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Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple

Jemma 26 Aug 09 at 8:27 a.m. GMT

Julia McKenzie debuts as Miss Marple in A Pocket Full of Rye in the UK on 6th September at 8pm on ITV1.

What are your thoughts on the production?

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Hamlet 26 Aug 09 at 1:31 p.m. GMT

Obviously, I haven't seen Julia McKenzie in this role yet, but Joan Hickson will be very hard to beat.  Whenever I read a Miss Marple book it is Joan Hickson's face and voice that I have in my head.

Merrythought 26 Aug 09 at 10:50 p.m. GMT

I'm in Australia where we have already seen the new Miss Marple episodes. Much as I always enjoyed Joan Hickson's performances, she didn't fit my mental image of Miss Marple. I felt she was far too brisk and matter-of-fact, not 'fluffy' enough....However, I was delighted with Julia Mckenzie's portrayal. With her hesitant style of expressing herself and gentle manner, I felt she got much closer to my idea of the great lady. My only complaint is that there were too few new episodes!

3rdGirl 27 Aug 09 at 8:05 a.m. GMT

Hi Merrythought, I'm in Australia as well and saw them all too. Love the ABC. I enjoyed Julia McKenzie but I preferred Geraldine McEwen as she's so pink and fluffy, but nasty minded with it. My favourite was 'They Do it with Mirrors' as I loved seeing Joan Collins camp it up. She was great.

sussexspur 28 Aug 09 at 2:17 p.m. GMT

ALWAYS LIKED JULIA AND THINK SHE WILL DO WELL, NO ONE I SPOKE TO LIKED   GERALDINE McEWEN IN THE ROLE. SOME I KNOW DID NOT WATCH AFTER THE FIRST EPISODE AS THEY THOUGHT SHE DID NOT FIT THE ROLE, WITH  TOO MUCH OF HER OWN UNWANTED PERSONALITY COMING THROUGH HER PORTRAYLE

A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT IT WAS RUINED BY CELEBRITIES TAKING THE LEAD ROLES AND ALAS  NOT BEEN  GOOD ENOUGH ACTORS  TO REMOVE ALL THE BAGGAGE THAT CAME WITH THEM ..AND THUS SPOILT THE CREDIBILITY OF THE  PRODUCTION.,

EVEN MY 18 YEAROLD SON THOUGHT THE PRODUCTION WAS ALMOST A SEND UP OF THE STORY OR A TONGUE IN CHEEK VERSION AT BEST.

JOAN HICKSON FITTED THE ROLE 100% THE RIGHT SIZE THIN ETC AND IN HER ADOPTED  PERSONALITY TO A TEE. 

MOREOVER YOU CAN NOT ARGUE WHEN THE AUTHOR SAY`S THE SAME THING. IF YOU HAVE ANY AUDIO CDS OF JOAN  READING MISS MARPLE YOU REALISE HOW DIFFERENT THE ROLE WAS FROM HER OWN PERSONALITY AND HOW WELL SHE PLAYED MISS MARPLE, AS MY SON  ALWAYS SAYS JOAN HICKSON IS JANE MARPLE.

AS I SAID I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED JULIA AND KNOW SHE WILL PLAY THE ROLE REALLY WELL.

 I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT SHE WOULD MAKE A GOOD MISS MARPLE BUT FOR HER SIZE BUT WHEN CRANFORD WAS FIRST SHOWN  I WAS EVEN MORE CONVINCED AS SHE HAS LOST A LITTLE  WEIGHT LIKE SO MANY OF US AS WE GET OLDER. MOREOVER I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK SHE REMINDS THEM A LITTLE OF A L IN MURDER SHE WROTE. SHE IS SUCH A GOOD ACTOR REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO  HER PORTRAYAL OF JANE.

ampman 28 Aug 09 at 3:38 p.m. GMT

Joan Hicks is my Miss Marple of choice and she was actually told by AC that she would be the perfect Marple. All others are pale imitations. I admit that I saw the television productions before I read the books and if I had based my image of MM on them I would picture an old lady of about 90 covered in knitted shawls. In some of the short stories she is dressed like Queen Victoria in black silk and lace caps but she seems to get younger as the books progress.

