Agatha Christie's Marple - Series 5

In Series 5, "Agatha Christie's Marple" has finally settled on a consistent style. The bold palette looks like Technicolor, and the acting style is also reminiscent of the decade in which the mysteries take place, the 1950s. We've seen this off-and-on in previous seasons, but now it has lost its clumsiness. Although the mysteries are sordid and melodramatic, they don't go over the top to the point of distraction, as has sometimes been the case in previous seasons. Again the writers have adapted various source materials to serve Miss Marple. "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side" is, of course, a Marple novel. But "The Secret of Chimneys" is a Superintendent Battle novel whose plot has been entirely changed. And "The Blue Geranium" is adapted from a Marple short story.

Julia McKenzie plays Marple as a practical, plainspoken woman whom one would probably not mistake for a dotty old lady. The extent to which the police detectives do, however, varies. In "The Secret of Chimneys", the Scotyard Yard detective is familiar with Miss Marple's reputation for solving mysteries, and he seems to expect her to contribute to the case. "The Blue Geranium"'s detective tends to think her a nuisance who couldn't possibly be of much help. It might be nice to have deeper characterizations of the detectives, but there are so many characters in these stories that there is no time for any of them in depth. It's a credit to the actors that some characters come across strongly. In any case, I found Series 5 the most consistently entertaining of the "Marple" series thus far.

An American movie star moves to St. Mary Mead in "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side". Marina Gregg (Lindsay Duncan) has settled into Gossington Hall with her much-younger English husband, film director Jason Rudd (Nigel Harman), and taken to English country life in a grand fashion. Miss Marple's friend Dolly Bantry (Joanna Lumley) is beside herself with excitement over her new neighbors. And seemingly the whole town turns out for a formal party hosted by Ms. Gregg. But one of the guests, a "garrulous spinster" and huge fan named Heather Badcock (Caroline Quentin), drops dead after consuming a poisoned cocktail, and it looks like the intended target may have been Ms. Gregg. This is a stylish, fun mystery featuring Joanna Lumley in a terrific comic role.

"The Secret of Chimneys" harkens back to a party held on the estate in 1932, during which a chambermaid and a priceless diamond brooch went missing. Chimneys is one of England's grandest private residences, owned by the family of Lord Caterham (Edward Fox). The British government wants to use the estate to woo Austrian Count Ludwig van Stainach (Anthony Higgins) to sell them rights to iron ore. Miss Marple, cousin to Caterham's deceased wife and friend to their daughter Virginia (Charlotte Salt), will be joining the eclectic guest list, which includes a woman trying to acquire the house for the National Heritage. But there is a gunshot in the night, and the Count is found dying in the arms of a rival for Virginia's affections, Anthony Cade (Jonas Armstrong).

"The Blue Geranium" is told in flashback, as Miss Marple implores her friend Sir Henry (Donald Sinden) to intervene to prevent the wrong man from being hanged for the murders of his wife and mistress. Some time ago, Miss Marple traveled to the picturesque village of Little Ambrose. On the bus, she met a distraught man who later turned up dead on the golf course. Only a day later, Mary Pritchard (Sharon Small), the widely detested wife of airline magnate George Pritchard (Toby Stephens) is found dead in her room, apparently from fright, having been warned by a fortune teller that the appearance of a blue geranium would spell her demise. This mystery is a lot of fun, builds some suspense, and gets the viewer guessing as to what the characters are all up to.

First let me say that I have these DVDs in hand & have watched them, they are the uncut 89 minute U.K. versions, not the trimmed versions shown on PBS.

Of the new Marple series, this is probably the best set yet.
Julia Mckenzie is more at ease in her second year as Miss Marple. She explains her take on the character in a texted interview. She feels that the early Miss Marple stories depict the sleuth as a fragile Victorian lady, while in the later stories she is more of a tweedier & solid detective. It is this later Miss Marple that Julia has chosen for the personality in these episodes.

