Miss Marple: The Moving Finger 

The normally friendly village of Lymston is plagued by vile anonymous letters. When a mother of three takes her own life, following such a letter, Ms. Marple is not at all convinced things are as they seem.

Stars:

Joan Hickson, Michael Culver, Elizabeth Counsell

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Joan Hickson	...	Miss Marple 2 episodes, 1985
Michael Culver	...	Edward Symmington 2 episodes, 1985
Elizabeth Counsell	...	Angela Symmington 2 episodes, 1985
Deborah Appleby	...	Megan Hunter 2 episodes, 1985
Lucy Gleeson	...	Robert Symmington 2 episodes, 1985
Stuart Mansfield	...	James Symmington 2 episodes, 1985
Andrew Bicknell	...	Gerry Burton 2 episodes, 1985
Sabina Franklyn	...	Joanna Burton 2 episodes, 1985
Richard Pearson	...	Mr. Pye 2 episodes, 1985
Hilary Mason	...	Emily Barton 2 episodes, 1985
Dilys Hamlett	...	Maud Calthrop 2 episodes, 1985
John Arnatt	...	Rev. Guy Calthrop 2 episodes, 1985
Sandra Payne	...	Eryl Griffith 2 episodes, 1985
Martin Fisk	...	Owen Griffith 2 episodes, 1985
Penelope Lee	...	Partridge 2 episodes, 1985
Juliet Waley	...	Beatrice 2 episodes, 1985
Imogen Bickford-Smith	...	Elsie Holland 2 episodes, 1985
Gerald Sim	...	Coroner 2 episodes, 1985
Geoffrey Davion	...	Police Superintendent Nash 2 episodes, 1985
Ninka Scott	...	Miss Ginch 2 episodes, 1985
Patsy Smart	...	Mrs. Cleat 2 episodes, 1985
Gordon Rollings	...	Mr. Cleat 2 episodes, 1985
Michael Waterman	...	George Ellis 2 episodes, 1985
Roger Ostime	...	Detective Inspector Crawford 2 episodes, 1985
Victor Maddern	...	P.C. Johnson 2 episodes, 1985
Catherine Owen	...	Rose 2 episodes, 1985
Carol Gleeson	...	Contralto 2 episodes, 1985
John Keenan	...	Pianist 2 episodes, 1985

Storyline

Her old friend Maude Calthrop, wife of the village vicar, summons Miss Marple when several of the local residents receive a poison pen letter. All of the recipients thus far are men and all are accused of some act of moral turpitude. When the local solicitor's wife, Angela Symington, is found dead with a poison pen letter at her side, the coroner rules that she took her own life. Not surprisingly, Jane Marple disagrees and is convinced it was murder. When a second villager is killed, it appears Miss Marple is correct. She also deduces the real purpose of the letters.

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Plot Keywords:

letter | village | poison | poison pen letter | sister | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK USA Australia

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

21 February 1985 (UK)

Also Known As:

Miss Marple: The Moving Finger

Filming Locations:

Hoxne, Suffolk, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), A&E Television Networks, Seven Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (still photographs: of Gerry Burton's and Megan Hunter's trip to London) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title of the film (and the novel it's based on) is, like that of many other works by Agatha Christie, a quotation of a piece of poetry. "The Moving Finger" are the first words of stanza of a well known work, The Rubaiyat, by the medieval Persian poet Omar Khayyam.

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Goofs

Somebody finds a book used for cutting out letters to make threatening notes. However, the print in this book is much smaller than the letters used in the notes.

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Quotes

Gerry Burton: [Trying to get a loose end cleared up] But WHY did she?
Superintendent Nash: Ask Miss Marple. She usually has the right answers.

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Connections

Followed by Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (1986)

User Reviews

Watched many times

I really enjoyed this one a lot. I've seen it many times prior to buying it. It was sweetly romantic and the suave, deceptive nature of the actual murderer was chilling.

It was so true to village life, observant and nosy neighbors (we all have people like that in our lives) and so many other things well represented.

Worth buying.