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Post by teleadm on May 20, 2017 21:38:32 GMT
A nice old lady from St Mary's Mead, a place where it seams like time has stood still, and drinks her tea and nothing could ever disturb her, exept dipping her nose into murder investigations, and outwit the local police and detectives from the big city, and once she solves a case, she goes back and enyoys a nice cup of tea at her home. In movies that should create a great chance for old stars to get a meaty part. The first to play Miss Marple as far as I know was Gracie Fields (!!!!!) in a TV version of A Murder Is Announced on Goodyear theatre on USA TV. Then between 1961 and 1964 Margaret Rutherford did a series of MGM movies, entertaining ventures Physically wrong, but I love the theme tune, an example is here www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3UJtsqOSFoGerman TV (West Germany as it was called back then) Inge Langen played her back then in 1970 Angela Lansbury in The Mirror Crack'd 1980, that inspired her 12 years of Murder She Wrote, Ita Ever in old Soviet Union Тайна чёрных дроздов or a version of Pocketfull of Rye 1983 Since then only television versions, Helen Hayes, Joan Hickson, Kaoru Yachigusa, Julia McKenzie etc |
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Post by BATouttaheck on May 20, 2017 22:06:57 GMT
For me, Miss Marple is rather like Doctor Who. It really doesn't bother me a bit that she keeps being played by different actors. Margaret Rutherford was my very first Jane and she seemed perfect. Later, when I read the books, I was surprised that they had her described "all wrong".
Have seen the BBC Janes and they all seem great and fit just right. I have several episodes on disk and play them randomly, switching Janes as I go with no difficulty.
The only JM I did not care for was Angela's. I would watch her reading a phone book BUT somehow she just did not seem "Jane Marple-ish" to me. But then, that whole version of The Mirror Crack'd was "off".
Miss Marple is my #1 go-to Christie character, Poirot being #2.
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Post by politicidal on May 20, 2017 22:41:21 GMT
I saw the Mirror Crack'd only once but I found it disappointing. It felt like a TV movie and the acting was pretty bad considering the cast. But Angela Lansbury was still good though.
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Post by BATouttaheck on May 20, 2017 23:13:09 GMT
politicidal "But Angela Lansbury was still good though."
She's never "not good", But for me, she was just "wrong" as Jane Marple. The whole picture was so "oh, look, there's this BIG Hollywood STAR !" and not really a British Murder Mystery and basically a mess. The BBC version was much better, imo. TV Version Even though Daisy from Keeping Up Appearances did meet a sad end .
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Post by louise on Jun 24, 2017 11:05:10 GMT
i prefer Joan Hickson as miss marple, but Helen hayes s very good also.
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Post by marshamae on Jun 24, 2017 14:12:37 GMT
I've been binge watching the whole Marple series since they took it off Netflix. I have finally made friends with Julia MacKenzie and Geraldine MacKewan though Joan Hickson is far and away my favorite. Hickson best embodies the fuzzy gentle old lady with a mind like a kitchen sink And a steel trap. The stories are closest to the books as well, rather gentle cozy mysteries. I was very surprised to find the MacKenzie versions especially wandering far afield, creating entirely new plots and motivations without in any way improving the story. But the character of Miss Marple was fairly consistent.
The real out rider is Rutherford. She's too big, too young too physical, and she has a male sidekick. But who can resist Rutherford?
I quite like the Lansbury Mirror Crackd . The star fest is great fun . The real weakness is that Angela is much too young. But watching Kim Novak and Elizabeth Taylor go at each other was worth it.
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Post by mikef6 on Jun 24, 2017 17:45:09 GMT
I liked her, too - and I liked the movie as a whole, esp. the Novak/Taylor feud ("There are two things I don't like about you. Your face."). Also, La Liz gives a surprisingly good dramatic performance. With all the different permutations of Miss Marple - including the very active and husky Margaret Rutherford (Miss Marple on horseback during, I think, a fox hunt) - should exclude any ideas of Angela Lansbury being "wrong" for the role if Rutherford is accepted. I suppose Miss Marple could be "wrong" if she were, say, repurposed as an action hero played by Scarlett Johansson, but otherwise, Lansbury is more than acceptable. |
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