Agatha Christie's Miss Marple - 4.50 from Paddington Reviews

Disappointing

After the superb rendition of Miss Marples by Joan Hickson this is extremely disappointing. The whole ethos and atmosphere are changed, with overacting and aggressive dialogue replacing the wonderfully studied, self-effacing and low key character created by Joan Hickson. If you saw the originals, avoid this!

4.50 from Paddington

Geraldine McEwan at her finest. A gem.

Be fair...

Geraldine McEwan has had an unfair panning for this series. Admirers of the Hickson series are so bigoted about proclaiming it definitive that they're incapable of appreciating the vivid inventiveness of these adaptations, with their sprightly pulp/noir styling. Some people have reacted as if Christie were a classic novelist one step down from Dickens. She is not. She created flatly written puzzles with predictable one-dimensional characters. Most of the ITV versions have made the characters into fairly believable adults who occasionally swear and have sex.

The films are handicapped vis-a-vis the Hickson versions because most of the BBC Marples had nearly twice the running time, a fact never considered by Hicksonians rhapsodising about their faithfulness to the books. The only mild criticism I would make is that there is too much reliance on younger actors with a soap background who don't look or sound in period, and sometimes the adapters drop in a piece of glaringly contemporary slang. But all in all, the updating was worthwhile and I only regret that McEwan was not retained to complete the job.

Poor Film

Oh Dear! All star cast, Excellent story but not a patch on the Miss Marple films made by the BBC starring Joan Hickson.

Don't bother to watch this. It will annoy you.

Not as bad as others would have you believe.

Let me start by saying i adore Joan Hickson as Miss Marple. Even Margaret Rutherford amused me whilst Angela Lansbury annoyed me.

Geraldines performance is somewhere between Hickson and Rutherford.

I've honestly enjoyed watching each of the stories. Entertaining and amusing.

Give them a chance, they are not as bad as others would have you believe.

Sleuthing At It's Best

I love all the remakes of Miss Marple, Geraldine does an amazing job playing the interfering old woman :) There are some good stars in this, and even though you probably remember the story from Joan Hickson days, it's well worth watching!

[Highly rated reviewer]

Good All Round Story

This TV film features Geraldine McEuan in the role of Miss Marple and she's really rather good actually.

Less daunting than Joan Hickson and less comedic than Margaret Rutherford. A good Whodunnit, look out for Griff Rhys-Jones in the role of a local Doctor.

Thoroughly enjoyable