One of the reviewers claimed the Geraldine McEwan version was better than this one. So I took the time to locate that version and watch it.
MY OBSERVATIONS:
* Once you've seen Joan Hickson in action, Geraldine McEwan seems quite odd and just not "right."
* The 2004 script does a much better job of portraying the central characters of Anne Protheroe and Lawrence Redding.
* The 2004 version includes the fabulous Herbert Lom, who is truly underused, considering his formidable acting chops.
* The 1986 Griselda (Cheryl Campbell) is FAR more delightful to watch. Which significantly contributes to the adorable ending. The 2004 ending is soulless by comparison.
* The 2004 version has a completely off the wall side story to justify the inclusion of Augustin and Helene Dufosse as characters.
* BOTH versions waste valuable screen time with unnecessary and insignificant details.
Some other reviewers have contributed a salient point: this episode was produced out of turn. According to another reviewer Murder at the Vicarage was Agatha Christie's first novel and yet the filmmakers decided to produce this episode later in the series. As a consequence of this rearrangement of chronology, some of the relationships between the characters are not congruent.
My favorite sequence in this episode . . .
INSPECTOR: The curate could have done it. The doctor could have done it. The church cat could have done it as far as I'm concerned. There's only one thing about this business that's certain, wherever you turn there's one person who'll always be there.
(cut to)
MISS MARPLE: Good evening, Inspector.
I agree with some of the comments concerning Lawrence Redding who was a major character and yet appears in very few scenes, almost as an afterthought. I also agree that, oddly enough, the filmmakers chose to dress these characters in remarkably similar attire and furthermore they rarely referred to each other by name. The end result was that the characters in the 1986 version all blended together and were extremely difficult to distinguish.
I disagree with the reviewer who said this episode is "lifeless." Apparently, they have not watched "The Moving Finger." Now THAT was lifeless.
And the church sequence was a bit odd. As you watch that scene one begins to wonder, how many murders do these churchgoers commit per year? Apparently their Sunday religion isn't doing them a bit of good.
I've viewed five of these stories so far and truthfully, the Joan Hickman version of Miss Marple is beginning to wear a bit thin for me. True, she's significantly better than Geraldine McEwan. However, my eyes were opened when I saw Fabia Drake in A Pocketful of Rye. I truly believe she would have made the very best Miss Marple of all. Sadly she was never cast in that part.
This is not the best Miss Marple film treatment due to the uneven distribution of the story line. Nevertheless, it's certainly not the worst. When I re-watched this tale, Miss Marple's summation at the end made far more sense the second time around. The filmmakers had the details of the story straight in their minds but they failed to convey the tale in a clear-cut way that would allow the audience to readily identify the characters and their relationships with one another.
I take exception to what the other reviewer wrote. THIS is the best version of The Murder at the Vicarage. And if you watch this story twice it will make more sense to you. However, you shouldn't need to.
MY OBSERVATIONS:
* Once you've seen Joan Hickson in action, Geraldine McEwan seems quite odd and just not "right."
* The 2004 script does a much better job of portraying the central characters of Anne Protheroe and Lawrence Redding.
* The 2004 version includes the fabulous Herbert Lom, who is truly underused, considering his formidable acting chops.
* The 1986 Griselda (Cheryl Campbell) is FAR more delightful to watch. Which significantly contributes to the adorable ending. The 2004 ending is soulless by comparison.
* The 2004 version has a completely off the wall side story to justify the inclusion of Augustin and Helene Dufosse as characters.
* BOTH versions waste valuable screen time with unnecessary and insignificant details.
Some other reviewers have contributed a salient point: this episode was produced out of turn. According to another reviewer Murder at the Vicarage was Agatha Christie's first novel and yet the filmmakers decided to produce this episode later in the series. As a consequence of this rearrangement of chronology, some of the relationships between the characters are not congruent.
My favorite sequence in this episode . . .
INSPECTOR: The curate could have done it. The doctor could have done it. The church cat could have done it as far as I'm concerned. There's only one thing about this business that's certain, wherever you turn there's one person who'll always be there.
(cut to)
MISS MARPLE: Good evening, Inspector.
I agree with some of the comments concerning Lawrence Redding who was a major character and yet appears in very few scenes, almost as an afterthought. I also agree that, oddly enough, the filmmakers chose to dress these characters in remarkably similar attire and furthermore they rarely referred to each other by name. The end result was that the characters in the 1986 version all blended together and were extremely difficult to distinguish.
I disagree with the reviewer who said this episode is "lifeless." Apparently, they have not watched "The Moving Finger." Now THAT was lifeless.
And the church sequence was a bit odd. As you watch that scene one begins to wonder, how many murders do these churchgoers commit per year? Apparently their Sunday religion isn't doing them a bit of good.
I've viewed five of these stories so far and truthfully, the Joan Hickman version of Miss Marple is beginning to wear a bit thin for me. True, she's significantly better than Geraldine McEwan. However, my eyes were opened when I saw Fabia Drake in A Pocketful of Rye. I truly believe she would have made the very best Miss Marple of all. Sadly she was never cast in that part.
This is not the best Miss Marple film treatment due to the uneven distribution of the story line. Nevertheless, it's certainly not the worst. When I re-watched this tale, Miss Marple's summation at the end made far more sense the second time around. The filmmakers had the details of the story straight in their minds but they failed to convey the tale in a clear-cut way that would allow the audience to readily identify the characters and their relationships with one another.
I take exception to what the other reviewer wrote. THIS is the best version of The Murder at the Vicarage. And if you watch this story twice it will make more sense to you. However, you shouldn't need to.