Ordinarily, you probably don’t think of Miss Marple as funny. That will change if you are able to see Margaret Rutherford’s portrayal of Miss Marple. You will most likely by tempted to think of her as “Jane” instead of “Miss Marple.”
At first, I was quite put off by Ms. Rutherford’s portrayal of Miss Marple. Once I got over my initial shock (for truly that is what it was!) I was delighted by these early 1960s movie productions. The Agatha Christie Miss Marple Collection includes Rutherford in the classics Murder, She Said, Murder at the Gallop, Murder Most Foul, and Murder Ahoy. Margaret Rutherford was truly busy playing this feisty rendition of Jane. And, as an added bonus, we are able to see Joan Hickson appear as the housekeeper in Murder, She Said!
Some of you may ask…. Who is Joan Hickson, and why would seeing her be a treat? For some, those who were teenagers or older in the 1980s, Joan Hickson will always be Miss Marple. She has a quiet resolve about her… She is very proper, never excited, always observant. Fortunately for those of us who remember Ms. Hickson playing Miss Marple, there are now DVDs available for us to capture the true essence of Miss Marple. (I miss the days when A & E played these classic BBC shows, don’t you?)
Joan Hickson portrays Miss Marple in such a manner that makes it totally believable when she is able to casually stay in the background while gleaning even more information than the police detectives. I read somewhere that Agatha Christie had actually said that Joan Hickson was the actress who best could play Miss Marple as she had written her.
There are several sets out on the market (as well as being available through rental places) that brought back memories of a time when you had to be seated in front of your television at the precise time the show was scheduled to begin if you wanted to watch a Miss Marple movie/episode. Shows like The Body in the Library, A Murder is Announced, and A Pocket Full of Rye (Gift Set)…The Mirror Crack’d, 4:50 from Paddington, Sleeping Murder, and A Caribbean Mystery (Collection 1)… Nemesis, They Do It with Mirrors, The Murder at the Vicarage, The Moving Finger, and At Bertram’s Hotel (Collection 2) And, such luminary actors as Donald Pleasence, Claire Bloom, Jean Simmons. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the BBC produced these shows… You know that you can rely on the costumes and sets to be right on the mark!
I think that Joan Hickson’s portrayal of Miss Marple is probably the one which most captures Agatha Christie’s character, including the hair pins in her bun and the knitting needles in her over-sized (almost a carpet!) bag. If you love cozy mystery movies, then I strongly recommend checking out these Joan Hickson renditions of our beloved Miss Marple.
Here is the actual way that the Joan Hickson/Miss Marple shows aired:
1 The Body in the Library
2 The Moving Finger
3 A Murder is Announced
4 A Pocketful of Rye
5 The Murder at the Vicarage
6 Sleeping Murder
7 At Bertram’s Hotel
8 Nemesis
9 4:50 from Paddington
10 A Caribbean Mystery
11 They Do It With Mirrors
12 The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side
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Vickie says
LOVE the Margaret Rutherford ‘Miss Marple’ movies! My dad turned me onto them several years ago and I went on the sporadic hunt for them to add to my DVD collection. Found them at amazon.com (where else??) and getting two sets, one for my collection and one for my dad. Thanks for this!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Vickie….
Isn’t she a hoot!?! As I said, my initial reaction was …. “I’m not sure about this….” but then I was like you and really went out of my way to get the rest.
Chris says
Shame on me, but I have actually only read a few Agatha Christie books, but my favorite Agatha character is Hercule Poirot in the BBC adaptation with David Suchet, so if you haven’t tried those, you might want to consider doing so…
And, since I don’t see it listed, there is also a three season Hamish Macbeth TV series available on DVD, also produced by the BBC. It doesn’t follow the books very closely, but it is still a very likable show if you like other BBC productions. I’ve never tried to purchase them, but we did get them from Netflix.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Chris, You are so right about David Suchet… He is almost as synonymous with Poirot as Jeremy Brett is with Holmes.
