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Julia McKenzie's Marple

shanty_sleuth 24 Nov 08 at 3:07 a.m. GMT

I thought we needed a place to discuss the new Julia McKenzie adaptations. The first two episodes have already aired in Ireland, interestingly enough. The other two are still unaired. I'm sure that the entire fourth season will air in the UK in the New Year, and we know that the U.S. and Canada will see them next summer. I've seen A Pocket Full of Rye and I'll watch Murder is Easy soon, so I'll give some insight as to what everyone can expect once those episodes air...

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shanty_sleuth 24 Nov 08 at 3:42 a.m. GMT

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Ah, A POCKET FULL OF RYE. I thought it was quite good, but there were some disappointing aspects to it. The screenplay was written by Kevin Elyot, and he put forth another faithful adaptation. I think every major character was there except Miss Ramsbottom. No form of her character is included. Prunella Scales, instead, plays Mrs. Mackenzie. The cast does good all around... I liked Inspector Neele and his sergeant, the Crumps, Lance, and Jennifer, in particular. Elaine and Percival were terribly dull, and so was Pat, in a way. Ken Cranham, unfortunately, does not get much screentime as Rex, and so we barely see his tyranny and wickedness. His death scene, I'm sorry to say, was pathetic. He looked and sounded like he was choking on his food. Timothy West may have been dramatic in his portrayal of Rex's demise in Joan Hickson's version, but it was far more interesting and somewhat more realistic. I guess Mr. West was a better Rex. What I didn't like about this adaptation was the pacing. The beginning half of the episode flew by too quickly. In about twenty minutes, Lance and Pat were already in England. I suppose it's the limited time frame, which is unfortunate. Hickson's version allowed for the viewer to familiarize with the Fortescue family. This version introduces them rather quickly and speeds off to other developments. The pacing improves as the episode wears on, which is good. This is a faithful adaptation of the novel, and there aren't any drastic changes. If you've read the novel, you're expecting much of the same thing.

shanty_sleuth 24 Nov 08 at 3:42 a.m. GMT

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Finally, Julia McKenzie. I liked her performance. She was not as outward as Geraldine McEwan was, but neither was she stern and sombre as Joan Hickson. She smiled quite a lot, but that isn't a bad thing, is it? I don't want to be too quick to judge, but I think she will grow on me. The best thing about the adaptation for me was the ending. I'll spoil it since this post is marked as a spoiler. Well, Miss Marple returns home and finds the letter that Gladys had written to her that had arrived AFTER Miss Marple went to Yewtree Lodge to investigate. She reads it, and finds just how in love Gladys was with Albert Evans/Lance. She also finds a snapshot of Gladys and Bert/Lance, and the final spoken line is Gladys telling her about how she would approve of such a nice young man or something along those lines. It tears Miss Marple up as she realizes that, if the letter had arrived to her in time, she could have saved Gladys' life AND have ruined Lance's plans. The tragedy of that fateful letter is perhaps the most poignant ending of the series, ending this rather dark episode. I'd give it a nice 8.5/10. Not quite perfect, but not at all bad. I've managed to quickly skim through MURDER IS EASY, however. Oh my, the purists aren't going to like that one...

go_leafs_nation 07 Dec 08 at 9:53 p.m. GMT

I just saw Julia Mackenzie as Miss Marple in "A Pocket Full of Rye". The adapt itself I loved (Kevin Elyot really respects AC's novels in his adapts). Mackenzie also shocked me. I really liked Geraldine McEwan in the role, but I loved her much more in it. I can very easily see her as Miss Marple, much more than McEwan.

