"THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE" (1986) ReviewThe year 1920 witnessed the beginning of Agatha Christie's career as a mystery novel with the release of her first novel, "The Mysterious Affairs at Styles". The novel also introduced a new sleuth to the literary world, Belgian-born Hercule Poirot. Another seven years passed before Christie introduced her second most famous character, Miss Jane Marple, in a few short stories. But in 1930, Miss Marple appeared in her first full-length novel called "The Murder at the Vicarage".Fifty-six years later saw the first adaptation of the 1930 novel - a 102 minutes television movie that starred Joan Hickson as Miss Marple. "THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE" featured the elderly sleuth's investigation of the murder of a wealthy magistrate and former Army colonel in Miss Marple's town of St. Mary Mead. The magistrate, Colonel Protheroe is so disliked by most of the citizens of St. Mary Mead that even the local vicar, the Reverend Leonard Clement believes his death would be a great service to the village. Reverend Clements ends up eating his words when Colonel Protheroe's murdered body is found inside the vicar's study. While investigating Colonel Protheroe's murder, Miss Marple and Detective Inspector Slack unearth a good number of suspects; including the Colonel's new widow Anne Protheroe, her lover Lawrence Redding, the Colonel's only child Lettice Protheroe, the high-strung curate Christopher Hawes, St. Mary Mead's mysterious new citizen Mrs. Lestrange, small time poacher Bill Archer and even the good Reverend Clement himself. Anne Protheroe and Lawrence Redding each confess to the crime, convinced that the other was guilty. However, both Miss Marple and Detective Inspector Slack realize that both are innocent and continue their investigation of the murder.When I first read Christie's 1930 novel, I must admit that it did not particularly move me. The plot seemed like a typical murder mystery set in a small village. There was nothing extraordinary about it, aside from Miss Marple's continuous relationship with Inspector Slack. Mind you, I have seen mediocre or bad adaptation of some first-rate Christie novels. And I have seen some excellent adaptations of her mediocre novels. The 1986 adaptation of "THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE" proved to be one of those productions in which my opinion of it matches the original novel. How can I say this? I found it a bore.The best I can say about "THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE" is that it is a close - but not completely accurate - adaptation of Christie's novel. Unfortunately, T.R. Bowen did nothing with the screenplay to improve on the story. And Julian Amyes' direction of the movie nearly put me to sleep. It was so boring and slow. Amyes tried hard to make the killer's revelation interesting. But not even that worked. Between John Walker's dim lighting of the scene and Amyes' snail like direction, I fell asleep and had to rewind back to the scene in order to learn the killer's identity. When a person falls asleep during a scene featuring the killer's revelation, it is time to go back to the drawing board - so to speak.Also, the movie was not served well by most of the bland characters that populated the story. Most of them - aside from a few - struck me as dull and one-dimensional. Some of the best characters in a murder mystery tend to be the original victim. Unfortunately, Colonel Protheroe turned out to be one of those rare cases in which the main victim proved to be uninteresting. I found his character so one-dimensional. Not even Robert Lang's energetic performance could make it work. The character of Reverend Clement had been down-sized by the story's translation from the novel to the screen. Apparently, Bowen could not find a way to make his character a major part of the investigation . . . which occurred in Christie's novel. Only a handful of characters seemed interesting to me. And I have the performers to thank. Cheryl Campbell managed to inject some real energy into her portrayal of the vicar's younger and sexy wife, Griselda Clement. David Horovitch was at his sardonic best as the police inspector who tries his best to dismiss Miss Marple's sleuthing skills. Joan Hickson earned a BAFTA nomination for her performance as Jane Marple in this movie. I do not know if she truly deserved that nomination. But I must admit that I enjoyed her subtle, yet sly performance as the brilliant, amateur sleuth. I especially enjoyed her scenes with Horovitch's Slack.I guess there is nothing else I can say about "THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE". It is not one of my favorite Miss Marple productions. Actually, I feel it is one of my least favorites featuring the elderly sleuth. The original story simply did not strike me as interesting and screenwriter T.R. Bowen did very little to enliven it. Also Julian Amyes' slow-paced direction did not help matters. The only pleasures I managed to derive from this movie were the first-rate performances of Joan Hickson, David Horovitch and Cheryl Campbell.
Below is my ranking of the Season One episodes of the Amazon Prime series, "THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL". Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, the series stars Rachel Brosnahan as Miriam "Midge" Maisel:"THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL" SEASON ONE (2017) EPISODE RANKING
1. (1.08) "Thank You and Good Night" - Housewife-turned-stand up comic Miriam "Midge" Maisel and her manager, former cafe employee Susie Myerson deal with the repercussions of Midge's off-script take down of famous comedienne Sophie Lennon. Midge and her estranged husband Joel Maisel briefly reunite for their son's birthday.
2. (1.02) "Ya Shivu v Bolshom Dome Na Kholme" - Midge's life falls into a tailspin in the wake of Joel leaving her. Their parents butt heads in an attempt to keep the couple together. Susie pushes Midge to seek a career as a stand-up comic.
3. (1.07) "Put That on Your Plate" - With Susie's help, Midge hones her act at the Gaslight Cafe. Midge's father, Abe Weissman, surprises the women with a dinner guest, sending her mother Rose into an emotional spiral. Midge stirs up controversy after meeting a big-time comic, Sophie Lennon.
4. (1.01) "Pilot" - Midge seemed to lead the perfect life with Joel and their children. But when his dreams of becoming a stand-up comic bombs at the Gaslight, Joel blames Midge and leaves her. A drunken Midge returns to the club and engages in a comic routine that leads to her arrest.
5. (1.04) "The Disappointment of the Dionne Quintuplets" - Susie shows Midge the ropes during a tour of New York comedy clubs. Rose takes a bit too much pleasure in Midge and the children moving in with the Weissmans.
6. (1.06) "Mrs. X at the Gaslight" - Susie becomes upset when she learns that Midge has been performing her act at private parties. Abe is thrilled when he receives a job offer from Bell Labs. The Weissman family celebrate Abe's job offer at a local Chinese restaurant, where they encounter Joel and his mistress, Penny Pann.
7. (1.03) "Because You Left" - After her second arrest, Midge finds herself in legal trouble when she is forced to face a judge in court. Abe approaches Joel's father, Moishe Maisel, with an interesting proposition. Legendary comic Lenny Bruce offers some unconventional inspiration for Midge's act.
8. (1.05) "Doink" - Midge gets a job at B. Altman, a Manhattan department store, where she makes new friends. She also hires an unemployed comedy writer, an act that proves disastrous for her budding career. Joel's relationship with Penny Pann meets with disapproval from his parents, along with the wife of his friend/co-worker Archie Cleary.
