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''The Body in the Library'' is a 3-part 1984
television film
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 ...
adaptation of
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 ...
's 1942
detective novel
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...
''
The Body in the Library
''The Body in the Library'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1942 and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in May of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.0 ...
'', which was co-produced by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and the
A&E Network
A&E is an American basic cable network, the flagship television property of A&E Networks. The network was originally founded in 1984 as the Arts & Entertainment Network, initially focusing on fine arts, documentaries, television drama, dramas, and ...
. The film uses an adapted screenplay by
T. R. Bowen
Trevor Bowen (sometimes T. R. Bowen, born 1941 in Rangoon, Burma) is an English actor and screenwriter who has appeared frequently in British television dramas since the mid-1960s.
Early life
He is the son of Major General W. O. Bowen and w ...
and was directed by
Silvio Narizzano
Silvio Narizzano (8 February 192726 July 2011) was a Canadian film and television director who worked primarily in the United Kingdom. His directorial credits included the critically acclaimed films '' Georgy Girl'' (1966) and ''Loot'' (1970), w ...
.
Starring
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 ...
in the
title role
The title character in a Narrative, narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The ...
, it was the first film presented in the British television series ''
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 ...
'' and premiered in three parts from 26 to 28 December 1984 on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
. In the United States the film was first broadcast on 4 January 1986 as a part of
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
's ''
Mystery!
''Mystery!'' (also written ''MYSTERY!'') is a television anthology series produced by WGBH Boston for PBS in the United States.
The series was created as a mystery, police and crime drama spin-off of the already established PBS show ''Masterpi ...
''.
In his review in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', critic
John J. O'Connor wrote:
Miss Christie would no doubt approve of Joan Hickson, the veteran British character actress who plays Miss Marple... This BBC/Arts & Entertainment co-production offers an especially good example of Agatha Christie in adaptation. The characters are nicely realized and the suspense holds. Miss Hickson is lovely, neither as awesome as Miss Rutherford nor as overly cute as Helen Hayes. And the supporting cast is admirable, particularly Gwen Watford as Dolly and David Horovitch as Inspector Slack. As someone notes about the case, "you'll have to admit it has all the bizarre elements of a cheap thriller." Once hooked, you won't be able to turn it off.
''The Body in the Library'' was repeated on
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 in September and October 2013.
Plot
Miss Marple helps her neighbours the Bantrys when a lovely young girl is found dead in their library. The girl is traced to a seaside resort and the desperate family of a wealthy old man.
Cast
*
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 ...
as Miss Marple
*
David Horovitch
David Horovitch (born 11 August 1945) is an English actor, perhaps best known for playing the character of Inspector Slack in ''Miss Marple''. He stars in the '' Game of Thrones'' prequel series ''House of the Dragon'' as Grand Maester Mellos.
...
as Detective Inspector Slack
*
Gwen Watford
Gwendoline Watford (10 September 1927 – 6 February 1994), professionally known after the mid-1950s as Gwen Watford, was an English actress.
Watford's talent was spotted by John Gielgud while she was still a schoolgirl, and with his help ...
as Dolly Bantry
*
Moray Watson
Moray Robin Philip Adrian Watson (25 June 1928 – 2 May 2017) was an English actor from Sunningdale, Berkshire.
Life
Watson was born in Sunningdale, Berkshire, to Gerard Arthur Watson (1901–1940), a ship broker, who was killed during World ...
as Colonel Bantry
*
Frederick Jaeger
Manfred Frederick Jaeger (9 May 1928 – 18 June 2004) was a German-born British film, television, theatre and radio character actor.
Biography
Jaeger was born in Berlin, Germany, but moved to England following Adolf Hitler's rise to power. He ...
as Colonel Melchett
*
Valentine Dyall
Valentine Dyall (7 May 1908 – 24 June 1985) was an English character actor. He worked regularly as a voice actor, and was known for many years as "The Man in Black", the narrator of the BBC Radio horror series '' Appointment with Fear'' ...
as Lorrimer
*
Anthony Smee
Anthony Smee (22 November 1949), known professionally as Tony Smee, is an English theatre producer, writer, and actor who has worked in radio, theatre, television, and film since 1972.
