The Mirror Crack'd (1992) (TV)

Director:

Norman Stone

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel)
T.R. Bowen (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 December 1992 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

At a reception for a fading film star making a screen comeback, a gushing, pushy fan is poisoned by a drink apparently meant for the actress.

Plot Keywords:

Miss Marple | Reception | Comeback | Blackmail | Detective

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Joan Hickson	...	Miss Jane Marple
Claire Bloom	...	Marina Gregg
Barry Newman	...	Jason Rudd
Norman Rodway	...	Dr. Gilchrist
Elizabeth Garvie	...	Ella Zeilinsky
John Cassady	...	Giuseppe Murano
David Horovitch	...	Superintendent Slack
John Castle	...	Detective Inspector Craddock
Ian Brimble	...	Sergeant Lake
Gwen Watford	...	Mrs. Dolly Bantry
Judy Cornwell	...	Heather Badcock
Christopher Hancock	...	Arthur Badcock
Margaret Courtenay	...	Miss Knight
Anna Niland	...	Cherry Baker
Rose Keegan	...	Gladys Dixon
Rhoda Lewis	...	Mrs. Brogan
Christopher Good	...	Rev. Christopher Hawes
Barbara Hicks	...	Miss Hartnell
Celia Ryder	...	Mrs. Hopkins
Jon Croft	...	Inch
Vince Rayner	...	Station master
Constantine Gregory	...	Ardwyck Fenn
Glynis Barber	...	Lola Brewster
Michael Stroud	...	Delancey
Stuart Harrison	...	Court Equerry
Amanda Elwes	...	Margot Bence
Reggie Oliver	...	Chris
T.R. Bowen	...	Raymond West (as Trevor Bowen)

Directed by
Norman Stone

Writing credits
Agatha Christie		(novel)
T.R. Bowen		(screenplay)

Produced by
George Gallaccio	....	producer

Cinematography by
John Walker		(photography)

Film Editing by
Bernard Ashby

Production Design by
Merle Downie
Alan Spalding

Costume Design by
Judy Pepperdine

Makeup Department
Suzanne Jansen	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Katrine Dudley	....	production manager

Art Department
Nick Barnett	....	properties buyer
John Hardy	....	construction manager
Linda Sherwood-Page	....	graphic designer

Sound Department
Stephen Barnham	....	dubbing editor
Malcolm Campbell	....	film recordist
Steve Hudson	....	dubbing mixer
Stephen Young	....	dubbing editor

Camera and Electrical Department
David Hall	....	second assistant camera
Ted Turpin	....	gaffer

Casting Department
Sharon Levinson	....	casting advisor

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Maggie Partington-Smith	....	assistant costume designer

Music Department
John Altman	....	musical director
Alan Blaikley	....	composer: title music
Ken Howard	....	composer: title and incidental music

Other crew
Clive Arnold	....	assistant floor manager
Sarah Bates	....	finance assistant
Tim Bradley	....	assistant floor manager
Camilla Griffith-Jones	....	production associate
Juley Harding	....	production assistant
Neil Houston	....	assistant floor manager
Eric Levy	....	production operative supervisor
Jackie Taylor	....	location manager

Production Companies

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

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (1987) (UK) (TV) (original airing)
• A&E Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• A&E Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• A&E Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• A&E Television Networks (199?) (USA) (TV)
• Just Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Just Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (double feature with "Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking")
• Malavasi Editore (200?) (Italy) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:106 min (DVD)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Bishops Lydeard station, West Somerset Railway, Somerset, England, UK

Company:

A&E Television Networks

Trivia:

The Houdini poster in Superintendent Slack's office is a reminder of Slack's enthusiasm for amateur magic in They Do It with Mirrors (1991) (TV).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): D.I. Craddock says Marple is his aunt but they weren't related in "A Murder Is Announced".

Quotes:

Miss Jane Marple:[on the phone] Dolly? Now you'll going to do something for me. I want you to talk to Dr. Petrie. Yes, because he's just behaving like Mussolini!

Movie Connections:

Version of Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (2010) (TV)

Not the best of the series but a nice one still

It may not be the best of the bunch but it's still a good TV movie. A nice touch is the fact that we see several faces that we saw in Murder At The Vicarage an earlier movie of this series. There is Dolly Bantrey ( now a widow), there is the vicar ( he was not the vicar in Murder at the vicarage but seems to have made a promotion) and some more characters. This one is surely better than the movie with Liz Taylor and Angela Lansbury. This was the last one of the series and it's a shame they did not continue it with movies of some of the Miss Marple short stories. Hickson was - up till now - the best Miss Marple. Let's hope they 'll find another person just as good and still use the short stories!