The Sittaford Mystery 

The death of the presumptive future Prime Minister is predicted during a séance in a snowbound country hotel, and he is found stabbed to death in his room the next morning.

Director:

Paul Unwin

Writers:

Stephen Churchett (screenplay), Agatha Christie (novel)

Stars:

Geraldine McEwan, Timothy Dalton, Robert Hickson

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Geraldine McEwan	...	Miss Marple
Timothy Dalton	...	Clive Trevelyan
Robert Hickson	...	Arthur Hopkins
Robert Hardy	...	Winston Churchill
Laurence Fox	...	James Pearson
James Murray	...	Charles Burnaby
Ian Hallard	...	Reporter
Zoe Telford	...	Emily Trefusis
Jeffery Kissoon	...	Ahmed Ghali
Mel Smith	...	John Enderby
Rita Tushingham	...	Miss Elizabeth Percehouse
James Wilby	...	Stanley Kirkwood
Paul Kaye	...	Dr. Ambrose Burt
Michael Brandon	...	Martin Zimmerman
Carey Mulligan	...	Violet Willett

Storyline

When Clive Trevelyan - Member of Parliament, war hero and heir apparent to Prime Minister Winston Churchill- is killed, Miss Marple sets about to solve the case. Trevelyan has made his fortune many years before in Egypt having secretly uncovered a lost tomb. He is killed during a major snowstorm when there are no police available. There are several possible suspects including Trevelyan's ward, James Pearson and his fiancée Emily Trefusis; his political agent, John Enderby; a journalist Charles Burnaby; a visiting American Martin Zimmerman; and several other apparently disinterested parties. A convict has also escaped from Dartmoor prison. Miss Marple concludes that Trevalyan's murder is related to his days in Egypt and sets about to identify the murderer.

---

Plot Keywords:

death | murder | suspect | stabbed to death | snowstorm | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

---

Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie - Marple: The Sittaford Mystery

Filming Locations:

Dorney Court, Dorney, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada, WGBH, Agatha Christie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

From the "Oops Department": At approximately the 1h 26 min. point of the episode, you see a blonde woman put a glass of champagne on the edge of the bathroom sink which proceeds to fall into the sink and we hear the sound of breaking glass. The problem with that scene is you can clearly see the seam on the "glass" where the two halves of the stemware were molded together meaning the glass is made of plastic and won't make the sound of glass breaking.

---

Goofs

In the scene where Miss Marple explains the murder's solution, just after 'Charles' falls into the ground, the feet of a crew member can be seen at the left bottom of the screen.

---

Quotes

Dr. Ambrose Burt: Shall I attempt an autopsy on the deceased? There's kitchen knives. Nutcrackers could be handy.

---

Crazy Credits

Following the credits, there is an in memoriam title card for Michael Attwell who played Archie Stone. Attwell died in 2006, the year this film was released.

---

Connections

Referenced in Hard Quiz: Episode #3.4 (2018)

User Reviews

Not overly engaging but still reasonably good

With Sir Winston Churchill ailing and set to step down as English Prime Minister, Clive Trevalyn looks set to become the next PM. A popular war hero who made his initial fame and fortune as an explorer and archaeologist in Egypt, he seems to have the world at his feet. While staying at his residence in the village of Sittaford he is murdered in his bedroom. There are several guests at his house, so the suspect list is long. Luckily Miss Marple is on hand to solve the mystery.

Fairly interesting mystery. A bit dry though - the engagement level is quite limited and Miss Marple is quite a bland character. The formula in this series has been to give much screen time to a non- Marple character, making them the central character, allowing them to carry the episode and thus take the attention away from Marple. This also makes for interesting sub-plots. In this case, no non- Marple central character emerges, so it is a bit duller than usual.

Can't fault the cast though: Timothy Dalton is charming as Clive Trevalyn. We also have Carey Mulligan, Zoe Telford and Mel Smith. Smith is the pick of the bunch, bringing some humour, resourcefulness and tough-mindedness Trevalyn's loyal assistant John Enderby.