I truly love Joan Hickson's adaptations of Miss Marple, she is in my opinion the quintessential Jane Marple. It's one of my lesser favourites in the series. I'll try and explain why.
The novel itself isn't one of my favourites, I find the trickery of the murder works better in the book (in my mind) then it does on screen. In terms of production I find it safe, but still very good, when compared to other adaptations it's quite not there.
On the plus side the acting is superb, Hickson is as always excellent, Holly Aird is wonderfully youthful and vibrant as Gina. The legendary Jean Simmons is incredibly sweet, she gave a sensitive and believable performance of the fragile Carrie Louise. I am a bit biased when it comes to Joss Ackland, he is hugely charismatic, at times almost overpoweringly so, but here we see a restrained, dare I say touching performance, his voice makes him incredibly watchable.
The scene I enjoyed most of all I think was the stage play, Ruth looks on awkwardly, Miss Marple watches intently. It's there to show that events are sometimes smoke and mirrors, it's cleverly put together. I also like their later fireside chat where she talks about the robberies committed by starting the bonfires early.
I would still give it a score of 8/10, it is still an excellent production, it's just that I have such high regards for others in the series. I must say I find the later Marple a particularly good production from a frequently bemoaned series.
