TV on DVD: Agatha Christie's Marple -- Series 4 (2008)

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Following the retirement of actress Geraldine McEwan who portrayed Agatha Christie's brilliantly subtle "spinster" sleuth in the three previous seasons of ITV's successful series, Cranford and Notes on a Scandal actress Julia McKenzie took up the knitting needles and inquisitive mind embodied in Agatha Christie's Marple.

With the release of its fourth series that coincides with the broadcast of the included works here in the states as part of PBS's Masterpiece Mystery!, once again we're presented with a quartet of high quality adaptations of feature-length standalone mysteries breathtakingly captured in cinematic 16x9 widescreen format and presented with Dolby Digital sound.

Routinely clocking in at a breakneck 93 minute running time, McKenzie is joined by a top-notch cast of familiar faces in supporting roles including Matthew Macfadyen, Joan Collins, Shirley Henderson, Rupert Graves, Anna Chancellor, Jemma Redgrave, Brian Cox, Helen Baxendale, Prunella Scales, Warren Clarke, Natalie Dormer, Rafe Spall, Samantha Bond and Liz White.

In the set, Miss Jane Marple seeks to unmask the murderer(s) in the four given mysteries that comprise the series (A Pocket Full of Rye, Murder is Easy, They Do It With Mirrors, and Why Didn't They Ask Evans?) as well as their modus operandi which are typically revealed in Christie fashion with a mind-boggling denouement. Although fortunately for our sake, the Marple explanations always make far more sense to viewers than the ones rattled off (sometimes) via thirty minute near monologues by David Suchet's Hercule Poirot.

However, while Poirot was able to overhear conversations and happen upon clues by sitting quietly in rooms much like Miss Jane Marple who seems to hide behind knitting as part of her drawing room mystery camouflage-- one major difference between Christie's two greatest and most popular detectives was that Marple was far less vain. Unlike Poirot, Marple needed none of the man's glory nor the title of "the greatest detective in the world," since in some cases, once she's cracked a complicated puzzle in her roundabout way, she simply disappears from the scene before the guilty party is even apprehended.

While she always fears the worst whenever she's brought in, she stumbles onto cases typically as a guest or when asked to put her amateur sleuthing skills to good use by a friend or acquaintance. Although Marple fans may recall her as a cynical, tough-minded woman who doesn't faint at the sight of corpses or being held up at gunpoint in a standoff with an unstable suspect and we do see some of those qualities here, overall McKenzie's approach to Marple feels different. Basically it's a bit more cheerful and mumbling yet self-consciously meek and therefore McKenzie's Marple as penned by the screenwriters adapting Christie's work for the four different directors employed for the titles in question at first seems like she's acting in stark contrast to the woman we've known on the page and in previous films.

However, quickly we discover that instead of the Marple portrayed by some as a bit pushier and insistent-- especially when dealing with the authorities-- our new Jane Marple operates on the simple truth that people will tell an old woman anything. Throughout these four feature films, Marple is ultimately a clever confidant who is instantly trustworthy because of her soft-spoken demeanor and the way that she instinctively seems to know just when to ask certain questions at that eventually leads to solving the most difficult of cases.

In quintessential Christie fashion-- inspired no doubt by the author's background in pharmacology work-- poisons are used repeatedly throughout the series and the body count often grows from one corpse to several such as in the wickedly named Murder is Easy when people begin dropping like the local bees kept at the vicarage in a way that makes us realize they must have stung someone the wrong way and died as a result.

Although unfortunately the decision to pair these particular four mysteries together might not have been the best one from a storyteller's point-of-view since all four involve the same type of secret, motive, and individual(s) that leads to the killings-- making one wonder why Christie was so fixated on the issue and why all four past secrets led to evil-- overall it's a solid and satisfying collection. However, due to the familiarity of the concluding link that occurs in the first, second, third, and fourth volume consecutively-- despite the fact that of course, Christie gives them all wondrously unique twists, subplots, red herrings, and more surprises-- Agatha Christie's Marple perhaps works best viewed in the PBS like weekly format instead of as a marathon which makes the repetition that much more glaring.