3rdGirl 28 Aug 09 at 7:45 p.m. GMT

I'll have to track some Joan Hickson episodes and DVD's down. I've only been reading and listening to AC for about three years now, so Geraldine McEwen is reallt the only Marple I have known until Julia McKenzie came along. I think I enjoyed the two productions she did that actually were Marple books and not the ones that weren't Marple books ('Murder is Easy' and 'Why Didn't they Ask Evans').

I really enjoy that cheeky factor to the current Marple productions that they have, and they are visually stunning as well.

I didn't know that AC had said that about Joan Hickson, so I am definitely keen to view them now. That's why these forums are so good, because you learn bits and pieces you never knew!

I guess my only problem is finding the time to read the books, listen to the audio podcasts and didgital radio presentations and now watch the DVD's!

Tommy_A_Jones 31 Aug 09 at 1:36 p.m. GMT

I think they are well worth spending the time on, I have the whole series JH did and love the, sadly I bought them before I had read all except 4.50 From Paddington but I can enjoy both the books asnd the series and when I have read a Miss Marple book I watch the Video, if I had time but last year I watched 1 every Sunday except A Murder Is Announced and Body In The Library which each are on 2 Video's but thankfully I found time to watch them, and there are slight changes in some, maybe all for all I know but I notice it more with some, so I would definiterly recommend buying them, I saw watching them as an antidote for the GM Adaptations I didn't like, I didn't hate all of them, I didn't think Murder At The Vicarage and A Murder Is Announced was too bad or 4.50 From Paddington, I am really looking forward to seeing formyself the series with Julia McKenzie, in Britain it starts on Sunday, Anyway I hope you do get the JH series, they have kept me entertained and Happy for Hours.

S_Sigerson 01 Sep 09 at 3:58 p.m. GMT

Whether or not Agatha Christie said that about Joan Hickson is highly debatable. Supposedly Agatha Christie sent Joan Hickson a note in 1946 after seeing Hickson in Christie’s play Appointment with Death. At the time Hickson was noted for playing middle aged spinsters. Now I have seen several films Hickson was in around that time. She does come of as a middle aged spinster, but she definitely does not come of as an octogenarian spinster by any stretch of the imagination. Miss. Marple’s age in the Murder at the Vicarage (the first novel she was in) is between 65 to 70. Joan Hickson was 40 years old in 1946. This could be one of those situations similar to P.T. Barnum who never actually said “There's a sucker born every minute”. However, he is attributed with saying it nonetheless. It’s possible some clever marketing person who worked for the BBC in the 1980s thought it would be good publicity if Agatha Christie had a premonition that one day Joan Hickson would be the perfect Miss. Marple. A little rumor was started about a note Agatha Christie sent Joan Hickson in the 1946 and voila you have an endorsement from the author herself. Agatha Christie passed away 1976, years before the series with Joan Hickson was made. Nothing of the incident is mentioned in Agatha Christie’s autobiography. Of course it is possible Agatha Christie had sent a note to Joan Hickson in 1946, while at the same it is just as likely this is just one of those urbane legends or myths or whatever they call it.   

S_Sigerson 01 Sep 09 at 3:59 p.m. GMT

Miss. Marple doesn’t get younger as the years progress, she becomes more pleasant. She started off in the Murder at the Vicarage “as the worst cat in the village” and by the time Nemesis is written Miss. Maple is just a pleasant, elderly lady with a shrewd mind from a small village. Agatha Christie liked the character Miss. Marple very much, so over the years she probably tried to make Miss. Marple more likeable and less of a gossiping old biddy. What you see is a fluffication of Miss. Marple.

Joan Hickson’s portrayal of Miss. Marple has a more acerbic tone similar to Miss. Marple of the earlier stories. While Geraldine McEwan’s portrayal has a more fluffy tone similar to Miss. Marple from the later stories. Julia McKenzie’s portrayal is somewhere in between, not as serious as Joan Hickson’s Miss. Marple, nor as fluffy as Geraldine McEwan’s Miss. Marple. However, what all three ladies have in common is each one did a stellar job bringing Miss. Marple to life. Each actress brought out a different facet of the character. Joan Hickson is an early version of Miss, Marple, Geraldine McEwan is a later version of Miss. Marple, and Julia Mckenzie is a mix of the two.

