Vanity Dies Hard: Part 1 (24 Mar. 1995)

When wealthy middle-aged divorcée Alice Fielding, marries a handsome younger man, her best friend Nesta, who has fallen on hard times, begins to resent her.

Director:

Alan Grint

Writers:

Julian Bond (adaptation), Ruth Rendell (novel)

Stars:

Jane Gurnett, Leslie Phillips, Leonard Preston

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jane Gurnett	...	Nesta Drage
Leslie Phillips	...	Justin Whittaker
Leonard Preston	...	Hugo Whittaker
Arthur White	...	Mr. Snow
David Hargreaves	...	Mr. Feast
Rebecca Lacey	...	Daphne Feast
Peter Egan	...	Harry Blunden
Eleanor David	...	Alice Fielding
Melanie Kilburn	...	Jackie Whittaker
Damian Hunt	...	Mark Whittaker
William Holmes	...	Chris Whittaker
Shirley Cain	...	Doctor's receptionist
Mark Frankel	...	Andrew Fielding
Anne Jameson	...	Mrs. Johnson
Michael Parkhouse	...	Vicar

Storyline

Wealthy but barren orphan Alice,raised by her uncle Justin, marries younger teacher Andrew Fielding, raising him up the social ladder. Her best friend, Nesta Drage, a widowed florist, hits financial hardship but refuses Alice's offer of help, planning to sell up and move. The night before the move she dines with the Fieldings and Andrew drives her home, past the graveyard being dug up to make way for a new by-pass. Next morning she has gone without any word of farewell, yet she has left behind a trunk with all her clothes in .

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Plot Keywords:

florist | doctor | graveyard | trunk | missing woman | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 1995 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Hambledon, Hampshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blue Heaven Productions, Meridian Broadcasting

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min 180 min (3 parts)

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Decent story. Terrible direction.

It's fitting that cheese figures prominently in this mystery, because that's pretty much the word that came to my mind the whole way through: Cheese.

I've no doubt that this started as a perfectly good story, with a nice dollop of suspense as Belle (the main character) tries to piece together what happened to her missing friend.

But the whole thing is so chock-full of interminable reaction shots, unrealistically stilted conversations, and inexplicable relationships that it starts to become unwatchable halfway through. I kept feeling like the writer wrote enough for a 90-minute show, but the producer had to somehow extend it to 120 minutes, so they left in all the stuff that should have ended up on the cutting room floor.

It didn't help that the actress playing Belle was dressed in a way that made her look about 5 months pregnant the whole time - I kept waiting for a revelation that never came.

If you're a die-hard Ruth Rendell Mysteries fan, maybe you'll be okay with this; otherwise, I strongly suggest you give it a miss.