The 1950s was a time of great parochialism and hostility to all foreigners, particularly if they were coloured. Yet one of the more extraordinary aspects of this adaptation is that the production team neglected to do anything about Mitzi ( Catherine Tate). So they have no compunction in rewriting the books to make for “better” television. It wants this set of adaptations to be better. The new team wants to distance itself from the earlier series. Let’s characterise this series as a race between Geraldine McEwan and Joan Hickson. Zoë Wanamaker, Geraldine McEwan and Elaine Paige in A Murder Is Announced
We meet the cast of suspects, watch the sleuth at work and then arrive at the dénouement in which our detective reviews the evidence, highlights the clues and points the fickle finger of fate at the baddie(s). The notion of gathering all the suspects in the library for sherry and an accusation or two would be frowned on. Not forgetting the Crown Prosecution Service lurking in the wings to ensure a fair trial will be possible. You can’t see an author today describing anything other than a highly professional squad that appears and erects barriers to keep curious eyes away.
It’s a wonderful commentary on these pre-CSI times that we could innocently believe our British police officers were so accessible and willing to give credence to an old biddy’s ideas. Giving up her quiet holiday in a nearby hotel, Miss Marple invites herself into the middle of the investigation and, before long, she’s suggesting lines of inquiry to the random office officer in charge. Come the appointed time, the lights go out, shots ring out and, not surprisingly, a man is duly found dead. We’re back in a village circa the 1950s, this one appropriately named Chipping Cleghorn, where someone obviously well-meaning announces the imminent death of person or persons unknown. The first effort is A Murder Is Announced. We had not exactly started off auspiciously and I had visions of Agatha Christie vaguely stirring in her grave as broadcast signals slowly penetrated the soil around her grave. With a sense of foreboding, I sat down to watch this second set of three Marple adaptations.
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