Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (2004) (TV)

Director:

Charles Palmer

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel)
Stephen Churchett (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 December 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Colonel Lucius Protheroe is probably the least-liked individual in St Mary Mead. All resent his superior and demanding attitude...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Murder Mystery | Broken Ankle | Miss Marple | Painter

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Geraldine McEwan	...	Miss Jane Marple
Jane Asher	...	Mrs. Lester
Emily Bruni	...	Helene Dufosse
Christina Cole	...	Lettice Protheroe
Julie Cox	...	Young Miss Marple
Jason Flemyng	...	Lawrence Redding
Mark Gatiss	...	Currate Ronald Hawes
Siobhan Hayes	...	Mary Hill
Herbert Lom	...	Professor Dufosse
Miriam Margolyes	...	Mrs. Price-Ridley
Tim McInnerny	...	Rev Leonard Clement
Janet McTeer	...	Anne Protheroe
Julian Morris	...	Dennis Clement
Angela Pleasence	...	Miss Hartnell
Robert Powell	...	Dr. Haydock

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Independent Television (ITV)

Trivia:

Miss Marple is shown reading Raymond Chandler's short story anthology "The Simple Art of Murder", which also contains his titular essay on the detective novel. In the essay, Chandler argues that, in real life, the most unsolvable murders are the simplest, and criticizes, among other writers, Agatha Christie for creating implausible, over-elaborate murder plots for her novels.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the beginning of the film, when Miss Marple is ready to go to church, you can see a calendar on the table showing August 1951. On the calendar, the month begins with a Tuesday. In fact, the 1st of August 1951 was a Wednesday.

Quotes:

Miss Hartnell: Where's Lettice this morning?
Miss Jane Marple: Mr. Redding's painting her.
Miss Hartnell: On a Sunday? You don't think...?
Miss Jane Marple: Oh, he does have a way with him, but she's just a girl. I'd plump for an older candidate if there is someone.

Movie Connections:

Follows Marple: The Body in the Library (2004) (TV)

The Writer Smiles

Wonderful, this is.

Its wonderful in part because it takes chances with the material and the presentation.

You have to appreciate a few facts. This was Agatha's first published book. Its before she hit her stride where she was comfortable enough with the genre that she started fooling with the rules of the genre in amazingly clever and modern ways. So its just a typical complicated murder, planned by "evil" people. The murder itself is conventional for the period, like hundreds of other books of the period.

It introduces Miss Marple, so it is apt that the story lines include our introduction to the character, adding elements that are from Christie.

Another fact is that Christie during this period had unhappy romantic episodes and had some intrigue and mystery in her own life. She would in fact be very much like the young Marple we see here. And inserting the author in the story as the detective is precisely something she might do herself. (The adapter here also plays the coroner. Nice metafolding.)

If you are going to watch any of these, you should watch this one first to get the backstory on Jane, and to understand why she wistfully looks at an old photo.

As to the mystery story itself, its background noise and poorly presented. But remember it is so in the book. On that we have famous actors doing their stuff. One of these is Jane Asher. She's not an amazing actress but she if often used as an amazing presence. And here it is so. She plays a character that if I recall is more prominent in the book, but less sassy and obviously significant than rendered here. She's one of the most remarkable unremarkable women in modern history because of her role in the Beatles and Alice.

Something along these lines may be done one day for theatrical release, and I expect similar notions of narrative folding and cinematic exaggeration. But we'll have more explicit recognition of what drives this story, and presumably the whole village: sex.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.