A Caribbean Mystery

Starting from a minor but irritating point: whoever thought it a good joke to include Ian Fleming and James Bond did not think about the chronology. The first Bond book was published in 1953, while this story is set in the post-colonial 1960s - the black police inspector tells Marple and Rafiel that the British are not in charge here any longer.

Otherwise, a fairly good job. I knew it was filmed in South Africa but if I hadn't known I would have bought it as a Caribbean island. I haven't been to either place, though. I also haven't read the novel. I have seen the 1983 version with Helen Hayes many years ago, but don't remember a single thing about it.

IMO Antony Sher gave the best performance as the wheelchair-bound millionaire. MyAnna Buring as Lucky is another cast member I will remember, something striking about her. The plot I already forgot, as with most Christie adaptations. The photography could have been more inspired, now it looked a bit muddy most of the time.

Julia McKenzies' finest performance as the ever loving Miss Marple.! Good show...! I really appreciated the lovely scenery and the the cast were reasonably good too. An enjoyable Sunday Night tv...😊

In the time of "CORONAVIRUS WORLD WAR - 3" in 2020 when your own life is at the hands of a invisible pandemic it's cinema that breaks all barriers and provides solace and entertainment in the confines of the house,I haven't read this book but have seen all of Agatha Christie's "Movies" based on her bestsellers. Have also seen the play "THE MOUSETRAP" at the St Martins theatre in London.Excellent suspense with subtle murders is the secret that keeps the viewer totally engrossed in the movie.The signature played down style of Miss Marpyle ,the harmless looking old lady is what also adds spice to this who-dun-it which has its villain exposed in the end, a totally non-suspect among the group of suspects.

Miss Marple is on holiday in the Caribbean, at the Golden Palms resort in St Honore. Seated beside her at a dinner, Major Palgrave seems to recognise in the crowd a murderer from a photograph he has. When Miss Marple quizzes him on is comments he refuses to be drawn on the subject and head back to his room. He is found the next day, dead, apparently from a heart attack. Due to the reaction he had the previous night, Miss Marple suspects it was murder.

Reasonably intriguing mystery, with a great setting. The Caribbean vibe and the underlying current of voodoo and general sinister air help the intrigue. Not a particularly complex mystery ultimately, but it will do.

The non-mystery side of the Miss Marple series tends to be pretty dull and uneventful, due to the blandness of Miss Marple's character and the fact that she has no regular secondary characters around her (unlike Poirot with Hastings, Japp and Lemon). However, here we have a reasonably interesting sub-plot involving Ian Fleming, the author, and how he struck upon the name of James Bond for the hero of his books. Unfortunately this sub-plot is quite brief, but it is reasonably entertaining.

Back in 1989, "Miss Marple" made a dandy version of "A Caribbean Mystery"...leaving little for me to complain about and I scored it a 9. As for this newer installment on "Marple", I didn't like it nearly as much...and it's mostly because of several unwanted things which were added to the story that were not in the original Agatha Christie story...such as voodoo and the addition of Ian Fleming and James Bond to the story.

The story begins on a Caribbean island where Miss Marple is vacationing. One of the guests of the hotel who has monopolized Marple's time is the Major...a bit of a blowhard who most of the hotel's guests tend to ignore. However, when talking with Marple, he does pique her interest when he talks about some murderer he knew long ago who got away with it. But he is soon distracted...possibly because he sees this murderer at the hotel! But he never has a chance to finish his story, as soon he's found dead in his room. Unfortunately, the local police don't take it seriously despite Miss Marple's and Mr. Rafiel's insistence that the death MIGHT be murder. More murders occur and the police finally take it seriously.

What there is of the original story is quite good...but the voodoo and Ian Fleming/James Bond bit are just distractions and do nothing to help the story. My feeling is that the older 1989 version is significantly better...see it first.