@ChristieFanForLife Sounds horrifying. Sarah Phelps, the writer, literally admits that all these changes were intentional to match the views of modern audiences, and absolutely knows nothing of Christie at all.
@ChristieFanForLife Sounds horrifying. Sarah Phelps, the writer, literally admits that all these changes were intentional to match the views of modern audiences, and absolutely knows nothing of Christie at all.
And to think that Mathew Prichard, Christie's grandson who's over the estate, is allowing all this to happen. Now you see why I don't have much faith in these new adaptations that are coming out.
I can't abide Joan Hickson as Miss Marple ! She is far too disapproving and mean . My idea of Miss Marple is that she's quite fluffy and sweet which is what Geraldine Mckewan did manage to capture. Julia Mackenzie is too young and too Julia McKenzie to be a perfect Miss Marple and although I love the Margaret Rutherford films she is not demure enough .
I find Geraldine McKewan's Portrayal too Hammy for me and Julia McKenzie's too Nosey in an obvious way, No Actress is absolutely as the Books describe her but there is nothing about the ITV Miss Marples which was right although some were Nice to watch, My Favourite was Joan Hickson but On Radio June Whitfield was perfect.
For me, Joan Hickson is the absolute archetypal Jane Marpal! All the actors who have portrayed Marple have been or are very accomplished in their field, however Joan does, in my opinion, stand out in this role! I do think Joan would have been less accomplished than Geraldine had she portrayed Jean Broadie as I think Julia was better suited to other roles she played! I am not trying to disrespect any professional here just to share my opinions that I feel certain actors have different strengths and my preferences of those skills they excell at the most! I respect all those mentioned and get great enjoyment from watching them ply their skills in portraying characters be they fictional or persons who actually existed! Just one example was the portrayal of Churchill by Robert Hardy in the "Willderness Years" that I found highly entertaining and exceptionally well played!
I have to say I liked Joan Hickson as Miss Marple, but not as much as much as Geraldine McEwan. She did not have the lovable warmth that the others had and the BBC TV series was a little turgid compared to the ones that Margaret Rutherford, Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie were in. There has been so much hype about Joan Hickson being the best Muss Marple, that I must now upset the apple cart, whilst putting the record straight at the same time. I believe Geraldine McEwan was the best Miss Marple and the series was excellent.
I have to say I liked Joan Hickson as Miss Marple, but not as much as much as Geraldine McEwan. She did not have the lovable warmth that the others had and the BBC TV series was a little turgid compared to the ones that Margaret Rutherford, Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie were in. There has been so much hype about Joan Hickson being the best Muss Marple, that I must now upset the apple cart, whilst putting the record straight at the same time. I believe Geraldine McEwan was the best Miss Marple and the series was excellent.
I respectfully disagree. With respect to the late Geraldine McEwan, I must say that some actors just aren't suited for certain roles and I have to state that in this instance this is the case. McEwan was too impish and she looked as though she was sneaky. This is not Miss Marple at all. Miss Marple from the books had a Victorian attitude and had her Victorian ways and I just don't see Geraldine McEwan's Miss Marple having this in the series. She appeared to have taken on more of a modern -- more likely 21st century -- approach to certain things. This Miss Marple has an affair with a married soldier . . . and she KNOWS that he's married! This is not what Jane Marple would do. She had suitors as a young woman but she would never have had an affair with a married man! It's not in keeping with Miss Marple's character.
And what's so bad Ajisai is they took stories that weren't based on a Miss Marple book such as The Secret of Chimneys, Endless Night, The Sittaford Mystery, and Murder Is Easy. They could have filmed the short stories if they wanted to do something other than the novels. I wish Joan Hickson did the short stories but I'm grateful that she filmed all of the novels, and that's good enough for me
In Germany, Miss Marple is associated with Margaret Rutherford and Poirot with Peter Ustinov. I don't think they broadcasted any of the other versions on a major channel here, at least I've never seen it. I will try to watch the Joan Hickson movies next. Still I wish there were more movies with Rutherford and wonder why they didn't make more. I only read on IMDB that the fourth one wasn't that successful at the box office, so maybe that is the reason?
One of the things they did badly was to give Margaret Rutherford the role of Miss Marple in a Poirot story, and then in a non Agatha Christie narrative. I think viewers wer annoyed by it.
One of the things they did badly was to give Margaret Rutherford the role of Miss Marple in a Poirot story, and then in a non Agatha Christie narrative. I think viewers wer annoyed by it.
It's just as annoying as the recent Miss Marple episodes, not only inserting her in stories that originally didn't have Miss Marple but being totally unfaithful to the stories themselves, both from the Marple books and the ones without.
I don't personally think you can compare The MR Films with the ITV MARPLE Series, the MR Films were of their time and Fun and were not unsympathetic to the Books or Fans and the 2 Poirot Books that were done were ones that could easily be Miss Marple Books but the Books ITV chose to catapult Miss Marple in were not ones Miss Marple suited at all, I also liked the idea Miss Marple had a side-kick in Mr Stringer, I didn't find the MR Films annoying one little bit but I felt the Non Miss Marples that ITV put Miss Marple in very insulting with the possible exceptions of The Curious Case of The Caretaker and By The Pricking of My Thumbs
If you're a fan of Margaret Rutherford and can get to Salisbury you're in for a treat!
Agatha Christie turns sleuth to uncover a real-life mystery in a comedy thriller, Murder, Margaret and Me, coming to Salisbury Playhouse from 1 to 24 February.