shanty_sleuth 08 Dec 08 at 8:19 p.m. GMT

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I watched MURDER IS EASY a few days ago. Hmm. Novel aside, I actually thought it was an enjoyable mystery. The plot moved along nicely, with all sorts of intriguing bits in between. Julia McKenzie was excellent. Go Leafs, I think I agree with you about her - she is far better than Geraldine McEwan, and she really captured more of an essence of the character. But, back to the adaptation... well, to be honest, this wasn't much of an adaptation. The episode was almost completely different than the book in so many respects. However, with that in mind, it was a far better attempt at recreating the novel than the abominable SITTAFORD MYSTERY. It was also better than NEMESIS and SLEEPING MURDER, in my mind. Stephen Churchett was better at keeping the adaptations faithful, and I still think THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE and 4.50 FROM PADDINGTON are his best. I'll list most of the changes from book to screen in the next post, so if anyone doesn't want to throw a fit at seeing this book almost completely altered, feel free to take a gander.

shanty_sleuth 08 Dec 08 at 9:12 p.m. GMT

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Changes in MURDER IS EASY: - Most of the characters killed off in the film are different than the ones murdered in the novel. In the book, for example, a vulgar boy is pushed from a window, and a drunk innkeeper is drowned. Neither victims are included here. Two new characters, Florrie Gibbs and Reverend Minchin, die instead: the latter of inhaling toxic gas while spraying his beehives because the killer poked holes in his gas mask, and the former from poisoned mushrooms planted by the killer. Also, characters killed off BEFORE the book's narrative begins are instead made into characters that are murdered DURING the events of the film. They are Amy Gibbs, Dr. Humbleby, and Lydia Horton. Amy drinks the hat dye and Dr. Humbleby dies of blood poisoning like in the book, but Lydia Horton (only mentioned in the novel as having died of gastritis) is injected with a fatal dose of insulin before being drowned in her bathtub. - Miss Pinkerton does not meet Luke on the train - she meets Miss Marple. She's only going to Scotland Yard to report two of the deaths (Florrie Gibbs and Reverend Minchin). She does not seem to know the killer's identity. Everything about the killer's telltale look to their victims and how the killer is the person you'd least suspect is trashed. Miss Pinkerton is also pushed down an escalator a la the character Phyllida Campion in THE CASE OF THE MISSING WILL (but, of course, she dies, unlike Ms Campion). In the novel, Miss Pinkerton was pushed into the path of a car and run down while crossing the street. - Luke becomes a resident of Wychwood. He meets Miss Marple at Miss Pinkerton's funeral, and the two team up to solve the mystery. Luke also lets Miss Marple stay at his cottage.

shanty_sleuth 08 Dec 08 at 9:13 p.m. GMT

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- Bridget is NOT Lord Whitfield's fiancee. She is, instead, a mysterious visitor of Wychwood. Therefore, it'd be easier to say that her and Luke's roles are somewhat reversed in that respect. She is American, and it transpires that she is looking to find her real mother. Her real mother had given birth to her and put her in the reeds a la Moses in the Bible, and Lydia Horton found her and gave her over to Americans. She and Luke, of course, fall in love. - Lord Whitfield's character is trashed. Characters such as Mr. Ellsworthy the balmy antique dealer practising witchcraft and Superintendent Battle are gone, as well. - Very minor characters in the novel have their roles expanded and somewhat changed. Major Horton loses his bulldogs, still has his wife, and is now a politician trying to win the election in Wychwood. He is Conservative. Mr. Abbot the solicitor has his hand in blackmail and is Amy Gibbs' secret lover, and he impregnates her. Reverend Wake becomes more prominent, as well, having replaced Reverend Minchin after his death. Interestingly enough, Dr. Thomas is much of the same character from the novel, with the only difference being that he is socialist who clashes with Major Horton. He's also romancing Rose Humbleby, who is the librarian of Wychwood's library. Constable Reed, only mentioned in the novel, investigates the mystery along with Miss Marple and Luke.