Exquisitely photographed and with stunning period production design for the early 1950s set series where the wounds of World War II still haven't healed-- amazingly as works on their own there isn't a dud in the bunch. The series begins with the classic case of a wealthy man with more enemies than friends who is found poisoned at work. Yet when we learn that the man died also with a pocket filled with rye and there seems to be a strange clue involving the term "Blackbird," Marple works subtly alongside Matthew Macfayden's Inspector Neele when she discovers that her sweet but dim-witted maid Gladys who had begun working in the victim's crowded household has also perished in a gruesome fashion.

And in Murder is Easy, Marple is led to a seemingly idyllic village after she encounters a stranger on a train "accidentally" killed shortly after a curiously suspicious confession entices Marple to visit a tight-knit community where the death toll is on the rise as church pews begin emptying out. While she's again faced with multiple motives, UK film fans who are used to certain actors being typecast will immediately be able to identify the killer by the guest star portraying a resident. Although once again and similar to Rye, piecing together the clues into a final solution is a different story altogether for Marple, though luckily for us it's one that's much easier to comprehend than Rye's.

Once we've left the beauty of the English village, the last two titles-- They Do it With Mirrors and Why Didn't They Ask Evans?-- primarily take place indoors, giving us a sense of heightened suspicion and claustrophobia especially in the brilliant final mystery that livens things up by giving Marple two young aspiring sleuth sidekicks. Asked to investigate a strange fire at the sister's residence of Jane Marple's good friend played by Joan Collins, Marple journeys to the eccentric home of Ruth van Ryock to make sure that no danger is awaiting Ruth in Mirrors.

Further complicating Marple's visit is the rather large ensemble cast that's initially hard for audiences to keep straight. And to this end, we become acquainted with Ruth's life of ex-husbands and stepchildren-- some of whom are much older than she is herself-- and begin tallying up all of the possible perpetrators. It's a laundry list of suspects to say the least including a shell-shocked World War II veteran, a mentally unstable assistant who believes he's the son of Winston Churchill, along with a rehabilitation center filled with endless suspects given the fact that Ruth runs an adjacent facility for "reformed" citizens.

Aside from some scenes that had this reviewer with an Indiana Jones like fear of snakes desperately wanting to look away-- by far, the most unorthodox and original feature contained in the fourth series was the fourth volume of Why Didn't They Ask Evans? wherein a young man discovers a dying stranger stranded on the rocks of a cliff by the sea. As the young Bobby Attfield risks his own life to get to the victim, the dying man utters the five words that would be used for the title of the mystery but instead of informing the police about the strange utterance, the scared Bobby keeps this knowledge private.

Of course, that changes when a beautiful old friend from school named Frankie Derwent suggests that the two take up the case themselves. Soon in over their heads and posing as others at a creepy mansion connected to the deceased-- luckily for Bobby and Frankie-- Miss Marple arrives to assist the boy she's known since he was a child and more importantly help solve the case.

Again, while the same past mistakes and secrets twist is used repeatedly and in Murder is Easy especially some of the decisions made by the director in deciding when to let us in on a visual clue seemed a tad too early and obvious, all of the traditional Christie criticisms of an over-reliance on poisons, some characters who feel one-dimensional etc. is easily brushed aside thanks to the elegant and classy execution.

Although I wish that McKenzie's Marple had a little more spunk so that some of her triumphs and confidences shared resembled more determined investigation rather than the recurring nonchalant, "ah well, I'm old and people will talk to me" style of knowledge gathering, by the time Mirrors and Evans have rolled around you can see the actress visibly grow more accustomed to her role. And soon, McKenzie begins making Jane Marple slightly more confident in some memorable sequences during the comedic near-play like set-up of the fourth title.

A must-own for Christie fans and especially those, like me, who always enjoyed Marple more than Poirot when picking up one of the author's mystery novels-- the stellar craftsmanship and dedication of those in front of and behind the camera is apparent as soon as the works begin. And luckily for fans, we can already look forward to the arrival of more Marple as a fifth series has been ordered for ITV.