Agatha Christie and Margaret Rutherford, two of our greatest and most celebrated national treasures, should never have been friends. But they were. Their paths crossed when they found themselves at the heart of one of British cinema’s most successful franchises. However, the Miss Marple films almost didn’t get made.
Agatha didn’t want Margaret to bring her precious spinster to life and Margaret was mortified at the thought of upsetting her fans with something as sordid as murder. But this wasn’t her only reason for resisting the part. Margaret had a terrible secret. One that she’d lived with for a lifetime.
Murder, Margaret and Me is a story of friendship in the long-lost world of the silver screen. As Agatha and Margaret play tug of war with Marple, Agatha (being a woman who wasn’t without a secret or two herself) unearths the shocking truth buried in Margaret’s past.
For more details, visit the Salisbury Playhouse website.
I agree about the ITV scripts; some were appalling. I can't believe the Christie estate allowed these adaptations. Poirot was served better I believe and Suchet was great. Myself, I loved the later Poirot shows as they had fabulous settings and costumes. I loved McEwan as Marple. I found Joan Hickson too stern and Julia McKenzie too sweet. Some of the ITV shows were good.but I hated when they inserted the character of Miss Marple into stories she had never been in before. And some of the "modernizing" was ridicuous. And I really hated the new Witness for the Prosecution. Who are these people? The writing was soap opera
I must say in their own way I love them all. Joan Hickson will always be the face I think of when I picture the character, but I grew up watching her. I disagree with those that dislike the majority of ITV scripts, they wanted to update them for a modern audience, most fans will have seen the Hickson adaptations. The only real disaster was Why didn't they ask Evans, others like Murder is Easy and The Pale Horse I see as improvements. A shame McEwan didn't get to complete the series.
I absolutely hated Geraldine McEwan in the role of Miss Marple, I know that a lot was due to the so called adaptions, however, it was obvious that she herself did very little (if any) research on Miss Marple. The only adaptation I did enjoy was Murder at the Vicarage, but certainly not with her in the role as Miss Marple. If I had to choose a second it would be The Moving Finger. Though even these two versions fall way below the Joan Hickson films; in my opinion there has never been nor ever will be an actress to surpass the wonderful Joan Hickson - she really made Miss Marple her own. So to make a list of the Miss Marple portrayals in order from best to worst in my opinion, it would be:
1. Joan Hickson 2. Julia McKenzie 3. Helen Hayes 4. Angela Lansbury (apart from that scene seeing her smoking) 5. Margaret Rutherford
and lastly, and by all means least
6. Geraldine McEwan
I know also that Gracie Fields once portrayed Miss Marple, but I have not seen that so I cannot comment, but had I, I'd likely rate her second to last.
In in conclussion, Joan Hickson will always be Miss Marple to me, just as David Suchet will always be Poirot.
As mentioned earlier in this discussion, June Whitfield is great in the radio plays, she really should have had a chance to do it on screen, although, as also mentioned by others, perhaps not with the ITV crew responsible for the last few TV versions, which in my view where ok but, lacking.
I agree totally, I can visualise her and see she would be excellent, she might have done The 13 Problems too, I wonder who would play the other parts like The Bantry's, Sir Henry, The Clements, Bunch and Julian and the West's?
Comments
I find Geraldine McKewan's Portrayal too Hammy for me and Julia McKenzie's too Nosey in an obvious way, No Actress is absolutely as the Books describe her but there is nothing about the ITV Miss Marples which was right although some were Nice to watch, My Favourite was Joan Hickson but On Radio June Whitfield was perfect.
I do think Joan would have been less accomplished than Geraldine had she portrayed Jean Broadie as I think Julia was better suited to other roles she played!
I am not trying to disrespect any professional here just to share my opinions that I feel certain actors have different strengths and my preferences of those skills they excell at the most!
I respect all those mentioned and get great enjoyment from watching them ply their skills in portraying characters be they fictional or persons who actually existed! Just one example was the portrayal of Churchill by Robert Hardy in the "Willderness Years" that I found highly entertaining and exceptionally well played!
Agatha Christie turns sleuth to uncover a real-life mystery in a comedy thriller, Murder, Margaret and Me, coming to Salisbury Playhouse from 1 to 24 February.
Agatha Christie and Margaret Rutherford, two of our greatest and most celebrated national treasures, should never have been friends. But they were. Their paths crossed when they found themselves at the heart of one of British cinema’s most successful franchises. However, the Miss Marple films almost didn’t get made.
Agatha didn’t want Margaret to bring her precious spinster to life and Margaret was mortified at the thought of upsetting her fans with something as sordid as murder. But this wasn’t her only reason for resisting the part. Margaret had a terrible secret. One that she’d lived with for a lifetime.
Murder, Margaret and Me is a story of friendship in the long-lost world of the silver screen. As Agatha and Margaret play tug of war with Marple, Agatha (being a woman who wasn’t without a secret or two herself) unearths the shocking truth buried in Margaret’s past.
For more details, visit the Salisbury Playhouse website.
Is Joan Hickson.
1. Joan Hickson
2. Julia McKenzie
3. Helen Hayes
4. Angela Lansbury (apart from that scene seeing her smoking)
5. Margaret Rutherford
and lastly, and by all means least
6. Geraldine McEwan
I know also that Gracie Fields once portrayed Miss Marple, but I have not seen that so I cannot comment, but had I, I'd likely rate her second to last.
In in conclussion, Joan Hickson will always be Miss Marple to me, just as David Suchet will always be Poirot.