Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Charles Palmer

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel)
Stephen Churchett (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 December 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

No one seems surprised when Col. Lucius Protheroe, the most disliked person in St. Mary Mead, is found murdered in the local village, and red herrings abound.

Plot Keywords:

Vicarage | Murder | Suspect | Painter | Sprained Ankle

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Geraldine McEwan	...	Miss Jane Marple
Jane Asher	...	Mrs. Lester
Emily Bruni	...	Helene Dufosse
Christina Cole	...	Lettice Protheroe
Julie Cox	...	Young Miss Marple
Jason Flemyng	...	Lawrence Redding
Mark Gatiss	...	Curate Ronald Hawes
Siobhan Hayes	...	Mary Hill
Herbert Lom	...	Professor Dufosse
Miriam Margolyes	...	Mrs. Price-Ridley
Tim McInnerny	...	Rev Leonard Clement
Janet McTeer	...	Anne Protheroe
Julian Morris	...	Dennis Clement
Angela Pleasence	...	Miss Hartnell
Robert Powell	...	Dr. Haydock

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Granada Television

Trivia:

Miss Marple is shown reading Raymond Chandler's short story anthology "The Simple Art of Murder", which also contains his titular essay on the detective novel. In the essay, Chandler argues that, in real life, the most unsolvable murders are the simplest, and criticizes, among other writers, Agatha Christie for creating implausible, over-elaborate murder plots for her novels.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the beginning of the film, when Miss Marple is ready to go to church, you can see a calendar on the table showing August 1951. On the calendar, the month begins with a Tuesday. In fact, the 1st of August 1951 was a Wednesday.

Quotes:

Griselda Clement: [referring to Colonel Protheroe] What a dreadful, dreadful man.

Movie Connections:

Remake of The Murder at the Vicarage (1986) (TV)

What a sheer delight to watch Dame Geraldine McEwan

She should have accepted one of England highest honors bestowed upon a woman, Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2002. She declined to accept maybe just for the same reasons that she declined an O.B.E.(Officer of the British Empire) in 1986. She is very well deserved of any honor. I am going to call her Dame Geraldine anyway because she is truly a great Dame of the British theater, television, and film. I remember watching her performance on Mulberry, a British comedy. Here she is perfectly cast of Jane Marple. She is a Marple for the twenty-first century like Joan Hickson O.B.E. was in the eighties and Dame Margaret Rutherford was in the sixties. Everybody's favorite sleuth is back. I think Dame Agatha Christie would be thrilled to have such a talent like Geraldine McEwan to play this role. The filming is exquisite. The setting is an English country village. The cast is also filled with some of Britain's finest theatrical actors like Sir Derek Jacobi known as the Lord Lawrence Olivier of our time, Janet McTeer, Miriam Margolyes O.B.E., Jane Asher and others. The costumes are perfectly set to fit in picturesque English village. I loved the countryside in this adaptation. It makes it so inviting for us all to enjoy. The Murder at the Vicarage is entertaining from beginning to end but so much more with Geraldine McEwan as Jane Marple.