They Do It with Mirrors (1991) (TV)

Director:

Norman Stone

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel)
T.R. Bowen (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 December 1991 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Crime | Mystery

Plot:

When Miss Marple is invited to the manor house of an old friend, it is not long before a puzzling murder puts her mind to work.

Plot Keywords:

Miss Marple | Manor House | Estate | Murder | Father Son Relationship

Cast

Joan Hickson	...	Miss Jane Marple
Jean Simmons	...	Carrie-Louise Serrocold
Joss Ackland	...	Lewis Serrocold
Faith Brook	...	Ruth van Rydock
Gillian Barge	...	Mildred Strete
Neal Swettenham	...	Edgar Lawson
David Horovitch	...	Chief Inspector Slack
Ian Brimble	...	Sergeant Lake
Christopher Villiers	...	Alex Restarick
Jay Villiers	...	Stephen Restarick
Holly Aird	...	Gina Hudd
Todd Boyce	...	Walter Hudd
Saul Reichlin	...	Dr. Maseryk
John Bott	...	Christian Gulbrandsen
Brenda Cowling	...	Mrs. Rodgers
Matthew Cottle	...	Ernie Gregg
David Doyle	...	Neville
Jake Wood	...	Bert
Tom Kerridge	...	Keithie
Anne Atkins	...	WPC
Stee Billingsley	...	Dancer
Rachel Bond	...	Dancer
Bryn Walters	...	Dancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Roger Low	...	Dr. Rosenbloom (uncredited)
Tony Red Richards	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)

Directed by
Norman Stone

Writing credits
Agatha Christie		(novel)
T.R. Bowen		(screenplay)

Produced by
George Gallaccio	....	producer
Ian R. Wallace	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
John Walker		(photography)

Film Editing by
Bernard Ashby

Production Design by
Alan Spalding

Costume Design by
Brian Willis

Makeup Department
Christine Walmesley-Cotham	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Pennie Bloomfield	....	production manager
Julie Edwards	....	production manager

Art Department
Linda Sherwood-Page	....	graphic designer
Francis Smith	....	properties buyer

Sound Department
Malcolm Campbell	....	sound recordist
Steve Hudson	....	dubbing mixer
Adrian Leslie	....	sound recordist
Stephen Young	....	dubbing editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Jimmy Wilson	....	gaffer

Music Department
John Altman	....	musical director
Ken Howard	....	composer: title and incidental music

Other crew
Clive Arnold	....	assistant floor manager
Les Baker	....	production operative supervisor
Malcolm Campbell	....	film recordist
Clive Chenery	....	assistant floor manager
Paul Dale	....	location manager
Juley Harding	....	production assistant
Tracey Lane	....	location manager
Adrian Leslie	....	film recordist
John Miles	....	finance assistant
Sheila O'Neill	....	ballet choreographer
Alison Passey	....	production secretary
Joe Rhodes	....	assistant floor manager
Louise Caruana Galizia	....	daily floor runner (uncredited)

Production Companies

• A&E Television Networks
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (1991) (UK) (TV) (original airing)
• A&E Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• A&E Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• A&E Television Networks (199?) (USA) (TV)
• Just Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Malavasi Editore (200?) (Italy) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Archive Films U.K.  archive footage

Also Known As:

Miss Marple: They Do It with Mirrors (UK) (series title)

Runtime:

USA:100 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

A&E Television Networks

Quotes:

Chief Inspector Slack: And this Edward Lawson was yelling all the time you were down here?
Walter Hudd: Uh, he was fruitcaking for England up there.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Murder with Mirrors (1985) (TV)

Good in terms of acting and quality, but disappointing as an adaptation

Although I really liked this, it is a disappointment after the delightful Murder Is Announced. Then again the book isn't Agatha Christie's best, although it's well written and perplexing, it is for me one of the weaker Marple books. There were several things I liked about the adaptation, one was the acting. Joan Hickson is a sheer delight as Miss Marple, and Faith Brook and Jean Simmons were very effective as Carrie-Louise and Ruth. Their end scene in particular was very poignant. Joss Ackland has a little less to do, but he turned in a solid performance. The adaptation is beautifully photographed, and the music is stunning. However, I had a real problem with the pace, the adaptation does start off very slowly, and never quite recovers. Out of the Joan Hickson adaptations, it is one of the least faithful ones. The elements that made the book perplexing were either left out or a tad underdeveloped. Consequently the plot is hard to follow and I will admit the final solution left me baffled. Overall, disappointing but well acted and beautifully filmed, so worth a look. 7/10 Bethany Cox