There's only one thing I enjoy more than reading a good Agatha Christie novel, and that is watching a terrific Agatha Christie book-adaptation, preferably with an all-star cast and prestigious production values. There are several good adaptations of Mrs. Christie's work, notably the famous Hercule Poirot blockbusters ("Murder on the Orient Express", "Death on the Nile", ...) and the comical Miss. Marple series from the sixties starring Margaret Rutherford ("Murder She Said", "Murder at the Gallop"...), but there exist also a ton of TV-films that are worth seeking out if you are - like me - a devoted fan of history's most brilliant fiction writer.
Of this series, starring the lovely Geraldine McEwen as Miss Marple, I particularly wanted to see "Murder at the Vicarage". It was the novel in which Agatha Christie introduced her brilliant female protagonist. Miss Marple is an elderly and lovable lady, living in the small parish-community St. Mary Mead, where she uses her shrewd intelligence to solve all sort of mysteries varying from town gossip to first-degree murder. She's a die-hard spinster, or at least she that's what she is Christie's novels, because in this TV-film it is suddenly revealed that Miss Marple had an affair with a married man prior to World War I. What a shock! I would refer to it as blasphemy, but the writers processed the little sub plot very sophisticated and plausible into the plot of "Murder at the Vicarage". Apart from the naughty addition of Miss Marple's dubious past, the script follows the excellent novel very closely.
The loathsome Colonel Protheroe is the most hated man in St. Mary Mead. The elderly magistrate is cruel and merciless, and he shouts ridiculously loud because he himself is practically deaf. When the Colonel is found shot and killed in the library of Reverend Clement's vicarage, there isn't any mourning but nevertheless a lot of speculating. After all, half of the town had motives to kill him, including his closest relatives and numerous of people who felt mistreated by him. The police inspector in charge is initially reluctant to listen to Miss Marple's clever deductions, but he quickly turns to her for more advise, since her observations and theories are so wise and helpful.
Although I read the novel and already saw a different adaptation of the same story, I still find the plot very captivating and puzzling. Furthermore, this series also hugely benefices from delightful photography and a splendid recreation of the post WWII period. McEwan is a marvelous Miss Marple, and the ensemble cast of this TV-film is simply stellar, with supportive roles for Derek Jacobi, Angela Pleasance, Robert Powell, Herbert Lom, Jason Flemying and many more.