Miss Marple (1984 TV Series)
''Miss Marple'' is a British television series based on the Miss Marple murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie, starring Joan Hickson in the title role. It aired from 26 December 1984 to 27 December 1992 on BBC One. All 12 original Miss Marple Christie novels were dramatised. The adaptations were written by T. R. Bowen, Julia Jones, Alan Plater, Ken Taylor and Jill Hyem, and the series was produced by George Gallaccio. In addition to its availability on VHS and DVD, the series began to be released on Blu-ray Disc in October 2014, marking its 30th anniversary. Background Agatha Christie had never been very happy with most filmed adaptations of her works, and according to her grandson Mathew Pritchard, who handled her estate after her death, she "did not care much for television", either. Producer Pat Sandys of LWT first approached Pritchard and the Christie estate with a researched, detailed plan to film the novels ''Why Didn't They Ask Evans?'' and ''The Seven Dials Mystery'' i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Joan Hickson
Joan Bogle Hickson, OBE (5 August 1906 – 17 October 1998) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She was known for her role as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series ''Miss Marple''. She also narrated a number of ''Miss Marple'' stories on audiobooks. Biography Born in Kingsthorpe, Northampton, Hickson was a daughter of Edith Mary (née Bogle) and Alfred Harold Hickson, a shoe manufacturer. After boarding at Oldfield School in Swanage, Dorset, she went on to train at RADA in London. She made her stage debut in 1927, then worked for several years throughout the United Kingdom, achieving success playing comedic, often eccentric characters in the West End of London. She played the role of the cockney maid Ida in the original production of '' See How They Run'' at the Q Theatre in 1944, and then at the Comedy Theatre in January 1945. She made her first film appearance in 1934. The numerous supporting roles she played during her career included s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jill Hyem
Jill Hyem (8 January 1937 – 5 June 2015) was a British actor, and radio and television writer. Early life and acting career Jill Hyem was born in 1937 in Putney, London, England, to Hilda (''née'' Gladwell) and Rex, a solicitor, and was raised in Devon and East Sheen. From the age of ten, Hyem attended Farlington School, a boarding school in West Sussex, and studied at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Her early acting experience saw her perform at the Connaught Theatre Worthing, where one of her roles was Eliza Doolittle in ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion''. Her film roles include ''The Trunk'' (1961) with Phil Carey. In 1962, Hyem made her West End (London), West End debut in ''Goodnight Mrs Puffin'' with Irene Handl. Hyem's television appearances include ''Richard the Lionheart (TV series), Richard the Lionheart'' (1962) with Dermot Walsh, ''Dixon of Dock Green'' (two episodes 1959 and 1960), and ''Sergeant Cork'' (one episode, 1964). She also starred as Peggy Brigg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Octogenarian
Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ..., whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In a broader sense, ageing can refer to single cells within an organism which have Cellular senescence, ceased dividing, or to the Population ageing, population of a species. In humans, ageing represents the accumulation of changes in a human being over time and can encompass physical, psychological, and social changes. Reaction time, for example, may slow with age, while memories and general knowledge typically increase. Ageing increases the risk of human diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Murder With Mirrors
''Murder with Mirrors'' is a 1985 British-American television film starring Helen Hayes (in her final film role) and Bette Davis. It is based on Agatha Christie's novel '' They Do It with Mirrors'', using the novel's American title. The novel has been dramatized on two separated series, ''Miss Marple'' and ''Agatha Christie's Marple''. They used the novel's original title. Synopsis Miss Marple reunites with her friend Carrie Louise Serrocold at her country mansion. Christian Gulbranson, Marple's lawyer, persuades her to visit the estate of his stepmother, Carrie Louise. Her devoted husband Lewis has turned the manor house Stonygates into a halfway house for criminals. He confides to Marple and suspects someone poisoning Carrie with arsenic. After Christian dies, a killer is at large in a house full of suspects. Cast * Helen Hayes as Miss Jane Marple * Bette Davis as Carrie Louise Serrocold * John Mills as Lewis Serrocold * Leo McKern as Inspector Curry * Liane Langland as Gina ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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A Caribbean Mystery
''A Caribbean Mystery'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 16 November 1964 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at sixteen shillings (16/-) and the US edition at $4.50. It features the detective Miss Marple. Two reviewers at the time the novel was published said that Agatha Christie was returning to the top of her form. A critic writing in 1990 judged this plot to be standard fare for any writer who travels to the Caribbean and needs double duty out of a vacation. Two of the major characters reappear in the novel ''Nemesis'', published in 1971. Jason Rafiel reappears posthumously, and his assistant Esther Walters assists Miss Marple in the early chapters of the subsequent story. Plot summary This story takes place at the Golden Palm resort on the Caribbean island of St Honoré. Miss Marple's nephew has paid for her to holiday there ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Angela Lansbury
Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal of international attention. At the time of her death, she was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Lansbury received many accolades throughout her career, including six Tony Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), six Golden Globe Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, and the Academy Honorary Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, eighteen Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. In 2014, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Lansbury Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Lansbury was born to an upper-middle-class family in Central London, the daughter of Irish actress Moyna Macgill and English politician Edgar Lansbury. She moved to the United States in 1940 to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Mirror Crack'd
''The Mirror Crack'd'' is a 1980 British mystery film directed by Guy Hamilton from a screenplay by Jonathan Hales and Barry Sandler, based on Agatha Christie's Miss Marple novel ''The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side'' (1962). It stars Angela Lansbury, Geraldine Chaplin, Tony Curtis, Edward Fox, Rock Hudson, Kim Novak, and Elizabeth Taylor. Scenes were filmed at Twickenham Film Studios, Twickenham, London and on location in Kent. Plot In 1953 in the English village of St Mary Mead, home of Miss Jane Marple, a big Hollywood production company arrives to film a costume drama about Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I with two famous movie stars, Marina Rudd and Lola Brewster. The two actresses are old rivals. Marina is making a much heralded comeback after a prolonged "illness" and retirement (due to what was really a nervous breakdown when her son was born with severe brain damage). She and her husband, Jason Rudd, who is directing the film, arrive with their entourage. When ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Agatha Christie's Partners In Crime
''Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime'' is a 1983 British television series based on the short stories of the same name by Agatha Christie. It was directed by John A. Davis and Tony Wharmby and starred Francesca Annis and James Warwick in the leading roles of wife and husband sleuths Prudence 'Tuppence' and Tommy Beresford. Reece Dinsdale co-starred as Albert in all but two episodes. The series follows the adventures and exploits of the Beresfords, who have recently taken over the running of a detective agency based in London. Each episode features one of the stories from the book. Among these are a quest for missing jewels, the investigation of poltergeists and a story involving poisoned chocolates. The series followed the short stories closely with two notable exceptions: First, the detective parodies, although alluded to on occasion, were for the most part dispensed with. Secondly, the story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Secret Adversary
''The Secret Adversary'' is the second published detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in January 1922 in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in that same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $1.75. The book introduces the characters of Tommy and Tuppence who feature in three other Christie novels and one collection of short stories; the five Tommy and Tuppence books span Agatha Christie's writing career. The Great War is over, and jobs are scarce. Childhood friends Tommy Beresford and Prudence "Tuppence" Cowley meet and agree to start their own business as The Young Adventurers. They are hired for a job that leads them both to many dangerous situations, meeting allies as well, including an American millionaire in search of his cousin. Reviews were generally positive on this adventure, which manages to keep the identity of the ar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Seven Dials Mystery
''The Seven Dials Mystery'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on 24 January 1929 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. In this novel, Christie brings back the characters from an earlier novel, '' The Secret of Chimneys'': Lady Eileen (Bundle) Brent, Lord Caterham, Bill Eversleigh, George Lomax, Tredwell, and Superintendent Battle. The novel received mostly unfavourable reviews. One reviewer noted a change in style ("Less good in point of style") but felt the novel "maintains the author's reputation of ingenuity." Another was quite disappointed in the change in style from some of her earlier novels, saying that she had "deserted the methodical procedure of inquiry into a single and circumscribed crime for the romance of universal conspiracy and international rogues." Another felt that the story started out well, but then earned sharp criticism for the author as "she has carefully av ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
''Why Didn't They Ask Evans?'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in September 1934 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1935 under the title of ''The Boomerang Clue''. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00. The novel is set in Wales and Hampshire. Bobby Jones finds a man dying at his local golf course. A photo he saw in the man's pocket is replaced, as police seek his identity. Bobby and his friend Lady Frances Derwent have adventures as they solve the mystery of the man's last words: "Why didn't they ask Evans?" The novel was praised at first publication as "a story that tickles and tantalises", and that the reader is sure to like the amateur detectives and forgive the absence of Poirot. It had a lively narrative, full of action, with two amateur detectives who "blend charm and irresponsibility with shrewdness and good luck". ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |