The Mirror Crack'd (1980)

Miss Marple comes to solve the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.

Director:

Guy Hamilton

Writers:

Jonathan Hales (screenplay), Barry Sandler (screenplay)

Stars:

Angela Lansbury, Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Angela Lansbury	...	Miss Marple
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Ella Zielinsky
Tony Curtis	...	Martin N. Fenn
Edward Fox	...	Inspector Craddock
Rock Hudson	...	Jason Rudd
Kim Novak	...	Lola Brewster
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Marina Rudd
Wendy Morgan	...	Cherry
Margaret Courtenay	...	Mrs. Bantry
Charles Gray	...	Bates, The Butler
Maureen Bennett	...	Heather Babcock
Carolyn Pickles	...	Miss Giles
Eric Dodson	...	The Major
Charles Lloyd Pack	...	Vicar (as Charles Lloyd-Pack)
Richard Pearson	...	Doctor Haydock

Storyline

The year is 1953. The small English village of St. Mary Mead, home to Miss Jane Marple, is delighted when a big American movie company arrives to make a movie telling of the relationship between Jane Grey and Elisabeth I, starring the famous actresses Marina Rudd and Lola Brewster. Marina arrives with her husband, Jason, and when she discovers that Lola is going to be in the movie with her she hits the roof as Lola and Marina loathe each other on sight. Marina has been getting death threats and at a party at the manor house, Heather Babcock, after boring Marina with a long story, drinks a cocktail made for Marina and dies from poisoning. Everybody believes that Marina is the target but the police officer investigating the case, Inspector Craddock isn't sure so he asks Miss Marple, his aunt, to investigate...

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Plot Keywords:

woman murders a woman | murderess | amateur sleuth | strong female lead | strong female character | 

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Taglines:

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the murderer among them all?

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 December 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie's The Mirror Crack'd

Filming Locations:

St. Clere Estate, Heaverham, Kent, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$11,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

G.W. Films, EMI Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (opening sequence) Color Color (colour) (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film opens with Miss Marple attending the screening of a mystery movie, where she reveals who the killer is after the projector breaks down before the reveal. Lansbury would later open her long-running series Murder, She Wrote (1984) in a similar manner. In the TV series Lansbury's character was attending the rehearsal of a play though, rather than a screening of a movie.

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Goofs

The flashback of Heather accepting Jason's daiquiri (as Cherry relates the tale to Miss Marple) omits her saying she's never tried one before.

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Quotes

Ella Zielinsky: Marty Fenn's a producer. He only lies when he speaks.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: 1953

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Connections

Referenced in Elizabeth Taylor: A Tribute (2011)

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Soundtracks

There's No Business Like Show Business
(uncredited)
Composed by Irving Berlin

User Reviews

What A Cast! What Glorious Settings!

How many of us have fantasies about English country villages and cottages therein? This movie will take you directly into such things and your eyes will be delighted with the settings. How cozy it all is - no wonder they call light-hearted mysteries "cozies." I was struck by Angela Lansbury's height. Either she is a tall woman or the ceilings in these adorable cottages are quite low. Angela is Miss Marple, of course, and she begins the flick by demonstrating, at a public screening of a movie murder mystery, how quickly she can solve a complicated crime. Elizabeth Taylor is queenly and is married to the scrumptious Rock Hudson who, although he dallies with a strenuously self-adoring Kim Novak, appears to love her dearly. Edward Fox, a much-enjoyed actor whom I loved in '95's "A Month by the Lake" with Vanessa Redgrave, is so fresh and youthful here! Tony Curtis as the brash producer strikes not one false note - (or else they are all somewhat false as befits his role as wheeler-dealer!) My girlfriends and I may study and duplicate Miss Marple's cottage decor in our own homes after ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the famous sleuth's movie digs! Note: Angela Lansbury proves in this film that she can chop and dice with the best chefs. And she uses a very long, sharp blade, worthy of a Maven of Murder!