Joan Hickson will always be Miss Marple to me. Hickson captures the essence of the character. This collection of DVDs has been digitally re-mastered. There are nine Agatha Christie classics included in this box set. Over 15 hours of delight!
Here’s the line-up:
Caribbean Mystery
4:50 from Paddington
Moving Finger
Nemesis
At Bertram’s Hotel
Murder at Vicarage
Sleeping Murder
They Do It with Mirrors
Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side
She was the one all right. Never enjoyed Margaret Rutherford in the role especially.
Patti, watching these Joan Hickson performances again convinces me more than ever that she channeled Miss Marple.
It’s odd about Margaret Rutherford–her portrayal of Miss Marple could not be further from the way she’s described in Agatha Christie’s books, yet Christie liked Rutherford and dedicated one of her books to her. Fun fact: Joan Hickson played a minor character in one of Margaret Rutherford’s Miss Marple movies.
As for this collection, I’ve seen them all multiple times and could watch them again and again.
Nice Fun Fact, Deb! I really enjoyed watching this box set.
Someone please close the italics code!
Consider it done, Deb!
I totally agree, George. She is Marple to me too. I like Geraline McEwan in other things but she was an awful Marple. Julia McKenzie is better but she’s no Hickson. Of the movie Marples I guess Angela Lansbury was the closest. Margaret Rutherford was entertaining but she is no Marple.
I liked Angela Lansbury’s portrayal of Miss Marple, Jeff. But Joan Hickson’s performances are the best.
Hickson for me, too. I have this terrific set.
Rick, I have other Hickson DVD sets, but this one is my favorite.
Nuts! There were 12 books adapted in that series. A Body in the Library, A Pocketful of Rye and A Murder Is Announced are not in this set. Those are the three Hickson adaptations I still have yet to see.
I thought Christie hated Rutherford as Marple. Didn’t she once call Rutherford “that bloodhound of a woman?” Doesn’t sound like praise at all. Which book did she dedicate to Rutherford? Was it done as recompense for the insult? Hmm…
I guess I am in the minority in liking Geraldine McEwan as Jane Marple. I think everyone prefers Hickson for her subtlety and precision while McEwan is borderline farce. Yet there are scenes when McEwan is like a menacing arm of righteousness that really chilled me. Watch the adapation of Towards Zero (even though Marple has no business in that book) and see if you don’t pick up on this quality.
John, I’ll check my other Miss Marple/Hickson DVD sets to see if I have A BODY IN THE LIBRARY, A POCKETFUL OF RYE, and A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED. I was okay with Gerldine McEwan, but BBC thrust her into Agatha Christie movies like TOWARDS ZERO that were NOT Miss Marples.
John, AMAZON has this set: Miss Marple – 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye) (2002).
I saw the first one with her and she seemed borderline senile. She didn’t appeal to me at all.
Bob, Hickson lulled the murderers into making mistakes because they thought she was senile.
John–The Mirror Crack’d is dedicated “To Margaret Rutherford with admiration.” Rutherford’s Marple is nothing like Christie’s, but Christie found something to admire apparently.
Booooring. You can lull someone into a false sense of security by seeming naive. That doddering old lady pose just didn’t work for me.
I haven’t ever watched any of hers. My favorite Marple is Geraldine McEwan. Fell hard for her in Mulberry and love her as Marple. Second favorite is the current one, Julie McKenzie. She looks so much like my deceased grandmother that it cracks me up.
Shame that MURDER IS ANNOUNCED is missing as I always thought it ranked among the best, if not THE best, of the adaptations (adapted by the late, great Alan Plater as I recall).
Sergio, A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED is available in another Miss Marple box set. I wish the BBC would bring out THE COMPLETE MISS MARPLE MYSTERIES that Joan Hickson starred in. In Blu-ray, too! I’d buy it.