Majorthebys Charming and brutal

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Cody One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

sissoed Spoilers ahead!I've seen this 1984 Joan Hickson version several times over the years, and I always like it, which is why I give it an "excellent" 10-level rating. But last night on seeing it again, it struck me: how can it be that the "rock solid" alibi for several characters is that they were in the presence of the murder victim, with many other witnesses seeing all of them together, while the victim was alive? An alibi has to apply to the period of time during which the victim was killed, not earlier, while everyone knew the victim was alive. Yet this is how the alibi for the eventual killers is described several times by the police. The real way the alibi worked is that the killers were seen in the presence of the victim while the victim was alive, and then remained in public, visible to many witnesses, continuously for at least an hour after the victim left everyone's presence, right up to and beyond the very latest time that the police later state is the latest moment that the victim (being elsewhere) could have been killed. Think about this strategy for a moment from the viewpoint of the killers, in planning their murder. They have to get a double, whom they will dress-up to impersonate the victim, and kill the double early enough in the day that when the police find the body and do their estimate of the time-of-death, the latest time-of-death the police will come up with happens to be within the window of time after the real victim leaves public view but while the killers are still in public view. But they also have to wait long enough before killing the double that the moment of the latest time-of-death is after the victim has left public view of the witnesses. That's cutting it pretty fine, and requires the killers to have a very good idea of how the police go about determining a victim's latest time-of-death. They also have to gamble that one of them will be called to view the body and make the identification (calling the substitute the real victim) and that no one else will be called on to make an identification. Otherwise, the substitution trick fails, and with it, so too fails the determination by the police of the latest time-of-death. One other interesting point: the killers planned to frame the film-studio man for the murder, leaving the body of the "double" at his house. He foils this temporarily by moving the body to the Bantry home - home of the rich squire of the county. Inadvertently, this saved him from the frame-up -- because it brought in and focused the excellent detectives on this case. It brought in not only Miss Marple, as friend to the Bantrys, but also the regional police Chief, because he was a neighbor to the Bantrys, and because the Chief would give special attention to anything affecting the Squire. Moving the body anywhere else, or leaving it in his own home, would have left the film-studio man at the mercy of the bone-headed detective who fell for the frame-up, because Marple would not have become involved and the Chief would not have given the case so much attention. Thus the film-man's moving the body to the Squire's house proved to be a disaster for the killers, because it brought in a swarm of detectives along with Miss Marple, all looking to find the killers. The killers certainly never expected that. The inadvertent lesson for us: if you want a murder to get solved, drag innocent rich people into it -- they'll have the money and insider connections to bring vast resources to bear on finding the real killer, not so much to pursue justice, but to clear their own names.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU A simple story about a rich old man who is going to adopt a dancer to give her his money or at least a good part of it against the will of his children, or in-laws, but Miss Marple is a lot trickier than that and the criminal is someone who wants to put their hands on that money by marrying one of the two official heirs, though the heirs don't seem to really care for the "caprice" of the old man: they may at most be condescendingly looking down upon the fancy of a sick old person. Clever but not enough for Miss Marple to be fooled. It is true she cheats because she has "accomplices" in the police, but she remains entertaining and the older actress that impersonates her is so quaintly delicate and dainty that it is a pleasure to listen to her shy and hardly impressive voice. But don't get fooled by her.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID

rbolt2008 Joan Hickson's first appearance in her outstanding portrayal of Miss Marple - and the first BBC adaptation written by Trevor Bowen. It was first broadcast in three 50-minute episodes.Suspense: For me, the structure of the adaptation is one of its qualities: each episode ends with a cliffhanger, while parts two and three begin with a shot of the body in the darkness of the Library at Gossington Hall. Watch out for the macabre ending to episode two involving a bonfire, a laugh and a native mask. The use of shadows and closeup shots to create sinister effects are a feature of the BBC adaptations and the first film contains some good examples of this. In my opinion, the closing ten minutes are worthy of a Hitchcock thriller or an expressionist film of the 1920s or 30s.Characterisation: Each member of the cast is suited to their respective roles. Moray Watson's staccato accent makes him an ideal Colonel Bantry; Jess Conrad's appearance is perfect for the role of Raymond Starr; Gwen Watford is brilliant as Dolly Bantry - she is what I would expect a wife of a retired colonel in the 1950s to look like. Members of the cast interact well together: I am thinking here of the opening scene in bed where Dolly browbeats her husband into viewing the dead body in the library. There's also the bond between two elderly friends in the form of Sir Henry Clithering and Miss Marple when the retired professional detective and the amateur sleuth are reunited.Comparison with ITV version: I do not mind the ITV version, but there's no where near as much thought given to casting and scripting as there was in the BBC version. There is too much overacting, particularly with Simon Callow as Inspector Melchett and Joanna Lumley as Dolly Bantry. There are also some comical elements which seem a bit cheap and contrived.Overall, the BBC's adaptation of the Body in the Library is highly recommended and is something I will never tire of watching.

giddj002 A simple plot: a the body of a young woman is found in the library of a manor house in Kent. She can be traced to a sea-side hotel, and the list of suspects is endless. The police are baffled. So, who do you call in? Scotland Yard? The FBI? No. Just call Miss Marple, the elderly sleuth from St Mary Mead. She may look innocent, but her mind has plummeted the deaths of human inequity, and is as sharp as a meat cleaver. This is the first of the twelve adaptations made by the BBC between 1984 and 1992, all featuring the late, great Joan Hickosn, who is regarded as the definitive Miss Marple. Hickson truly shines as Miss Marple, able to convey a sense of depth in the character, and to really capture Miss Marple as Christie described her: on the outside, seemingly dotty - a fluffy, gentle old lady more concerned with knitting than murder; but on the inside, a detective genius, but very modest, also. The supporting cast are really quite good, too. Gwen Watford is delightful as Mrs Bantry, in whose library the body is found. Her dependence on Miss Marple, and the way that she acts as though Miss Marple were her nanny, always asking questions in a sweet, child-like way is quite charming. Moray Watson (whom you may recognise from the Darling Buds of May) is also very good as the proud, military man Colonel Bantry, who appears very strong, but, as Miss Marple says, like most military men, is unusually sensitive. The rest of the cast are good too, particularly, David Horovitch as Chief Inspector Slack, the zealous police officer who is always trying to outdo Miss Marple in detective skills, but rarely succeeds, much to his own chagrin!The period detail is also excellent, and really recreates a Britsoh sea-side resort in the years directly after WWII, with people gradually starting to enjoy themselves again, and really getting into the swing of leisure, dinner and dancing. The costumes are realistic, as are the characters. The eventual solution will surprise you! This adaptation far surpasses the new ITV series featuring Geraldine McEwan, who, in my opinion, is far too racy nd modern to play Miss Marple. If you want a more wholesome, realistic Miss Marple, who is more like the Miss Marple of the books, I highly recommend that you watch this.