''A Caribbean Mystery'' is a 1983 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

based on the 1964

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

novel ''

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 edi ...

'' and starring

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

Miss Marple Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of Chr ...

Cast

as Miss Jane Marple *

Barnard Hughes Bernard Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006), known professionally as Barnard Hughes, was an American actor of television, theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after mid ...

as Mr Rafiel *

Jameson Parker Francis Jameson Parker Jr. (born November 18, 1947) is an American actor, best known for his roles as the first Brad Vernon in soap opera '' One Life to Live'', and as A.J. Simon on the 1980s television series ''Simon & Simon''. Early life a ...

as Tim Kendall *

Season Hubley Season Hubley (born Susan Hubley; March 14, 1951) is an American retired actress and singer. Best known for Nikki in ''Hardcore'' (1979), Priscilla Presley in ''Elvis'' (1979), and Angelique in ''All My Children'' (1992–1994). Early life Hubl ...

as Molly Kendall *

Swoosie Kurtz Swoosie Kurtz ( ; born September 6, 1944) is an American actress. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award and two Tony Awards. Kurtz made her Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''Ah, Wilderness''. She has received five Tony ...

as Ruth Walter *

Cassie Yates Cassandra Yates (born March 2, 1951) is an American actress known for her performances on television. Early years Yates was born and raised in Macon, Georgia. Her mother named her after the character Cassandra portrayed by Betty Field in '' ...

as Lucky Dyson *

Stephen Macht Stephen Robert Macht (born May 1, 1942) is an American television and film actor. As the father of actor Gabriel Macht, he portrayed Henry Gerard, a Harvard University, Harvard professor in the US legal drama ''Suits (American TV series), Suit ...

as Greg Dyson *

Zakes Mokae Zakes Makgona Mokae (5 August 1934 – 11 September 2009) was a South African-American actor of theatre and film. Life and career Mokae was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, moved to the United Kingdom in 1961, and to the United States ...

as Captain Daventry *

Beth Howland Elizabeth Howland (May 28, 1939 – December 31, 2015) was an American actress. She worked on stage and television, and was best known for playing Vera Gorman in the sitcom '' Alice''. Howland originated the role of Amy in the original Broadway ...

as Evelyn Hillingdon * Maurice Evans as Major Geoffrey Palgrave *

Lynne Moody Emmalyn Paulette Moody (born February 17, 1950), known professionally as Lynne Moody, is an American film and television actress. Beginning her career in the early 1970s, Moody is best known her roles as Tracy Curtis–Taylor in the ABC televisio ...

as Victoria Johnson *

George Innes George Innes (born 8 March 1938) is a British actor. Stage career Innes was born in Stepney, East London, and began his career on the stage with the National Theatre of Great Britain under Laurence Olivier. Before that, he trained at Toynbee ...

as Edward Hillingdon *

Brock Peters Brock Peters (born George Fisher; July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005) was an American actor and singer, best known for playing the villainous "Crown" in the 1959 film version of ''Porgy and Bess'', and the wrongfully convicted Tom Robinson in th ...

as Dr Graham

Production

Stan Margulies had the rights to eight Christie books. He made a TV movie of Christie's '' Murder Is Easy''. It was a success and the Christie estate liked it, enabling him to get the rights to ''Caribbean Mystery''. He made it around the time of another Christie adaptation, ''

Sparkling Cyanide ''Sparkling Cyanide'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1945 under the title of ''Remembered Death'' and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in the Dece ...

''. Marguiles had to update the stories to the present day because he was unable to do period pieces on a TV movie budget. Because the films were made for American TV, he also insisted on the freedom to cast at least one American actor in the cast.English actor to bring Agatha Christie to the contemporary scene of California Buck, Jerry. Chicago Tribune 19 July 1983: b5. Marguiles offered Hayes the part of Marple after using her in ''Murder Is Easy''. Hayes said she turned down the role at first because she "adored" the character of Marple "and I didn't want to follow Margaret Rutherford... I can't be that funny."Helen Hayes talks about theater, aging, and her role as Miss Marple: ON TV HAYES By Arthur Unger. The Christian Science Monitor 21 Oct 1983: 21.

Filming

The film was shot in Santa Barbara. Hayes said "a lot of things were against us. Like frigid cold and rain every day. We worked indoors while it poured and poured, and when it stopped, we tried to make it look like the tropics. I was wearing light clothes over thermal underwear." Hayes found the dialogue for Marple difficult. "She has all the summing up, all the exposition. All those lines! I told the producer... 'I can't learn all that stuff.' One of the nice parts about being a star is that the lesser-paid actors have to do the exposition. I haven't done exposition for 50 years."At 82, Helen Hayes is still a going concern The Globe and Mail23 July 1983: E.5.

Reception

The ''New York Times'' said the film "has its engaging moments, thanks primarily to an exceptionally good cast." The film was popular with viewers. Hayes reprised her role as Marple in ''

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 ...

'' (1985).

Legacy

The film was seen on TV by writer

Richard Levinson Richard Leighton Levinson (August 7, 1934 – March 12, 1987) was an American screenwriter and Television producer, producer who often worked in collaboration with William Link. Life and career Levinson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. H ...

who noted its ratings success. He thought of doing a regular mystery show about a Marple-like detective, who was a mystery writer like Agatha Christie. This led to ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

''.ANGELA LANSBURY'S UNLIKELY SLEUTH HAS STAYING POWER: eviewHARMETZ, ALJEAN. New York Times 27 Oct 1985: A.25.

References

External links

''A Caribbean Mystery''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''A Caribbean Mystery''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

''A Caribbean Mystery''
at BFI {{DEFAULTSORT:Caribbean Mystery 1983 television films 1983 films 1980s mystery films American mystery films Films based on Miss Marple books Films based on mystery novels CBS network films Television shows based on works by Agatha Christie 1980s English-language films Films directed by Robert Michael Lewis 1980s American films