Miss Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (1992)

At a reception for a fading film star making a screen comeback, a gushing, pushy fan is poisoned by a drink apparently meant for the actress.

Director:

Norman Stone

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel), T.R. Bowen (screenplay)

Stars:

Joan Hickson, Claire Bloom, Barry Newman

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Hickson	...	Miss Jane Marple
Claire Bloom	...	Marina Gregg
Barry Newman	...	Jason Rudd
Norman Rodway	...	Dr. Gilchrist
Elizabeth Garvie	...	Ella Zeilinsky
John Cassady	...	Giuseppe Murano
David Horovitch	...	Superintendent Slack
John Castle	...	Detective Inspector Craddock
Ian Brimble	...	Sergeant Lake
Gwen Watford	...	Mrs. Dolly Bantry
Judy Cornwell	...	Heather Badcock
Christopher Hancock	...	Arthur Badcock
Margaret Courtenay	...	Miss Knight
Anna Niland	...	Cherry Baker
Rose Keegan	...	Gladys Dixon

Storyline

A town busybody is poisoned at a busy reception in the home of famous film star Marina Gregg. The poisoned drink seemed intended for Marina, but Miss Marple is not so sure. She sets out to discover the true identity of the killer before he or she can strike again...

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Plot Keywords:

miss marple | reception | comeback | death threat | blackmail | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 December 1992 (UK)

Also Known As:

Miss Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side

Filming Locations:

The Street, Smarden, Kent, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An early scene shows a poster of a Marina Gregg film; the producer of the film is George Gallaccio, the name of the producer of the Miss Marple TV shows.

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Goofs

During the tennis match between Marina Gregg and Dr Gilchrist, at love-40 Dr Gilchrist serves to Marina from the right hand court. However, at love-40, the server must always serve from the left hand court.

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Quotes

Insp. Craddock: Yes, sir. What are you asking me to do?
Supt. Slack: Tread carefully. Tact and tactics - mostly tact.
Insp. Craddock: I undestand, sir. While I'm considering tactics, I'll talk to the husband.
Supt. Slack: And another thing...
Insp. Craddock: Sir?
Supt. Slack: While you're in St. Mary Mead, I suggest you make contact with an old lady there. Oh, she looks like what you'd expect. Don't be deceived - she's got a mind like a meat cleaver. She's the sort of person who could help you on this case. Her name is Miss... Jane... Marple. I'm not pressuring you, but I do ...
[...]

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Connections

Follows Miss Marple: They Do It with Mirrors (1991)

User Reviews

Not the best of the series but a nice one still

It may not be the best of the bunch but it's still a good TV movie. A nice touch is the fact that we see several faces that we saw in Murder At The Vicarage an earlier movie of this series. There is Dolly Bantrey ( now a widow), there is the vicar ( he was not the vicar in Murder at the vicarage but seems to have made a promotion) and some more characters. This one is surely better than the movie with Liz Taylor and Angela Lansbury. This was the last one of the series and it's a shame they did not continue it with movies of some of the Miss Marple short stories. Hickson was - up till now - the best Miss Marple. Let's hope they 'll find another person just as good and still use the short stories!