At Bertram's Hotel

Many of my fellow reviewers seemingly hated this film and gave incredibly low scores. Even more people/IMDb-users liked it and gave favorable ratings, but apparently didn't write a comment. Shame. Of the eight TV-movies I've seen in the "Agatha Christie's Marple" series thus far, "At Bertram's Hotel" is by far my favorite! This is partially because it's based on one of the sole novels by my idol-author that I haven't read yet (so, I also couldn't get annoyed by the changes in the script versus the book), and partially because it's the first instalment where Miss Marple is the genuine heroine of the story. She's the star of the series, no doubt about that, and she always flawlessly resolves the mystery, but in a few of the previous films (notably "The Moving Finger" and "The Sittaford Mystery") she wasn't much more than a supportive character.

Here, in "At Bertram's Hotel", Miss Marple doesn't just solve an ingenious and convoluted murder plot, she also clears up another handful of vile crimes that are secretly taking place within the walls of a prestigious London hotel, and - en passant - tutors a bright chamber maid to become a genius sleuth like herself. There isn't a dull moment in this film, the finale is downright head-spinning and recreation of the post-WWII era is very impressive. The acting performances are excellent, although there aren't any really big names in the cast this time.

Don't read any of the reviews from beforehand (except mine, of course) since they might discourage you to see this massively entertaining whodunit, and I guarantee you will miss out!

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

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.

Frankly, i think Joan Hickson established the standard for Miss Marple in the 1980s and early 90s. If I remember correctly, she was actually portraying a character younger than herself. (She played Marple into her mid-80s.) She did it wonderfully -- a great example of an actor coming into her own in later years.

Geraldine McEwan is an excellent actor, but she falls into the trap so many have playing Marple -- she plays it too lightly. Hickson took the role more seriously, gave it more gravity, and conveyed the essence of Miss Marple -- somewhat reclusive, quiet, wise observer. Miss Marple has an almost Buddhist quality. I have only seen Hickson capture that.

As for this episode another reviewer is right on the mark -- the audio mix is terrible. For some reason, British television productions chronically suffer from this problem (not always, but typically).

Here, the sound mix makes the program almost unwatchable, not simply because it drowns out everything else, but because the scoring is abysmally syrupy and overwrought.

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.