shanty_sleuth 08 Dec 08 at 9:14 p.m. GMT

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- Finally, I get to the most crucial character. Of course I'm talking about Honoria Waynflete. Sadly, the deceptive, jealous, vengeful, and insane old spinster of the novel becomes a sniveling, middle-aged woman who helps Major Horton run his campaign. The motive from the novel is gone, and the new one is terribly complicated. No canary's neck is wrung, but Honoria does have a mentally-handicapped brother who drinks too much thanks to Major Horton. Leonard Waynflete then does some incestual raping with the result of impregnation, and is soon to be murdered by being pushed into a river as a sort of mercy killing so that he wouldn't "defile" her again. Honoria asks about abortion around the village, but ultimately has the child. She puts it among the reeds, where it is found by Lydia Horton - yes, Honoria is Bridget's real mother! She kills Florrie Gibbs and Reverend Minchin because they knew about the rape - since Bridget was asking questions, she couldn't risk memories being stirred. She killed Humbleby because she asked him about an abortion. She killed Miss Pinkerton because she was a 'chatterbox' who could have said too much. She killed Amy because Amy was pregnant and wanted an abortion, and she knew that Honoria had been to her grandmother Florrie, asking for a natural way to get rid of her baby. Finally, Lydia was killed because she was going to reveal everything she knew about Bridget to Bridget, which could have had Bridget snooping around until she discovered Honoria was her mother.

shanty_sleuth 08 Dec 08 at 9:14 p.m. GMT

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Bridget, of course, isn't drugged and lured into the woods to face death at the hands of Honoria. Instead, the solution is revealed like in SLEEPING MURDER, where all of the suspects gather around to hear Miss Marple speak and to hear the confession. Honoria weeps and weeps and weeps, with Shirley Henderson putting on her Moaning Myrtle character from the Harry Potter films. At the end, Bridget leaves Wychwood, leaving a New York postcard in his pocket as a message to him. Then Miss Marple leaves some flowers at Miss Pinkerton's grave before departing herself.

shanty_sleuth 08 Dec 08 at 9:22 p.m. GMT

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All in all, this adaptation was alright. It could have used less talk about abortion and rape and pregnancy, which is rather ridiculous for a Christie story. I'd also have liked to see more faithfulness to the novel. But it wasn't that bad, really. 7/10 for this one, and A POCKETFUL OF RYE was definitely the better of the two. I eagerly await to see WHY DIDN'T THEY ASK EVANS? and THEY DO IT WITH MIRRORS.

go_leafs_nation 10 Dec 08 at 11:22 p.m. GMT

Well, shanty sleuth, you certainly covered MIE well. In my IMDb review, I also ended up giving it a 7/10. I was open to changes, but the changes did NOT help the story at all (for the most part). It helped make the story much more farfetched, unlikely, unprobable. The changes were too numerous and defaced the story too much.

I think A POCKET FULL OF RYE was indeed, the better of the two. And I am just so glad Julia Mackenzie is Miss Marple. She absolutely shines in the role.

By the way, WHY DIDN'T THEY ASK EVANS is being adapted by Patrick Barlow (I think), who adapted BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS. Good news or bad? I think it's good-- BTPOMT was really entertaining, despite the plot changes.

shanty_sleuth 11 Dec 08 at 12:36 a.m. GMT

Ah, that was Stewart Harcourt. Patrick Barlow appeared as Mr. Timothy in BTPOMT, though. WHY DIDN'T THEY ASK EVANS? has the potential to be excellent even if the novel is changed. Hopefully the changes won't be as numerous as MURDER IS EASY. THEY DO IT WITH MIRRORS has a fantastic cast as far as I can see, and it could be another great entry in the series. If only Julia McKenzie could readapt the novels that were adapted with Geraldine McEwan... I'd love to see her in 4.50 FROM PADDINGTON or A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED. She still has A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY and THE MIRROR CRACK'D FROM SIDE TO SIDE, so I'm very excited for those.

Ms_Kylie_Menage 18 Dec 08 at 4:28 p.m. GMT

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Well...I have just forced myself to watch this rubbish and all I can say is Stephen Churchett has to be stopped from ever being allowed to "adapt" Christie again! The only thing in common with the book was the title and some of the character's names...Such a shame, as the book is so good and would have made a fine Miss Marple film. The plot makes absolutely no sense...Honoria is afraid the villagers will find out her secret - but it seems to me, everyone knew it anyway. I give it one out of ten. The direction was dreadful too. A Pocket Full Of Rye, however, is brilliant. I saw no issue with the pacing at all. It was poignant, and also very amusing. Helen Baxendale was fantastic - I hope she will have a role in Orient Express. I only knew of her as Ross' fiancee in Friends - and she is so utterly different here. I think Julia McKenzie is lovely too. I don't hold much hope for "Evans", but let's hope They Do It With Mirrors is as good. And please let Kevin Elyot do Orient Express! The very best adaptations have so far come from his pen.

