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Tarfumes.com - Miss Marple: At Bertram's Hotel
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List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $13.32
Your Save: $ 1.63 ( 11% )
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
Starring: Joan Hickson, Caroline Blakiston, Helena Michell, James Cossins, Joan Greenwood
Directed By: Mary McMurray
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786303404837
Format: Color
ISBN: 6303404839
Label: A&E Home Video
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: A&E Home Video
Release Date: 1997-09-01
Running Time: 100
Studio: A&E Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1986
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Editorial Reviews:
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Joan Hickson stars as Agatha Christie's most beloved character, the prim and proper Miss Marple, in this classic whodunit. London's Bertram's Hotel is a well polished retreat where dowager duchesses, retired clergymen and aging generals can indulge in the comforts of a bygone era. But it's just a little too proper for guest Miss Marple she feels something sinister lurks beneath the hotel's genteel veneer. And rightly so! Society beauty Bess Sedgwick, known for her appetite for adventure and men, has registered at the very same time as a certain woman who happens to be her greatest rival her daughter. When the Irish doorman turns up dead, Miss Marple launches her investigation and the hotel's respectable facade begins to crumble.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Too Much Hotel; Not Enough Mystery
Comment: +++++
I watched this movie without reading the 1965 Dame Agatha Christie novel that it was based on. (Christie wrote twelve Miss Marple murder mysteries altogether.) I'm glad I did this! Why? Because it forced me to really watch the movie in order to try and deduce who the murderer was.
A murder occurs at London's Bertram's Hotel where Miss Marple (the late Joan Hickson) is staying. An official police investigation ensues with Chief Inspector Fred Davy (George Baker) as one of the investigators. Unofficially, Miss Marple puts all the clues together.
Who are the people staying at or associated with this hotel? They are as follows:
(1) Bess Segwick who has been married several times (Caroline Blakiston)
(2) Elvina Blake, a person who is soon to be wealthy (Helena Mitchell)
(3) Selina Hazy, Miss Marple's friend (Joan Greenwood)
(4) Canon Pennygather, an absentminded retired clergyman (Preston Lockwood)
(5) Michael Gorman, the hotel's Irish doorman (Brian McGrath)
(6) Ladislaus Malinowski, an ex-racecar driver and womanizer (Rob Reynolds)
Joan Hickson (whom Agatha Christie herself wanted to play Miss Marple) captures the essence of the heroine super sleuth in her performance. (Hickson was 81 years old in this movie!)
The interior filming of the hotel is fantastic. All costumes and props are authentic looking. The background music adds to each scene.
Unfortunately, this movie has a few problems:
First, it takes way too long for the murder to occur. In fact, I had to check a few times to see if this movie was really a murder mystery! When the murder finally does occur, it then seems that the movie becomes rushed.
Next, the final deduction scene, I felt, was incomplete. I still had a few questions that Miss Marple never answered.
Finally, the Chief Inspector mentioned above actually sings when he is investigating and interrogating. I found this very distracting.
In conclusion, despite the problems mentioned, this is still a decent movie!
(1987; 100 min; made for TV; British drama; full screen; color)
+++++
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