This set benefits from two mysteries that have not been dramatized before (correct me if I am wrong). The best being a Miss Marple short story THE BLUE GERANIUM, at an hour and a half it does not feel padded out. These are the stories that this new series should have gone for in the first place, rather than re-doing the earlier masterpieces by Joan Hickson. There are so many Miss Marple short stories that have not been dramatized that it is a shame it took 5 years for the new series to recognize them. The short stories worked well for the Poirot series, I hope that we will see more of these brought to life.

The individual DVDs are numbered as volumes, but there are no plans to sell them separately.

Volume 1: THE MIRROR CRACKED FROM SIDE TO SIDE (2009) 89 minutes - with Joanna Lumeley. While in its own right this is an very enjoyable mystery, well staged & filmed. If you are not familiar with the story it will keep you guessing until the end. The time line based on the cars and Cinemascope movies at the local theater Miss Marple attends puts this story around 1955, a little later than I imagine most Miss Marple stories to take place. As this is a re-make from the earlier 1992 classic Joan Hickson series (which ran 100 minutes), fans will be tempted to compare the two presentations. But if you ignore the first version, you will enjoy this slicker production.

Volume 2: THE SECRET OF THE CHIMNEYS (2010) 89 minutes. Not originally a Miss Marple story, Christie fans will grit their teeth at the re-writing of her story to add Miss Marple to the goings on, but the average fan will enjoy the intriguing mystery. Miss Marple generally seems to be slightly out of place in these modified stories, here she seems strangely un-interested in the mystery going on and just helps the amateur sleuths of the original story with suggestions & ideas. It is still a great mystery and probably would not have been dramatized today without Miss Marple being in it. There are many changes made to the story, which amalgamates and renames several characters, turns the political connection from the fictitious Herzoslovakia to Austria , and comprehensively changes both the murderer's identity and motive. But viewing this as its own mystery and not comparing it to the original 1929 book, I still found it entertaining and will keep the 5 star rating.

Volume 3: THE BLUE GERANIUM (2010) 88 minutes, a minute shorter than the other two, This is the prize of the set, a Miss Marple short story never dramatized before by the great Joan Hickson. Stories like this should have been the mission of the new series, to dramatize the yet un adapted Miss Marple stories. The story is told in flash-back as Miss Marple relates the strange goings on to her friend Sir Henry Clithering, retired from Scotland yard. This helps her weed through the clues and solve the mystery.

Disc 4 is a bonus documentary AGATHA CHRISTIE'S GARDEN, MURDER & MYSTERY AT DEVON. The DVD case states it runs 66 minutes, but I clock it in at only 60 minutes plus an aditional 9 minutes of interviews not used in the final cut of the documentary. The garden was Agatha Christie's retreat of solitude. It is not open to the public & is in the process of restoration, so this is your best bet to see where she may have gotten many of her story ideas.

Other bonus material is Text-Only: An interview with Julia McKenzie; An interview with Joanna Lumley; Background information about the shooting locations; Limited cast filmographies & a brief history of Agatha Christie (strangely repeated on the discs & originally from another set).

All of the mysteries are presented in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen standard definition, they appear slightly soft (maybe for effect) but not grainy. The stereo audio is acceptable with the music giving the best separation. Optional subtitles will help you with any British accents.

Over the years, I have read all of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mysteries and watched all of the modern film iterations of Miss Marple, played by everyone from the marvelous Joan Hickson to the latest grand dame, Julia McKenzie. Not surprisingly, my enjoyment of the series varied somewhat as each actress brought a different interpretation to the lead character and each production had its own atmosphere and style. The quality of the acting has never faltered, however, and many of Britain's finest actors have appeared in these mysteries. Series 5 with Julia McKenzie is a special delight. I was surprised at how lavish and rich the production quality is, how perfect the period details are -- especially in "The Mirror Crack'd." Joanna Lumley figured prominently in this episode and she is picture-perfect as Miss Marple's slightly ditsy and delightfully nosy friend, Dolly. Just to watch these two marvelous actresses interact is a joy. Lindsay Duncan also gives a first-rate performance. As the series moves on, the style and feel of each episode changes a bit and real injections of menace, tension, and fear are palpable. These are contrasted with the down-to-earth, determined and practical calm of McKenzie's Miss Marple. In essence, then, Series 5 is a wonderful collection -- rich, nuanced, and rather splendid.