The Body in the Library (1984) (TV)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Silvio Narizzano

Writers:

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

Release Date:

26 December 1984 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Amateur detective Miss Jane Marple investigates the murder of a young woman whose body is found in the library at Gossington Hall...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Murder | Manor | Amateur Detective | Hotel

Cast

Joan Hickson	...	Miss Jane Marple
Gwen Watford	...	Mrs. Dolly Bantry
Moray Watson	...	Colonel Arthur Bantry
Valentine Dyall	...	Lorrimer
Karin Foley	...	Mary
Raymond Francis	...	Sir Henry Clithering
Frederick Jaeger	...	Chief Constable Colonel Melchett
David Horovitch	...	Detective Inspector Slack
Ian Brimble	...	Detective Constable Lake
Sarah Whitlock	...	WPC
Anthony Smee	...	Basil Blake
Debbie Arnold	...	Dinah Lee
John Bardon	...	Police Constable Bill Palk
Anne Rutter	...	Mrs. Palk
Colin Higgins	...	Malcolm

Also Known As:

Miss Marple: The Body in the Library (UK) (series title)

Runtime:

Germany:110 min (2 parts) | 156 min (DVD)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Bournemouth, Dorset, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Movie Connections:

Version of Marple: The Body in the Library (2004) (TV)

Surprisingly tight, given its extreme length

To be honest, a 2-and-a-half-hour episode of the Joan Hickson Miss Marple series may seem like a fearsome prospect to some, given the fact that most of the regular approximately 100-minute episodes feel slow and plodding. Surprisingly, "The Body In The Library" turns out to be not only the longest, but also probably the best-paced film in the series out of the 8 I've seen so far! The "body" of the title is discovered right away, and the murder investigation begins shortly afterwards. Therefore, you're caught up in the mystery before you have the chance to start worrying about its length. And this particular Agatha Christie story is thick enough to support that length: there are few slow spots, and although you might figure out bits of the plot (like the relevance of the second dead body), the revelation of the killer(s) is still a shocker! Personally I have not been crazy about Joan Hickson's interpretation of Miss Marple so far, but this is one of her best outings and she has some good introspective moments. The supporting cast is solid, and David Horovitch's Inspector Slack is (thankfully) not the off-putting loudmouth of such later episodes as "They Do It With Mirrors". (***)

EDIT: Having now seen all the Marple films twice, "The Body In The Library" is, in my opinion, the best of the series. If you don't like this, "A Murder Is Announced" and "Nemesis", don't even bother with the rest.