Tommy_A_Jones 20 Dec 08 at 1:46 p.m. GMT

Thankyou shanty sleuth I haven't seen any of the episodes with Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple but from reading people's review I am looking forward to them even more now and like you would love her to readapt the Episodes Geraldine McKewan did, I loved Patrick Barlow in BTPOMT, it nearly made up for the fact Miss Marple appeared and the fact I found Anthony Anedrews portrayal of Tommy as a bit severe.

go_leafs_nation 20 Dec 08 at 7:46 p.m. GMT

Here are some interesting statistics I found: Stephen Churchett's Hit List (Books He's Responsible for Destroying Onscreen): - Murder at the Vicarage (Exception!) - 4:50 From Paddington (Exception!) - Sleeping Murder - The Sittaford Mystery - Nemesis - Murder is Easy On the other hand, Kevin Elyot has adapted: - Five Little Pigs - Death on the Nile - The Body in the Library (the final change I like to believe was made at the producer's insistence; it was wonderfully faithful until then) - The Moving Finger - Towards Zero - A Pocket Full of Rye Tom MacRae adapted only "At Bertram's Hotel". Stewart Harcourt adapted: - A Murder is Announced - By the Pricking of My Thumbs - Ordeal by Innocence Anyone notice any trends? At any rate, yes, Kevin Elyot should be the only person left to trust for these adaptations. "Murder on the Orient Express" for certain!!!

Tommy_A_Jones 21 Dec 08 at 1:54 p.m. GMT

So you don't think grown men should have to take responsibility for their own actions then go_leafs? Kevin Eliot could have refused to make the ending in Body In The Library and he ruined Five Little Pigs by including a homosexual element which wasn't in the book, If they were real would you let off all the Murderers in Agatha Christie books of with a slap on the wrist and 100 Comunity Service?

go_leafs_nation 21 Dec 08 at 6:37 p.m. GMT

The change in FIVE LITTLE PIGS, however, was so minor in comparison with the rest of it, that I really didn't mind it that much. Kevin Elyot is about the only screenwriter remaining who respects Agatha's original material.

Santonix 22 Dec 08 at 4:21 a.m. GMT

winne, are you really comparing  tiny changes no one will remember in fifteen years with murdering people? really?

WINNEBAGO1901

So you don't think grown men should have to take responsibility for their own actions then go_leafs? Kevin Eliot could have refused to make the ending in Body In The Library

If Kevin Elyot hates getting paid, then sure. Maybe he thought putting a different spin on an old tale just wasn't worth missing out on what he would get paid, plus royalties. That's business, kiddo.

Tommy_A_Jones 23 Dec 08 at 4:08 p.m. GMT

No of Course I don't santonix it just annoys me how some people sewem to be saying the Architect of the changes should be excused and given free rein to make more and anyway only time will tell if the changes are remembered in 15 years time.

squatty 23 Dec 08 at 6:15 p.m. GMT

I'm sure I'll get slated for this after my previous contribition to the sexuality debate but I feel the current production team have made those changes for two reasons: 1) to try and shock the diehard AC fans 2)to present a knowing nod in the direction of AC's many gay readers/viewers. Even dismissing the change in some characters' sexuality, the GM Marple's are incredibly camp in a way that the JH Marples never were.

go_leafs_nation 18 Jan 09 at 12:49 p.m. GMT

Well, the changed ending in "The Body in the Library" was bad, but it provided an element of added shock. I'm not a fan of this ending, though. But then, similar things to that are reused over and over again and it becomes just plain stupid.