At Bertram's Hotel

This has to be once of the most unfairly maligned productions ever made. If some of the comments on here were believed too readily, nobody would watch this. Which is a pity, because the other production of this that I have watched pales into insignificance compared to this one.

Bertram's has clearly been flattened and a cheap hotel put up in its place.

I know you're not supposed to compare versions, but this totally cops out when compared to the BBC's. I'll start on the positives, it looks gorgeous, the hotel is ultra smart, as are the costumes, Francesca Annis gets to wear some gorgeous outfits, she's also the best element to the episode, she's really good. The music is brilliant throughout the episode, Mica Paris provides some fine vocals. Stephen Mangan is fun as DI Bird, he's a very likable actor. I actually thought Martine McCutcheon was quite good, her character was rather sweet, and she was given quite a meaty part. Mickey Gorman's shooting scene worked really well, it looked excellent.

The disappointments, this episode should all be about Bess Sedgwick, and when I heard the wonderful Polly Walker was cast I was so excited, but what a massive disappointment the part itself turned out to be, I found her a little flat too. Caroline Blakiston had rocked the part and made her so interesting and exciting. Some of the changes to the script didn't work, Canon Pennyfather's character and the whole Nazi story was really poor. What a waste of Peter Davison's talents he's barely used. I didn't like Emily Beecham's turn as Elvira, it was a little flat. Where was Miss Gorange? She is a key part and should have been in it. The ending should have been the best bit...it's not.

Too many bad bits to make it good, but it's watchable enough. They got the mix of style over substance wrong, it's a sumptuous looking episode, but the story was tampered with a little too much. 6/10

Geraldine McEwan shines again.!

It was an unbelievable surprise to see reviewers leaving such low scores for this version of Miss Marple, as low as 3s..???

I understand everyone deserves to lay down their own opinion in reviews but, 3s, that is outrageous..!

Have you all been watching the same drama that I have been watching? It seems unlikely..:( 'Miss Geraldine McEwan' is absolutely fantastic and, her ability to convince an ordiance of the reality of the character is flawrless..! She is absolutely convincing, energising, meticulous, methodical, and lovably humorous.!.

Joan Hickson played 'Miss Marple' in a completely different narrative and style..! I found some of her episodes of 'Miss Marple' were slow, dreary and drowsy, that really took too long to take off I would end-up switching over..sorry.. There is no comparison to Miss Geraldine McEwans' version of Marple, no way shape or form does her Miss Marple character appear like a nosy old woman, poking her nose where it doesn't belong; even though she does:) She is a meticulously minded woman whom has trodden the depths of society:):):) 'Quoted' by 'Miss Marples' friend Dolly bantry in episode "Body in the Library" (played by Joanna Lumley) Geraldine McEwan has made my Sunday afternoons a much more pleasant one having these wonderful episodes of 'Marple' to watch..! I have enjoyed immensely all of the episodes with Miss Geraldine McEwan playing 'Miss Marple', I just hoped she would have remained with and continued until the end of series six; that would have been superb..!!! I do not know why she ended her role at the end of series three, disappointed for sure..! Maybe to encapsulate, start from the beginning of series one, "Body in the Library" that way, you can watch and have all twelve episodes to treasure:)

At Bertram's is one of my least favorite Christie novels, and the 80s adaptation managed to be both a snooze and a mess. In short, anything would have been an improvement. And while this adaptation cannot be accused of subtlety or reserve, it packs a lot of stimulating characters and subplots into its world. McCutcheon is wonderful. I'd love for her to have her own series as an aspiring Marple figure. My jury has been out on McEwan as Marple, but this one cemented my admiration for her. The stories herein are ridiculous, improbable, and densely shuffled, but a welcome change from the austerity of the original. And for all of these idiots who keep claiming the adaptations are ruining the originals because of added homosexual characters: Give me a freaking break. Christie could only insinuate about the sexuality of her characters, or gesture very broadly. Now we have the luxury of getting fleshed out characters who in fact HAVE sexualities of their own, even if they were unconventional for the time. If 10% of the population is LGBT, then why not accept the characterization of 10% of her characters as such? Apparently some straight people squirm when close to 3-4% of Christie's characters are rendered as queer. Sad state of affairs.

I don't remember this book. As I've said in other reviews, I haven't read the Christie books in many, many years.

In this version of "At Bertram's Hotel" from 2007, Miss Marple returns to a hotel she visited as a child and of which she has fond memories. She finds Bertram's Hotel remarkably unchanged. It's also filled with people, one of whom is known to Miss Marple, the pretty Lady Selina Hazy (Francesca Annis).

However, a maid, Tilly Rice (Hannah Spearritt) is found dead on the roof. Miss Marple gets her face right in it, and another maid, Jane Cooper (Martine McCutcheon), is interested in the case as well, as she is fascinated by detective work. Tilly, Jane Cooper says, had too many nice things for a maid, and she suspects that Tilly was blackmailing someone.

Then there is the attempted murder of a guest, Elvira Blake, and the man who tries to save her, Gorman, a hotel employee (Vincent Regan) is killed. Inspector Larry Bird is on the scene, but he's a little overwhelmed, not only by the case, but by Miss Cooper's beauty and intelligence. So it's up to the two Janes to solve the mystery.

This is a fairly complicated plot with lots of characters: twins, a young girl and their adventurer mother. along with a friend, Louis Armstrong, a jazz singer (who by the way isn't very good), a couple of Germans, and a weird man. I actually found the denouement quite interesting, and I have to admit I liked the ending. I thought it was sweet. So sue me.

It's important to remember that these movies are BASED on a novel by Agatha Christie, and that the Christie estate allowed the changes. I would be upset if I actually remembered the book, but I don't. I like Geraldine McEwan, though I don't think the Marple as portrayed is what Agatha Christie had in mind. But then, neither was the fabulous Margaret Rutherford.