Background
Education
Smee trained at the Rose Bruford Coll ...
as Basil Blake
*
Debbie Arnold
Debbie Arnold (born 14 June 1955) is an English actress, producer and voice artist. She is known for her portrayal of April Branning in BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' between 1995 and 1996. Arnold has portrayed regular characters in ''EastEnder ...
as Dinah Lee
*
Andrew Cruickshank
Andrew John Maxton Cruickshank (25 December 1907 in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire29 April 1988 in London) was a Scottish actor, most famous for his portrayal of Dr Cameron in the long-running UK BBC television series ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'', which ...
as Conway Jefferson
*
Ciaran Madden
Ciaran Anne Magdalene Madden (born 27 December 1942) is a retired English stage, film, and television actress, who was professionally active from the late 1960s through the late 1990s.
She is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RAD ...
as Adelaide Jefferson
*
Keith Drinkel
Keith Drinkel (born 14 November 1944) is an English actor.
Drinkel was born in York, educated at St Michael's College, Leeds, and is now based in Brighton.
His notable appearances in film and television include ''A Family at War'' (1970), ...
as Mark Gaskell
*
Hugh Walters as Mr Prescott
*
Jess Conrad
Jess Conrad (born Gerald Arthur James; 24 February 1936) is an English stage and screen actor and singer. As a boy he was nicknamed "Jesse" after American outlaw Jesse James; as there was already an actor named "Gerald James" in Actors' Equity, a ...
as Raymond Starr
*
Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler (born 6 January 1954) is an English actress and film producer.
Early life and family
Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, the daughter of Pauline and Harry Styler, a farmer and factory worker. When Styler was two years ...
as Josie Turner
*
John Moffatt as Edwards
*
Arthur Bostrom
Arthur Bostrom FRGS (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, best known for his role as Officer Crabtree in the long-running BBC TV sitcom Allo 'Allo!''.
Biography Early life
Bostrom was born in Rugby, Warwickshire and attended Lawrence ...
as George Bartlett
*
Stephen Churchett
Stephen George Churchett (10 April 1947 – 11 January 2022) was an English actor and writer.
Life and career
One of his most notable roles was as solicitor Marcus Christie in ''EastEnders'', on and off from 1990 to 2004. He reprised the role ...
as Major Reeve
*
Astra Sheridan as Pamela Reeve
*
Raymond Francis
Raymond Francis (6 October 1911- 24 October 1987) was a British actor best known for his role as Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart in the Associated-Rediffusion detective series ''Murder Bag'', ''Crime Sheet'' and ''No Hiding Place''. ...
as Sir Henry Clithering
*
Ian Brimble
Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...
as Detective Constable Lake
*
John Bardon
John Bardon (born John Michael Jones, 25 August 1939 – 12 September 2014) was an English stage and screen actor. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1988 (1987 season) for ''Kiss Me, Kate'', sharing the aw ...
as PC Palk
*
Anne Rutter as Mrs Palk
*
Karin Foley
Karin may refer to:
*Karin (given name), a feminine name
Fiction
* ''Karin'' (manga) or ''Chibi Vampire'', a Japanese media franchise
*Karin Hanazono, title character of the manga and anime ''Kamichama Karin''
*Karin Kurosaki, a character in ''Bl ...
as Mary
*Colin Higgins as Malcolm
*
Sarah Whitlock as WPC
*
Sydney Livingstone as Mr Brogan
*
Andrew Downer as Peter Carmody
*
Sally Jane Jackson
Sally may refer to:
People
*Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name
Military
* Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port
*Sally, the Allied reporting na ...
as Ruby Keene
*
Kathleen Breck as Bridget
*
Martyn Read Martyn may refer to:
*Martyn (surname), one of the Tribes of Galway and others
*Martyn (given name)
See also
*Martin (disambiguation)
*Marten (disambiguation)
A marten is a mammal in the family ''Mustelidae''. Marten, Mårten, or Martén may also ...
as Hugo McLean
*
Karen Seacombe as Florrie Small
*John Evans as Inch
*
Jacqui Munro as the body
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Body in the Library
British television films
BBC television dramas
Films based on Miss Marple books
1984 television films
1984 films
Films directed by Silvio Narizzano