Text ©2009, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited.

TV on DVD: Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Movie Collection -- Set 4 -- Mrs. McGinty's Dead ('08); Cat Among the Pigeons ('08); Masterpiece Mystery!

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Devotees of the novels of Agatha Christie-- the most prolific author in history whose extraordinary body of work ranks only third behind the Bible and Shakespeare for the most widely read pieces of literature around the globe-- may find it easy to mistake Ms. Christie with the fictitious Ariadne Oliver.

Like Christie--Oliver, you may recall was a mystery writing heroine who was more than a little fed up with her fictitious masculine character as well as a woman who was very good friends with Christie's most famous invention of Hercule Poirot--who similarly was a bit of a thorn in Christie's side.

Eagerly describing himself to anyone who asks as the most famous detective in all the world-- Poirot's Belgian sleuth who sees England through the beneficial eyes of a foreigner is so superbly played by David Suchet to the point that one cannot even pick up a novel today without envisioning that penguin like walk, feeling the tickle of that bizarre mustache, the intensity of the strange gaze and hear the richness of the Royal Shakespeare Company trained actor's voice. Suchet's Poirot is more than just a character but a masterful tour de force in pulling a man off a page and turning him into a flawed human being who can solve a crime but can't manage to solve the problem of a normal relationship with his overly focused ways.

So instead of a significant other-- he has plenty of friends-- and to this end, characters crop up throughout including the memorable Ariadne Oliver (portrayed by Zoe Wanamaker) as an author growing weary of the main character she's created in her own series of novels.

Obviously some took this invention as a commentary on Christie's own attitudes towards Poirot whom she was so eager to kill off that she'd written his final case several decades before it was ultimately published and the fictitious man's obituary made its way onto the front page of The New York Times.

However as Suchet and others interviewed in the fascinating roughly fifty minute documentary Super Sleuths contained within this box set note-- Christie was far too clever to do something as prosaic as that and instead used Oliver satirically, the way that as Suchet intriguingly points out, her decision to make Poirot foreign gave her the freedom to poke fun of her homeland.

While the creation of Poirot was most likely inspired by the arrival of Belgian immigrants who arrived in her area when she worked in a nearby pharmacy including (as the legend goes) one man who had a singularly identifiable mustache-- whatever the case may be-- the woman who used her knowledge of poisons and pharmacology from working as a hospital dispenser managed to create her own unique brand of detective novel that she seldom strayed from, both to the delight and the dismay of her readers and critics alike.

Therefore, she was part of the burgeoning renaissance (of predominantly female!) British authors who were crafting what would become known as the "village mystery" whereas on this side of the pond-- with the lean muscular stylings of men like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler-- we moved towards the dark, pulp and noir based shadowy streets instead of deceptively cheerful countrysides.

Still, Christie's incredibly intricate plots could send you reeling for days. Granted, yes, with that many red herrings and a few sort of obvious clues as well as characters to introduce that people ended up being more or less types rather than psychologically three dimensional people (which was her biggest criticism as referenced in Super Sleuths)-- for Poirot especially, it was less about the crime or even the supporting players and more about those amazing denouements. Moreover, they were so endlessly complicated that it's a wonder that poor David Suchet didn't pass out during those challenging tongue twisting monologues that may as well have been soliloquies for all the involvement they required from the rest of the cast-mates.

And while cinematically, you're committing screenplay suicide when the writers realize they have to work in Poirot explaining how something went down for--I checked my watch in one case to discover that we had a twenty-five minute denouement-- the brilliance of the Masterpiece Mysteries movie collection of the Poirot cases as opposed to the original television hour long series of Christie short works is that the editors are able to go in and help us along by showing earlier scenes, inserting new points-of-view to explain the motive and/or killer etc.

This is especially beneficial for this viewer since-- despite my first acting gig being in the musical Little Miss Christie about the author and being able to perform two solos-- I've always been more of a Miss Marple fan since Poirot's character is so peculiar and his cases are often beyond comprehension at times that even when I reread the ending or watch the conclusion again, I still feel like I'm missing something which is exactly what happened with the first film in the box set of Mrs. McGinty's Dead.