And, I agree with you about the Hamish Macbeth TV series. It took some time to get used to a Macbeth who lacked the red-headed, tall, and lanky look. Also, I thought, based on the novels, that Hamish would have been more pensive, almost to the point of seeming like a dim-wit to others around… and not such a take-charge kind of character that the series showed him to be.
Rebekah says
I love Joan Hickson. I heard that Agatha herself hand picked her for the part. I am interested to hear what you think about the new Marples with Geraldine McEwan. I’m not a fan, as I find they don’t capture Miss Marple’s personality accurately and stray too far from the original plots. Plus, there is too much of an effort to make them modern.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Rebekah, I know what you mean… Joan Hickson surely did capture the true essence of "Miss Marple"…. while Geraldine McEwan was more of a "Jane">>> VERY modern!
Jill says
I absolutely agree that Joan Hickson will always “own” the character of Miss Marple. If you haven’t seen the Hickson series, treat yourself! Unfortunately, the more recent versions of Marple are a disappointment. The characters have become caricatures–very one-dimensional and downright silly. While the Hickson series has its share of eccentrics and twisting plots–in keeping with Christie’s stories–the characters and their situations are still very real. That just is not the case with the later interpretations of Miss Marple. Some depth needs to be brought back to future interpretations of these wonderful tales.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Jill,
My daughter, who had never been treated to one of Joan Hickson’s Miss Marple episodes, wondered what all the hubbub was about… after watching the more “modern” versions of the Agatha Christie shows. Once I treated her to one of our Joan Hickson/Miss Marple DVDs, she was hooked! She quickly made her way through all of the Joan Hickson DVDs, and now wishes they had made more of them!
peter says
i really love joan hickson as miss marple. the whole scenery is superb. the characters are splendidly played. when one watches one feels part of it, at least i do. i’ve seen margaret rutherford and the new miss marple, but they aren’t as realistic as joan hickson.
about poirot: david suchet is the real one for me!
both of them play the stories as i read them in the books, marvelous
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Peter, I agree with you abouit Joan Hickson being the best Miss Marple ever. I never tire of watching those Miss Marple movies. She WAS Miss Marple!
marion says
I absolutely adore, am flat NUTS about Joan Hickson’s Miss Marple series. I own all of the programs she did as Miss Marple. In Wikipedia, there’s an article about her which includes a mention that after seeing her in a performance Agatha Christie sent her a note saying that she hoped Joan would play Miss Marple someday. Joan’s Miss Marple series is my very favorite comfort ‘viewings’. Lots of times, I put in a DVD, get out my knitting or cross-stitch and let ‘Miss Marple’ talk to me for a while. Like having a visit by a favorite relative. In case you’re interested, Sister Wendy’s History of Painting, Victor Borge, Anna Russell, the Flintstones, classic Looney Tunes, and small doses of AFV are my other favorite comfort ‘viewings’
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marion, Joan Hickson IS Miss Marple (as far as I’m concerned!)
Your comment sent me looking to see if there was a Flintstones episode on TV. (There wasn’t.)
marion says
I have Flintstones and the other programs on DVD, Danna.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marion, I remember enjoying the times with Fred’s mother in law would visit. She really accentuated his faults.
Lirios says
I don’t think I have found my ideal yet, though Margaret Rutherford Rocks! and Joan Hickson fits pretty well.
I still haven’t been able to time it with the Angela Lansbury, and I do believe there is one more that I have never caught yet. It was in the Acorn Catalogue, I’ll try to look it up.
Julia McKenzie may be the one I saw, not sure.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lirios, there certainly are a lot of actresses from which to pick. I remember reading that Agatha Christie actually picked Joan Hickson to play Miss Marple. I agree with Christie: Hickson is definitely my favorite! (You may be thinking of Geraldine McEwan, whom I think is a phenomenal actress.)
Jane says
Joan Hickson was Miss Marple. Delightful.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Jane, definitely a classic character interpretation!
Nan Brooks says
What do you think of Julia McKenzie as Marple. I am split between her and Joan Hickson as my favorites
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Nan, while McKenzie does a very fine job portraying Miss Marple, my favorite Marple is definitely Joan Hickson.