Marple: By the Pricking of My Thumbs (2006) (TV)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Peter Medak

Writers:

Stewart Harcourt (screenplay) and
Agatha Christie (novel)

Release Date:

19 February 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Miss Marple joins forces with Tommy and Tuppence Beresford to find the murderer of Tommy's Aunt Ada.

Plot Keywords:

Miss Marple | Tommy And Tuppence | Vicar | Murder | Syringe

Cast

Geraldine McEwan	...	Miss Jane Marple
Chloe Pennington	...	Young Hannah
Oliver Jordan	...	Young Ethan
Anthony Andrews	...	Tommy Beresford
Greta Scacchi	...	Tuppence Beresford
Clare Holman	...	Miss Packard
Miriam Karlin	...	Marjorie Moody
June Whitfield	...	Mrs. Lancaster
Claire Bloom	...	Aunt Ada
Steven Berkoff	...	Freddie Eccles
Patrick Barlow	...	Mr. Timothy
O.T. Fagbenle	...	Chris Murphy (as O-T Fagbenle)
Jody Halse	...	Amos Perry
Josie Lawrence	...	Hannah Beresford
Michael Maloney	...	Dr. Joshua Waters

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie - Marple: By the Pricking of My Thumbs (Australia) (DVD title)

Runtime:

USA:102 min | Brazil:93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG

Company:

Agatha Christie

Trivia:

Miss Marple does not appear in Agatha Christie's original novel, which was an adventure featuring her other sleuths, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. In order to make the story part of the Marple series, the time period was moved from post-war to sometime near the end of the war. This conveniently places Tommy still in the military intelligence service abroad, and his part of the story was re-written for Miss Marple.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: This episode is set somewhere in the late 40s, early 50s (Polo mints were first made in 1948). Miss Marple requests the taxi driver to take them to "the train station". The expression "train station" has only been in common use in the last few years, it's certain Miss Marple would have said "railway station".

Quotes:

Tommy Beresford: [Tuppence asks Tommy to drive so she can continue reading her copy of Macbeth. Tommy chuckles in response] I was in Macbeth at my prep school. "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day."
Tuppence Beresford: [gets in car on passenger side] I heard you were marvelous.
Tommy Beresford: Who from?
Tuppence Beresford: You.
Tommy Beresford: Hmm.
[gets in car and starts engine]
Tommy Beresford: "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."

Movie Connections:

Version of Mon petit doigt m'a dit... (2005)

Nothing like the novel, but not too bad, actually

The good: It was still suspenseful, MacEwan was pretty solid & seeing Tommy bust some chops was pretty cool. The bad: Tuppence is a lush? WTF? And if we're going to have a Tommy & Tuppence story, where the hell is Albert???? OK, the changes to the storyline I've come to accept in these new ones, and the main changes (other than putting Marple in) weren't too bad. They CAN make some changes and still keep the tone of the novel, as they showed in Towards Zero and The Moving Finger. I thought the intro of Miss Marple was well done here, she fit into the story nicely, and yeah, it became a "buddy" flick, but it was entertaining. I don't know why everyone slams MacEwan so badly for her portrayal, she plays it a bit lighthearted, but that's another dimension of the character that Hickson simply didn't go for. In MANY of the novels Jane Marple is willing to appear to be a batty old biddy, and then she comes right out with a razor sharp observation or question that blows you away. So MacEwan plays that aspect of the character up with a bit of a twinkle in her eye. BFD. There CAN be some middle ground between Rutherford's over the top goofiness and Hickson's rather deadpan appearances. And she doesn't always play it goofy, as she shut Tommy up and had him vouch for her quite effectively! Now....heck, age-wise, Tommy and Tuppence are still more than capable, and I'd love to see JUST them in N or M, their second best adventure after their first.