Marple: Ordeal by Innocence (TV 2007)

Old wounds are reopened for the Argyle family when a man suddenly turns up after being abroad and claims that the black sheep of the family could not have murdered its tyrannical matriarch.

Director:

Moira Armstrong

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel), Stewart Harcourt (screenplay)

Stars:

Geraldine McEwan, Juliet Stevenson, Denis Lawson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Geraldine McEwan	...	Miss Marple
Juliet Stevenson	...	Gwenda Vaughn
Denis Lawson	...	Leo Argyle
Alison Steadman	...	Kirsten Lindstrom
Richard Armitage	...	Philip Durrant
Stephanie Leonidas	...	Hester Argyle
Lisa Stansfield	...	Mary Durrant
Burn Gorman	...	Jacko Argyle
Jane Seymour	...	Rachel Argyle
Tom Riley	...	Bobby Argyle
Reece Shearsmith	...	Inspector Huish
Julian Rhind-Tutt	...	Dr Arthur Calgary (as Julian Rhind Tutt)
Bryan Dick	...	Micky Argyle
Gugu Mbatha-Raw	...	Tina Argyle (as Gugu Mbatha Raw)
Andrea Lowe	...	Maureen

Storyline

Miss Marple is invited to the wedding of a friend, but the gaieties are interrupted when a stranger arrives; he provides the missing evidence which proves that the black sheep of the family, Jacko, was wrongfully hanged for murder. This raises the question of who in the household did kill the cold-hearted mistress of the house two years previously. As usual, Miss Marple is needed to uncover the hatred, jealousy, lust etc. behind the family's facade and sort out the threads of the mystery.

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Plot Keywords:

miss marple | wedding | murder | secretary | adoptive mother | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 August 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Miss Marple - Az alibi

Filming Locations:

Nether Winchendon House, Nether Winchendon, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Agatha Christie, ITV Productions, WGBH

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

A modern-day motorhome can be seen in the background over Gwenda's shoulder as the camera pans round when she meets Miss Marple at her arrival.

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Connections

Version of Ordeal by Innocence (1984)

User Reviews

Do You Hear That Rustling Noise??

It's the sound of Agatha Christie turning in her grave!

Yet another garish and poorly done segment in this series that changes Christie's wonderful plotting and characters into a laugh-worthy mess. Jane Seymour looks horrible (Lordy, the makeup!!) as the matriarch of a disjointed family. Every darn one of them needs Prozac and Shrinks. As in other episodes of this "New" Miss Marple series, all the characters are unbelievable. Does anyone really believe the housekeeper in a British well-to-do estate would be allowed to talk to anyone with disrespect? It of course happens here. There's more parading of silly characters that never existed in Christie's book. Isn't it FRAUD to name it "Agatha Christie's Miss Marple," when it has nothing to do with her books? Of course they're selling it so this is for profit....meaning FRAUD by deceit.

Anyway, it matters little to people who don't know anything about Christie to learn that Miss Marple never was in "Ordeal by Innocence." They also won't see the radical differences between this badly done version and her book.

I wish they would allow Geraldine McEwan and the other "stars" a reasonable amount of good lines. But no. Sadly, this time she looks even more silly. The makeup on this old gal!! Geez, we are to believe that this is a conservative spinster and daughter of a village pastor? She's made up to look (and act) like a vaudeville clown. Tons of pink blusher on her cheeks, curls, and perfectly tweezed eyebrows.

Someone who directs these pieces must believe that eye-popping is part of acting, because Miss Marple and the main characters do a lot of it in in this "Ordeal." Many people stutter, but there's a character in this who does it and is basically so annoying that I just kept hoping that he was the one to get bumped off (I'm not saying he does or doesn't, I just wanted him out).

Also in keeping with the new series of deleted, added, and changed characters, the murder is radically changed as well as the plot. It's so darn unbelievable when it unfolds.

Okay, I've saved the best (or worst) for last. At the end PLEASE keep the nausea medication handy!!!! There's a KISS that will make anyone gag if not Hurl, Upchuck, Barf.....well, you get my drift.

Please folks, if you really want this series, ask a friend to record it for you before you even think of spending money on it.