They Do It with Mirrors (TV 1991)

When Miss Marple is invited to the manor house of an old friend, it is not long before a puzzling murder puts her mind to work.

Director:

Norman Stone

Writer:

T.R. Bowen (screenplay)

Stars:

Joan Hickson, Jean Simmons, Joss Ackland

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Hickson	...	Miss Marple
Jean Simmons	...	Carrie-Louise Serrocold
Joss Ackland	...	Lewis Serrocold
Faith Brook	...	Ruth van Rydock
Gillian Barge	...	Mildred Strete
Neal Swettenham	...	Edgar Lawson
David Horovitch	...	Chief Inspector Slack
Ian Brimble	...	Sergeant Lake
Christopher Villiers	...	Alex Restarick
Jay Villiers	...	Stephen Restarick
Holly Aird	...	Gina Hudd
Todd Boyce	...	Walter Hudd
Saul Reichlin	...	Dr. Maseryk
Matthew Cottle	...	Ernie Gregg
John Bott	...	Christian Gulbrandsen

Storyline

Ruth van Rydock is worried about her sister's health and well-being and asks their mutual friend Jane Marple to visit her for a awhile. Her sister, Carrie-Louise Serrocold, is married to Lewis Serrocold and he has turned their estate into an institute of sorts for young offenders. Miss Marple is more than happy to visit and finds an odd assortment of characters on the premises. When Christian Gulbranson is found shot while sitting at the typewriter in his room, Miss Marple has a murder to solve. Gulbranson, a trustee of the institute, had only arrived that day on urgent business and Lewis Serrocold found a partly completed letter in his typewriter saying that someone was poisoning Carrie-Louise. Assisting Inspector Slack, with whom she had previously worked, she soon knows who committed the crime but is not quite sure how they did it.

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Plot Keywords:

miss marple | estate | manor house | murder | detective | 

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Genres:

Drama | Crime | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 December 1991 (UK)

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: They Do It with Mirrors

Filming Locations:

Little College Street, Westminster, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), A&E Television Networks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Miss Jane Marple: After all, a weed is just a plant in a place you don't want it to be.

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Connections

Remake of Murder with Mirrors (1985)

User Reviews

Miss Marple comes to the aid of an old friend while solving yet another untimely demise

Miss Marple is the best of friends with two aging sisters. One sister, who thinks the other is in danger, has Miss Marple to pay a timely visit. Upon arriving she encounters a host of garden variety misfits and reform school types, along with their keepers, sharing the estate grounds with her friend. All of this makes for a genuinely great plot that includes the murder of the family Patriarch by which Miss Marple further sharpens her already keenly honed crime solving acumen.

This is one of the better TV-Movie adaptations that preserves the plot from novel to the screen. The screenplay flows well, has no obvious holes or gaps, the acting is grade A, and the Directing is Superb. I highly recommend this particular film as one of the BEST Miss Marple TV-Movies ever!!!