The Many Faces of Miss Marple

Written by Almar Haflidason
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/09/28/many_faces_of_miss_marple_article.shtml)


At the last count five different actors lent their respective talents to Agatha Christie's famous spinster sleuth, Miss Marple. Christie was very vocal in her disapproval of the various choices although a comment she would make to one young actress would proved to be quite prophetic.

The first Miss Marple was played by British stage star Gracie Fields in a US TV play entitled "A Murder is Announced" in 1956.

The character wasn't revived again until 1961 when MGM splashed out on the wonderful and highly popular "Murder, She Said" starring Margaret Rutherford. The film took great liberties with the original book ("4.50 From Paddington") and did not meet with Christie's approval.The tone was overall far more jolly and humorous than the darker novel and the following three films "Murder at the Gallop" (1963), "Murder Most Foul" (1964) and "Murder Ahoy" (1964) became increasingly silly, if still rather fun. Despite her hatred of the MGM films Christie still became great friends with Rutherford and dedicated a Miss Marple book, "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side" to her.

A British film adaptation of that book by EMI was made in 1980 entitled "The Mirror Crack'd" starring Angela Lansbury. This remarkably stodgy movie was made even more ridiculous by the fact that Lansbury was obviously too young for the role.

The same comment could hardly be made of that grand dame of American theatre Helen Hayes, who appeared in the mildly entertaining "A Caribbean Mystery" (1983) and at the age of 85 in the dreary "Murder With Mirrors" (1985).

The ultimate Miss Marple was played by Joan Hickson in the long running BBC TV series (1985-1992). Ultimate not only because most fans thought so, but because Christie once remarked "someday I would like you to play my Miss Marple" to a young Joan Hickson who was then playing a bit part in the Rutherford film "Murder, She Said" of 1961.



(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Marple#Television)

In 2004, ITV first broadcast new adaptations of Agatha Christie's books under the title Agatha Christie's Marple, usually referred to as Marple, with Geraldine McEwan in the lead role. The series is infamous for its frequent plot and character changes (such as incorporating lesbian affairs, changing killer identities, and re-naming or removing a number of characters). Two series have so far aired, with a third airing in 2007.

From 2004 to 2005, Japanese TV network NHK produced a 39 episode anime series titled Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple, which features both Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.

Jane Marple

Agatha Christie said that the character of Miss Marple was inspired by Dr Sheppard’s shrewd and shrewish sister in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and certain friends of her grandmother – and indeed her own grandmother – of whom Agatha Christie once said “[she] expected the worst of everyone and everything and was with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right.”

The name Miss Marple was derived from the name of the railway station in Marple, on the Manchester to Sheffield Hope Valley line, at which Agatha Christie was once delayed long enough to have actually noticed the sign.

The elderly spinster from the fictitious village of St. Mary Mead is a tall, thin woman of between 65 and 70 years of age. She has white snowy hair, pale blue eyes, and a pinkish wrinkled face. She looks like an ordinary old lady, dressed neatly in tweed and is often seen carrying knitting needles and yarn. Two of her hobbies (and subjects of conversation) are bird watching and gardening.

Although she looks like a sweet, frail old woman, Miss Marple is not afraid of dead bodies and is not easily intimidated. She also has a remarkable ability to latch onto a casual comment and connect it to the case at hand. Drawing parallels between the everyday mysteries that puzzle her neighbours, and cases of national importance, Miss Marple's logical mind pieces together the clues with unnerving accuracy. In the detective story tradition, she often embarrasses the local "professional" police by solving mysteries that have them stumped.

When she created Miss Marple, Agatha said that she did not expect that she would continue writing about her for the rest of her life but from the moment that this “typical old maid of fiction” made her first appearance, Christie’s readers were hooked. Miss Marple appeared in a total of twelve novels and 20 short stories and celebrated her 75th anniversary in 2005.