Par for the course of the superb production values and ensuring that the films all blend together nicely so that-- as Suchet noted-- he will have left the complete works of Poirot on film for future generations to cherish when they film his final case very soon, McGinty is gorgeously crafted and boasts a solid opening hook.

Namely, a handsome and poor young man has been convicted to death for the murder of his elderly landlady and-- although the case itself was sound-- even the prosecutor doesn't feel like he's sent the right man to the gallows. Asking a favor of his old friend Poirot to head off to the countryside and journey to the area where the man resided-- soon our hero discovers that there's far more secrets lurking in the village than he ever would've imagined. Of course, fortunately he finds there are pleasant surprises to be had as well when his friend Ariadne Oliver arrives out of the blue to help add some much needed humor to the mystery-- aside from once again laughing with our "Belgian fish out of water" lead who is-- as played by Suchet fond of misplacing verbs in his sentences and doesn't exactly blend in with the locals.

Although there's a few predictable twists along the way not to mention one great wicked usage of Poirot's wit when the fact that someone tries to push him in front of a train not only thrills the sleuth but makes him realize that the wrong bloke is behind bars-- somehow the third act of the ninety-three minute film feels a bit too rushed. Eventually it finishes in a confusing manner and never manages to grab us in the same way that its superior counterpart-- Cat Among the Pigeons does within the very first act, only growing stronger as it continues.

Basically, all it takes is the sight of Poirot trying to give an introductory speech at a prestigious British upper class girl's boarding school for us to realize that mystery lovers' favorite wise Belgian who can solve a crime just by thinking is entirely out of his element.

However, he's quick to realize that he's not the only male on campus-- as the young, handsome and overly friendly Adam Goodman who catches the eye of every young woman in both school and on staff-- immediately sticks out as well and when Poirot is asked by his friend, the headmistress to stay on for awhile and help her choose a successor from among the teachers in her employ, murder unexpectedly arrives at Meadowbank School.

Interrupting his employment head-hunting search to find the person or people hunting heads when more crimes begin to hit the school-- Poirot soon realizes that nothing is what it seems at this boarding school where false identities, royalty, dirty secrets, voodoo dolls, blackmail, jealousy, and even espionage infiltrate the campus.

Thus, Agatha Christie's Poriot: The Movie Collection Set 4 manages to win us back from its rocky, standard opener with the seen-it-all-before Mrs. McGinty's Dead along with a fully up-to-date documentary that finds Suchet and others talking about their plans to film the final Poirot mystery and the history of the series by closing with this stellar title.

Of course and true to Christie form, in Cat Among the Pigeons, the denouement is extraordinarily long and not altogether unexpected (at least in places) but this time in addition to providing us with some more entertaining supporting players than the previous film which had just aired on Masterpiece Mystery!, the title also has the benefit of at least keeping you in step with Poirot and the others throughout the final act.

And as long as you don't have to attempt to adopt that unique accent or do the Poirot walk, any chance to try and think like Poirot-- and far more impressively-- solve a case like Poirot without lifting a finger, is a success in my book and I'd venture to say probably one in both Agatha Christie's and Ariadne Oliver's as well.

Text ©2009, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited.

Agatha Christie: Mystery Lover's Collection

Dame Agatha Christie, dubbed the "Queen of Crime" for leaving an overwhelmingly successful and influential body of work including eighty detective novels has been long valued as "one of the most important and innovative writers in the development of the [mystery] genre." With "only the Bible... known to have outsold her collected sales of roughly four billion copies of novels," and a global readership which can pick up her work in any of the more than fifty-six languages in which they've been translated, it's no wonder that time and time again Christie's ingeniously crafted tales of murder and mayhem have been adapted to stage and screen.

With the October 28th release of Acorn Media's beautifully packaged boxed set, Agatha Christie: Mystery Lover's Collection, we're presented with five timeless mysteries spread over four DVDs and including some of her most cherished characters such as Hercule Poirot, Miss Jane Marple, and Tommy & Tuppence.

