IMDb > Marple: The Body in the Library (2004) (TV)

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Overview

User Rating:
6.6/10   497 votes
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Down 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Agatha Christie (novel)
Kevin Elyot (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Marple: The Body in the Library on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 December 2004 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
A young woman's corpse is dumped in the library of Gossington Hall, home of Jane Marple's friend Dolly Bantry and her husband Arthur... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
'Harper's Island' premiere draws 364,000
 (From digitalspy. 7 September 2009, 2:28 AM, PDT)

Agatha Christie's Marple: Series 4 - DVD Review
 (From Monsters and Critics. 14 July 2009, 11:12 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
A Bad Case Of Style Over Substance more (35 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Agatha Christie's Marple (UK)
Agatha Christie's Marple: The Body in the Library (UK) (complete title)
more
Runtime:
94 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Among others, Eileen Atkins and Annette Crosbie were considered for the part of Miss Marple's friend Dolly Bantry. The part was eventually given to Joanna Lumley, who calls herself a "die-hard Christie fan". more
Quotes:
Basil Blake: [introducing his wife to Colonel Melchett] Dinah Lee, minor actress, major slut! more
Movie Connections:
Version of The Body in the Library (1984) (TV) more

FAQ

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20 out of 26 people found the following comment useful.
A Bad Case Of Style Over Substance, 13 December 2004
Author: robertconnor from England

In theory there is nothing wrong with revisiting classic Christie stories and characters - Poirot has been essayed a number of times (Finney, Ustinov, Suchet), and over the years we've had various spins on Miss Marple, ranging from Margaret Rutherford in the early 1960's to June Whitfield on BBC Radio.

However, after the BBC's quite brilliant series from the 1980's, in which Joan Hickson used economy and subtlety to create a brilliant Marple, what more could be added? This new interpretation, with McEwan taking up the baton, fails where Hickson's succeeded. One of the joys of the BBC series was the ensemble work within each show, the characterisations and restraint displayed by each cast member, and Hickson being well served by each script. 2004's The Body In The Library is alive with theatrical over-acting of the worst kind, and all the 'star' turns (Callow, Davenport, Walliams, sadly even Lumley) simply bury McEwan's plain Jane under a thick layer of over-playing. Too often British actors confuse the crafts of stage and film acting, so here we have moods, thoughts and reactions being telegraphed rather than suggested.

This latest version really offers nothing new, other than the 'twist' at the end... and let's just say that pedals a movie stereotype I thought we'd finally moved away from.

I suspect Hickson's Marple would have viewed this whole sorry enterprise and said 'yes, well... all rather tawdry, don't you think?'.

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Agatha would turn in her grave.............. ........ purplemania
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The main problem miladypaulina
Body in Library worst by far LouisRenault
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