Bundle_ 01 Sep 09 at 6:18 p.m. GMT

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I hope that I don't sound contradictory especially because I respect your opinion, S Sigerson, but I always thought of McKenzie as the fluffy one, and McEwan as shrewd. For example in They Do It With Mirrors Miss Marple can be seen hugging Carrie Louise after her husband tried to rescue his son: showing a very nurturing (or fluffy) side. And in Nemesis did you see how intense McEwan was when she confronted the culprit? Her eyes narrowed and her voice was steely.

Tommy_A_Jones 02 Sep 09 at 10:34 a.m. GMT

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I thought McEwan's Miss Marple was false and Hammy, from reading an Artocle with Julia McKenzie I can see what GM was trying to do butg I think she failed to achieve her Aim, Joan Hicksons Miss Marple was Kind but Commanding and could be hard when she needed to be especially when she faced the Culprit and made her face up to the fact that Verity wasn't sleeping and at peace but a Rotting Corpse who will never wake up, I will see on Sunday how Julias McKenzie does, I think it might be another case of Miss Marple being portrayed by someone who is topo young like Angela Landesburey did but if herportrayal is closer to Jon Hickson thanb Geraldine McKewan I weill be happy, in an Artical in the TVTIMes she lists Anna Massey and Geraldine James as 2 people who could play Miss Marple which I personally agree with so Julia McKenzie has the right Idea at least

ampman 02 Sep 09 at 10:47 a.m. GMT

S_Sigerson

This could be one of those situations similar to P.T. Barnum who never actually said “There's a sucker born every minute”. However, he is attributed with saying it nonetheless. It’s possible some clever marketing person who worked for the BBC in the 1980s thought it would be good publicity if Agatha Christie had a premonition that one day Joan Hickson would be the perfect Miss. Marple. A little rumor was started about a note Agatha Christie sent Joan Hickson in the 1946 and voila you have an endorsement from the author herself. Agatha Christie passed away 1976, years before the series with Joan Hickson was made. Nothing of the incident is mentioned in Agatha Christie’s autobiography. Of course it is possible Agatha Christie had sent a note to Joan Hickson in 1946, while at the same it is just as likely this is just one of those urbane legends or myths or whatever they call it.   

I googled "Did Agatha Christie want Joan Hickson to play Miss Marple?" and found myself back on this very site on the Christie on Screen section "Interview with Joan Hickson". In this interview Miss Hickson states that she met AC on the set of a film in 1962 and it was then that AC said she would like her to play Marple one day.  So either JH was telling fibs or that really was AC's opnion.

Tommy_A_Jones 02 Sep 09 at 11:25 a.m. GMT

This is how Urban Myths are started, I thought Agatha hristie said to Joan Hickson when visiting the set of Murder She Said That she hoped one day Joan Hickson  would play her Miss Marple 

S_Sigerson 02 Sep 09 at 3:24 p.m. GMT

Nope, not according to The New York Times....http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/20/arts/joan-hickson-miss-marple-on-tv-dies-at-92.html. This is Joan Hickson's obit, which mentions the play and note.

S_Sigerson 02 Sep 09 at 3:32 p.m. GMT

Wikipedia mentions the same note, but nothing about Agatha Christie meeting Joan Hickson on the set of Murder She Said. Perhaps whoever transcribed the interview with Joan Hickson made a mistake. Or perhaps Joan Hickson made a mistake. People are are not infallible. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Hickson

This is a quote from the interview "She said to me, ‘Some day I would like you to play my Miss Marple.’ I was quite taken aback, as I was young at the time." In 1961 Joan Hickson would have been 55 years old, not that young. And throughout her career Joan Hickson did portray older looking women. If when she was 40 and could convincingly play a woman of 50, I see no reason why when she was 55, she could not portray a woman of let us say 65. If anything this interview, just might confirm the note from 1946. Even though as I mentioned before, everything I read on the Internet I take with a grain of salt. There is so much false information out there it boggles the mind.

