A Caribbean Mystery (1983) (TV)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Robert Michael Lewis

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel)
Sue Grafton (teleplay)

Release Date:

22 October 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Drama

Plot:

While Miss Marple is on vacation in a luxurious Caribbean resort, a fellow guest confides he has evidence that another resident of the hotel is an unscrupulous serial murderer but is poisoned before he can reveal his identity to her.

Plot Keywords:

Caribbean | Detective | Miss Marple | Murder | Based On Novel

Cast

Helen Hayes	...	Miss Jane Marple
Barnard Hughes	...	Mr. Rafiel
Jameson Parker	...	Tim Kendall
Season Hubley	...	Molly Kandall
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Ruth Walter
Cassie Yates	...	Lucky Dyson
Zakes Mokae	...	Captain Daventry
Stephen Macht	...	Greg Dyson
Beth Howland	...	Evelyn Hillingdon
Maurice Evans	...	Major Geoffrey Palgrave
Lynne Moody	...	Victoria Johnson
George Innes	...	Edward Hillingdon
Brock Peters	...	Dr. Graham
Michael Preston	...	Arthur Jackson (as Mike Preston)
Bernard McDonald	...	Minister

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie's A Caribbean Mystery (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

Netherlands:88 min | USA:120 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Santa Barbara, California, USA

Company:

Stan Margolies Company, The

Movie Connections:

Version of A Caribbean Mystery (1989) (TV)

Poor stuff

Helen Hayes just doesn't cut it.

Rather than going the whole hog and playing Miss Marple as an American, she plays her as an Englishwoman. This is a mistake,since her accent veers from deep south of USA to England via Ireland. In short, her accent is all over the place.

Her lines are also peppered with Americanisms which no British person would ever say. Two examples:

1) She refers to "tourist class" when British people call it "economy class".

2) She says she's going to "mail" some postcards, when a genuinely British person say "post", not "mail".

Two minor examples, I know, but they add to a general feeling that this Miss Marple is as British as a fudge brownie. All the references to her hometown of St. Mary Mead in England can't change that.

Another point is that Santa Barbara is not in the slightest bit convincing as a stand-in for the Caribbean. The one shot of a caribbean town, Havana perhaps, is obviously grainy archive footage.

Steer clear of this poorly made rubbish, and watch the BBC productions starring Joan Hickson instead.