The Moving Finger (1985) (TV)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Roy Boulting

Writer:

Julia Jones (dramatisation)
(more)

Release Date:

21 February 1985 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

The residents of a quiet English village begin to receive nasty, threatening letters. The wife of the local vicar calls in her friend Miss Marple to investigate.

Plot Keywords:

Miss Marple | Poison | Poison Pen Letter | Vicar | Solicitor

Cast

Joan Hickson	...	Miss Jane Marple
Michael Culver	...	Edward Symmington
Elizabeth Counsell	...	Angela Symmington
Deborah Appleby	...	Megan Hunter
Lucy Gleeson	...	Robert Symmington
Stuart Mansfield	...	James Symmington
Andrew Bicknell	...	Gerry Burton
Sabina Franklyn	...	Joanna Burton
Richard Pearson	...	Mr. Pye
Hilary Mason	...	Emily Barton
Dilys Hamlett	...	Maude Calthrop
John Arnatt	...	Reverend Guy Calthrop
Sandra Payne	...	Eryl Griffith
Martin Fisk	...	Owen Griffith
Penelope Lee	...	Partridge
Juliet Waley	...	Beatrice Dunn
Imogen Bickford-Smith	...	Elsie Holland
Gerald Sim	...	Coroner
Geoffrey Davion	...	Superintendent Nash
Roger Ostime	...	Detective Inspector Crawford
Victor Maddern	...	Police Constable Johnson
Ninka Scott	...	Miss Ginch
Patsy Smart	...	Mrs. Cleat
Gordon Rollings	...	Mr. Arthur Cleat
Michael Waterman	...	George Ellis
Catherine Owen	...	Rose
Carol Gleeson	...	Contralto
John Keenan	...	Pianist

Directed by
Roy Boulting

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Agatha Christie		novel (uncredited)
Julia Jones		dramatisation

Produced by
Guy Slater	....	producer

Original Music by
Alan Blaikley
Ken Howard

Cinematography by
Ian Hilton		(photography)

Film Editing by
Graham Walker

Production Design by
Paul Allen

Costume Design by
Christian Dyall

Production Management
Andrew Benson	....	production manager

Art Department
Helen MacKenzie	....	properties buyer (as Helen Mackenzie)
Linda Sherwood-Page	....	graphic designer

Sound Department
Martyn Clift	....	sound recordist
John Hale	....	dubbing mixer
Rob Maynard	....	dubbing editor

Editorial Department
Bernard Ashby	....	chief film editor

Music Department
John Altman	....	musical director

Other crew
Alexandra Bridcut	....	assistant floor manager (as Alex Bridcut)
George Gallaccio	....	production associate
Juley Harding	....	production assistant
John Kay	....	assistant floor manager
Tony Redston	....	location manager

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• A&E Television Networks (in association with) (as The Arts and Entertainment Network, U.S.A.)
• Seven Network (in association with) (as The Seven Network, Australia)

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (1985) (UK) (TV) (original airing)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1985) (USA) (TV)
• Mystery! (1985) (USA) (TV)
• A&E Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• A&E Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Just Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: The Moving Finger (UK) (complete title)
Miss Marple: The Moving Finger (UK) (series title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

UK | USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The corpse of Mrs Symmington blinks while the doctor is examining her.

Quotes:

Miss Jane Marple: We are not put in this world to avoid danger - not when an innocent person's life is at stake!

Movie Connections:

Followed by The Mirror Crack'd (1992) (TV)

Joan Hickson is THE definitive Miss Marple

I couldn't agree more with Mike. My local PBS station here in the US is currently broadcasting the new Miss Marple series one evening a week, while showing the original Joan Hickson Miss Marple as a daily series at 1:00 PM. There is NO comparison. Even Agatha Christie, some years before her own death, predicted that Joan Hickson would be the perfect Miss Marple. She knew her character, and the right actress to play her. The new series struggles far too hard to be "trendy" and puts far too much present-day "politial correctness" into the plots. Geraldine McEwan's Miss Marple has become nearly as much a caricature as Margaret Rutherford's movie portrayal.

Jim.