Agatha Christie Marple: A Murder Is Announced (2005) (TV)

Director:

John Strickland

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel)
Stewart Harcourt (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 January 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn are summoned by a newspaper notice to the house of Letitia Blacklock, anticipating an evening of murder games. But things become all too real when an intruder is shot dead.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Miss Marple | Murder Mystery | Beekeeping | Pig

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Geraldine McEwan	...	Miss Marple
Christian Coulson	...	Edmund Swettenham
Cherie Lunghi	...	Sadie Swettenham
Robert Pugh	...	Colonel Easterbrook
Keeley Hawes	...	Phillipa Haymes
Zoë Wanamaker	...	Letitia Blacklock
Claire Skinner	...	Amy Murgatroyd
Frances Barber	...	Lizzie Hinchcliffe
Elaine Paige	...	Dora Bunner
Matthew Goode	...	Patrick Simmons
Sienna Guillory	...	Julia Simmons
Catherine Tate	...	Mitzi Kosinski
Christian Rubeck	...	Rudi Schertz (as Christian Pedersen)
Alexander Armstrong	...	D.I. Dermot Craddock
Richard Dixon	...	Rowlandson
Nicole Lewis	...	Myrna Harris
Gerard Horan	...	D.S. Fletcher
Lesley Nicol	...	Nurse McClelland
Virginia McKenna	...	Belle Goedler

Directed by
John Strickland

Writing credits
Agatha Christie		(novel)
Stewart Harcourt		(screenplay)

Produced by
Michele Buck	....	executive producer
Phil Clymer	....	executive producer: for Chorion plc
Helga Dowie	....	line producer
Rebecca Eaton	....	executive producer: for WGBH
Matthew Read	....	producer
Damien Timmer	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Dominik Scherrer

Cinematography by
Sue Gibson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Melanie Viner-Cuneo

Production Design by
Jeff Tessler

Art Direction by
Pilar Foy
Grant Montgomery

Costume Design by
Phoebe De Gaye

Makeup Department
Christine Greenwood	....	makeup designer
Susan Parkinson	....	makeup artist (as Sue Parkinson)
Sarah Pickering	....	makeup artist
Isabel While	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Kate Stannard	....	post-production supervisor
Jon Williams	....	executive in charge of production
Lee Alliston	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sean Clayton	....	second assistant director
Martin O'Malley	....	first assistant director
Jude Campbell	....	first assistant director: second unit (uncredited)

Art Department
Jim Grindley	....	prop master
David Lewis	....	production buyer
Joanne Ridler	....	stand-by art director
Gus Wookey	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Paul Botham	....	boom operator
John Downer	....	supervising sound editor
Tony Jackson	....	sound recordist
Billy Mahoney	....	dubbing mixer
Sarah Morton	....	dialogue editor
Charlotte Gray	....	sound trainee (uncredited)
Adam Powell	....	foley editor (uncredited)
Nigel Squibbs	....	assistant dubbing mixer (uncredited)

Stunts
Nrinder Dhudwar	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Borg	....	lighting gaffer
David Draper	....	grip
Michael Green	....	focus puller (as Mike Green)
Mark Hanlon	....	best boy
Xandy Sahla	....	camera operator
Wailoon Chung	....	electrician (uncredited)
Michael Green	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Adrienne Hayward	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Natalie Richmond Elvy	....	costume supervisor
Luan Placks	....	assistant costume designer
Maija Ross	....	costume assistant
Rachel Vallance	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Simon Giblin	....	on-line editor
Lee Twohey	....	telecine colourist

Transportation Department
Mark Beeton	....	unit driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Nuala Alen-Buckley	....	production accountant
Sam Baker	....	production secretary (as Samantha Baker)
Mary Haddow	....	script supervisor
Paula Jack	....	dialect coach
Simone Le Lievre	....	publicist
Mariette Masters	....	publicist
Rebecca Maybury	....	assistant accountant
Patrick Smith	....	publicist
Matt Steinmann	....	location manager
Rebecca Sutton	....	production coordinator
Karen Thrussell	....	script editor
Laura Vergelli	....	dialogue adaptor
Tracey Waller	....	title design
Chris White	....	location manager
Elton Farla	....	unit medic (uncredited)
Jen Lambert	....	unit nurse (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Granada
• WGBH Boston
• Agatha Christie (in association with) (as Agatha Christie Ltd a Chorion Company)

Distributors

• Elephant Films (2006) (France) (DVD)
• Independent Television (ITV) (2005) (UK) (TV)
• NHK-BS2 (2006) (Japan) (TV)
• Universal Channel (2010) (Hungary) (TV) (re-release)

Other Companies

• Media World Logistics  production logistics (uncredited)
• Movie Lot, The  security

Also Known As:

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:PG (video rating) (2005)

Filming Locations:

Chilworth Manor, Chilworth, Guildford, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Granada

Trivia:

Seven of the supporting cast of this episode have appeared in Doctor Who. Catherine Tate was Donna Noble, the companion of the tenth Doctor.Frances Barber has a recurring role as Madame Kovarian (eye-patch woman). Zoe Wanamaker was Cassandra in 'New Earth'. Gerald Horan was Father of Mine in 'Family of Blood'. Robert Pugh was Tony Mack in 'The Hungry Earth', and Claire Skinner and Alexander Armstrong were Madge and Reg Arwell in the 2011 Christmas special, 'The Widow and the Wardrobe'.

Quotes:

Amy Murgatroyd:What do you think it means?
Lizzie Hinchcliffe:It means going round to Letitia Blacklock's and having bad sherry - that's what it means - and then having to pretend to murder one of the neighbours.
Amy Murgatroyd:And will the lights suddenly go out?
Lizzie Hinchcliffe:Well, that's usually the form.
Amy Murgatroyd:And will there be screaming?
Lizzie Hinchcliffe:Well, if you've got anything to do with it, yes, I expect so.

Movie Connections:

Featured in There's Something About Christie... Murder Made Simple (2007) (TV)

Geraldine Macewan's Marple very good

In this most recent TV version of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, Geraldine Macewan brings some refreshing vigor and humor to the role of the spinster sleuth. Whether she's making the police look foolish for refusing to cooperate, or working her way into the confidence of witnesses and suspects, Macewan's Marple is always a pleasure to watch.

Of the four Macewan Marples I've seen, "A Murder is Announced" does not have the strongest supporting cast and this was perhaps the only significant weakness of this very well done mystery.

On the other hand, the screenplay is good, and at times quite clever. Whether it comes close to the quality of the Agatha Christie text, however, is something else again. But it's TV after all, remember that.

The Macewan Marples do offer a lot technically with very nice camera work; lighting, staging and editing which arguably serve as a partial justification for a remake of the series.

But it is Geraldine Macewan's presence on the screen which is the single best reason to view this latest incarnation of Miss Jane Marple. Macewan has this entire catalogue of facial expressions which serve as part of her take on the role. 7/10 for A Murder is Announced.