However, my main point still stands, all three actresses in their own way are excellent in the role of Miss. Marple. There is no such thing as a definitive Miss. Marple. Had Agatha Christie written the novels with a particular actress in mind to portray the character on the stage or in films then I might agree. For example, Agatha Christie had written the role of Clarissa in Spider's Web specifically for the actress Margaret Lockwood, so Margaret Lockwood without question is the definitive Clarissa Hailsham-Brown.

go_leafs_nation 04 Sep 09 at 5:30 p.m. GMT

I disagree. After reading the books, it is up to the individual's portrait of MM or HP to choose the definitive portrayal in film and television. Suchet, for instance, is often cited as the best Poirot. Hickson is usually cited as the best Marple. This is because they captured the qualities that made their characters who they were to readers worldwide.

Although McEwan was definately very much like an old lady, the flaw in her performance is that she would put any murderer on his guard. She couldn't really disguise her shrewdness in the way Julia Mackenzie and Joan Hickson did. That is why, although she is entertaining, she can hardly be called the definitve Marple. Mackenzie and Hickson, on the other hand, have got a very close competition going on.

Incidentally, have you seen Murder, She Said? Hickson doesn't look 55 in that film. At most, she looks 40-ish. That might have some influence on her quote.

beekay 04 Sep 09 at 10:38 p.m. GMT

I agree the story that AC proposed Joan Hickson as the ideal MM is likley to be a PR exercise, based on a casual comment by AC. I rather prefer Geraldine McEwan and I like Julia McKenzie. But I have ordered some  DVD's of the Hickson version to re-evaluate. The current new MM series is good, except for Why/Evans, which is dire.

Cheers,

 Brian

http://belindalawrence.webs.com/

S_Sigerson 04 Sep 09 at 11:30 p.m. GMT

On rare occasions an actor takes over a character so completely that he or she becomes that character. This is what happened with Joan Hickson and David Suchet. People fell in love with Joan Hickson’s Miss. Marple and David Suchet’s Hercule Poirot and not so much with Agatha Christie’s characters. There are those who never picked up an Agatha Christie novel and perhaps never will, yet thoroughly enjoy Joan Hickson’s  Miss. Marple and David Suchet’s Hercule Poirot nonetheless.  

Definitive implies the character portrayed on the screen perfectly matches the character found in the books.  As I demonstrated earlier with my example, this is not possible, unless the writer had a particular actor in mind when he or she wrote the stories and incorporated the characteristics including physical description and the personality of the actor into the fictional character.     

Physically, Geraldine McEwan resembles Miss. Marple from the books more closely than either Joan Hickson or Julia McKenzie does. Personality wise, Geraldine McEwan captures the fluffy, dotty (on the oustide that is) Miss. Marple from later stories. Now does that make Geraldine McEwan "the one and only Miss. Marple"? Of course not, Geraldine McEwan, like Joan Hickson before her and Julia McKenzie after her, interpret the character differently, but all three do their best to capture the essence of the character.

Tommy_A_Jones 05 Sep 09 at 10:55 a.m. GMT

Where do Angela Landesbury, Helen Hayes and Margaret Rutherford sit in your opinnion S Siggerson? You might think that Geraldine MKewan resembled Miss Marple closer than Joan Hickson or Julia McKenzie but having read 4.50 From Paddington I don't think Ms MKewan was tall enough and that in my opinion was one thing in favour of Angela Landesbury although sadly she only played Miss Marple once although I think Julia McKenzie like Angela Landsbury might look too young for the role. I do think portraying the essence of a Character is in some ways more important than looking like the Character, When reading her books I have only pictured Geraldine MKewan when she is in bed and sits up suddenlly when she hears the phone ring in the first chapter of 'Body In The Library', We just think differently, I get felt she was laughing at the Character and the Many fans of Agatha Christie,  

phlipper 05 Sep 09 at 11:13 a.m. GMT

Looking forward to seeing Julia McKenzie's interpretation of the role. Joan Hickson never really did it justice in my opinion. Geraldine McEwan was good, but Margaret Rutherford is still the best. (Still, all were better than Helen Hayes and Angela Lansbury !! My god.)

Annoying though that most of world has already seen this new series before it even starts here.