom, Maurice Denham and Joanna David.

The DVD transfers could have been better; they have the quality of a mid-range VHS tape, not good but not too bad. Regardless of the quality, if you enjoy mysteries with complex plots, fine acting, good manners and featuring a relentless solver of murders, the 12 Miss Marple movies with Joan Hickson are treasures worth owning. Perhaps it's best to leave with the last words Hickson graciously utters as Miss Marple, from The Mirror Cracked. "More tea, vicar?" August 15, 2007

UNBOX is unreliable and unsatisfactory

Enter commentI rented Miss M along with 2 other videos a week ago. I WAS able to download one purchase but UNABLE to download this & 1 other. I have emailed Amazon 3 times. The first 2 times I received replies re: ways to fix the problem so that I might receive the others. (I had no problem downloading the 1st purchase on the same computer with same settings.) The 3rd email I sent several days ago & have received no response. I have requested a credit to no avail. The UNBOX is UNSATISFACTORY February 9, 2007

Outstanding

I bought this for my mother for Christmas. She loved it. Joan Hickson, IS Miss Marple. Very well done. January 21, 2007

One of My Favorites

I agree with Miss Christie's choice for Miss Marple, actor Jane Hickson. August 25, 2005

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