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I loved this adaptation! The acting is very good all the way thro' with fantastic performances from Ursula Howells (Miss Blacklock), Renee Asherton (Miss Bunner) and, of course, Joan Hickson - who *is* (in my opinion) Miss Jane Marple - just the way that Dame Agatha described her in the books.

Having read the book several times, I'm pleased and relieved that it wasn't "butchered" as some TV adapations can be, it remained faithful to Dame Agatha's book.

All in all, a very good adapation with, in places, humourous touches.

The book A Murder Is Announced is a brilliant book, one of my favourite Agatha Christies, intricately woven and quite complex. This adaptation is a million times better than the Geraldine McEwan version, and not only was it faithful to the book, but it almost surpassed it. The adaptation is lovingly photographed, with stunning locations and costumes. The music is beautiful, reminds me a bit of a day in the country, peaceful and relaxing. The script is well crafted, the plot is brilliantly constructed and like I've said already, the adaptation is very faithful to the book. The lights-going-off scene was very haunting, and gave me nightmares when I first saw this when I was 11, six years ago, just like in the book, that scene was underplayed in the Geraldine McEwan version. The acting was very, very good, Joan Hickson doesn't just play Miss Marple, she IS Miss Marple. There was one scene with a sideways close up into Hickson's face, and that moment in particular was extraordinary. Samantha Bond was lovely as Julia, and Ursula Howells was superb as Letitia Blacklock. Joan Sims also delights as Amy Murgatroyd, and before he did Inspector Morse Kevin Whately did this, and he is a breath of fresh air as Sergeant Fletcher. Everyone else was just as superb. In fact, I have no criticisms of this at all, the ending will have you completely by surprise if you haven't read the book, the length was just right and everything about this was delightful. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I can understand why many people see this as the best of Joan Hickson's adaptations. The production values are so high, the casting director did a fantastic job and got every characterisation spot on. ITV's remake I did enjoy and compares well with this one, partly because it moves at a pace. This version is far more intricate, more detailed and of course more true to the novel. Joan Hickson was of course born to play Miss Marple, to this day I don't think anyone catch match her, she was incredible. It's funny, I was 5 when this was transmitted, and I have a vivid memory of the scene where Miss Murgatryod is strangled with her washing, think that's why I was so keen to watch them again (and again.) As with all Agatha Christie's it's the endings I enjoy, and this is one of the best, if you've not seen it, you are missing out. Ursula Howells, Renee Asherson and Paola Dionisotti are particularly brilliant. a definite no questions asked 10/10

I've avoided Miss Marple my whole life, focusing on Dorothy Sayers. But then I realized that I'm now as old as Jane Marple. Hickson plays Marple with wonderful restraint, and John Castle is great as the brooding thoughtful inspector. It was delightful to see Inspector Lewis (Kevin Whatley) transported into the post WW2 village.

This is an engrossing mystery and I appreciate that there is zero campiness in this adaptation, thank goodness. The Geraldine McEwan versions are ghastly. Here the production values are excellent, and the Scotland exterior was terrific. Young Samantha Bond is luminous. Very well done though oddly, it's easy to peg the show as from the 1980s because of the musical frissons.

A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED in the Chipping Cleghorne Gazette at the very start of this clever Christie tale about an announcement in the local paper that sends several people to Little Paddocks cottage, just curious observers who wonder if anything actually will happen as predicted ominously in the quaint cottage shared by Letitia Blacklock (URSULA HOWELLS) and her old friend Dora Bunner (RENEE ASHERSON). Indeed, when the lights go out that evening, a man enters and a gunshot sound alarms the gathering, only to find that the intruder himself is the murder victim and Miss Blacklock has a flesh wound which makes her look like the intended victim.

The storyline soon involves a bunch of others and it becomes clear that nothing is really what it seems as to the identities of several people and the purpose of the murder scene. This is one of the most enjoyable of all the Agatha Christie books that I read years ago at a time when I was going through a number of her books, as a mystery fan. I always found this particular story one of special interest, and could easily have pictured Olivia de Havilland as Letitia Blacklock (what a name!!), the kind of role that would have been perfect for her at a time when she was playing more difficult roles.

However, the casting here is highly satisfactory with most of the British cast doing well in their parts--notably SAMANTHA BOND, SIMON SHEPHERD and SYLVIA SYMS.

This was later remade for the series starring GERALDINE McEWAN, all of which are less well regarded than the series here with JOAN HICKSON as Miss Marple. Hickson has a pensive, inquisitive look that makes us believe she is slowly coming to realize the truth, while McEwan is only able to suggest a sweet little old lady with a sly look, but never intelligent enough to unravel the mystery.