With David Suchet's impeccable portrayal of Hercule Poirot, we're introduced to a made-for-British-television adaptation of Agatha Christie's very first published novel which introduced the Belgian police detective to readers in The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Although her diaries would reveal that Christie found Poirot "insufferable," and in later years dubbed him "an ego-centric creep," she shared that he could never have been written alongside her preferred Miss Marple since Poirot "would not like being taught his business or having suggestions made to him by an elderly spinster lady." Nonetheless Poirot was her most popular character, appearing in more books than any other and holding the auspicious honor of being "the only fictional character to have been given an obituary in The New York Times... in 1975."

While the film adaptation of Styles is of interest for its sheer historical and literary importance in depicting Christie's first foray into the world of writing, perhaps its shortcomings lie in the novel itself, as onscreen far too many characters are introduced much too quickly, easily confusing viewers from the start. However, much like Marlowe in the equally impossible to follow adaptation of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, the plot takes a backseat and it's Poirot's show all the way.

However, Christie's love for Miss Jane Marple shines through in the wonderful reinterpretation albeit a loose adaptation of The Body in the Library which is also included in the set. Featuring an extraordinary cast including Tara Fitzgerald and Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple, we follow a mysterious case involving a beautiful blonde woman discovered dead in the library of the home of Marple's dear friend, Dolly Bantry.

With no idea just who the woman is or how she came to be in the library, Marple and Dolly conduct their own investigation alongside the official police one as they journey to the seaside to gain greater access to the posh hotel she worked at as a dance hostess. With quite a surprising finale and several twists and turns throughout, it's a standout in the set and one you may have to view twice to pick up on all of the clever clues, red herrings and nuances throughout.

However, my greatest surprise was upon the discovery of the delightful Partners in Crime, detective couple Tommy & Tuppence. In the feature length, screwball inspired mystery The Secret Adversary which was my favorite in the entire set, we're introduced to the young, ambitious characters who reunite after the end of the first World War and by chance find themselves quickly embroiled in a major political mystery. With superb chemistry between the leads played by James Warwick and Francesca Annis and a wonderful script, it's a treasured find for those readers, such as myself, who were mostly preoccupied with Marple and Poirot.

Unfortunately, the follow-up mystery on the disc, The Affair of the Pink Pearl which was made as part of the short-lived British television series Partners in Crime finds our brave and hilarious duo relegated to a life of the idle rich in an overly staged and cringe-worthy production that's best to be skipped in favor of a second viewing of The Secret Adversary.

Rounding out the set is the A&E version of Christie's suspenseful Macbeth-tinged mystery, The Pale Horse. Set in the swinging 60's of London with the appropriate Kinks heavy soundtrack included for good measure, this chilling tale of black magic and mayhem seems more Buffy the Vampire Slayer than quintessential Christie. However, soon our likable lead Mark Easterbrook (Colin Buchanan) finds himself as the Hitchcockian wrong man when he stumbles upon the body of a dying priest whose fingers are clutching a secret list of names. With the sculptor and artist Mark on the case along with his two friends (played by Hermione Norris and Jayne Ashbourne), Mark must get to the bottom of the case before more terrifying events begin spiraling out of control.

Eerie, sinister and perfectly timed in its release just before Halloween-- it wasn't as entertaining as The Body in the Library or The Secret Adversary but served as a swiftly paced and unexpected inclusion for Christie devotees. Packaged together for the first time, these BBC, Granada, PBS and A&E mysteries make a great introduction to the world of Christie for newcomers as well as a set that rewards those who've been reading her books for years. And in the case of this reviewer, it may even make you seek out more Acorn Media packaged adaptations featuring the stars involved (like the excellent new Miss Marple portrayed by Geraldine McEwan) or pick up a few novels chronicling the adventures of Tommy & Tuppence. Agatha Christie: Mystery Lover's Collection will be available from Acorn and online via select retailers such as Amazon on October 28.