Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

Just once I'd like to see an actor look at a script and say something like, "I'm not appearing in this! It doesn't make any sense. Go back and rewrite it and then I'll have another look at it." Certainly that's the look Richard Briers has all over his face throughout this nonsense; he really gave the impression he'd rather have been somewhere else throughout. Warren Clarke looks confused about why he's even in this farcical nonsense. Rik Mayall was just going through the motions. Samantha Bond wasn't sure how to portray her character and I can't say I blame her the way her lines had been written.

A better title might have been "Why didn't they stick to the plot in Agatha's novel?" as at least the book was readable and could be enjoyed. This portrayal was just a painful way to spend an evening.

Probably one of the worst adaptations of an Agatha Christie work if not the very worst. Apart from the general story there are just too many changes to the original book, too many characters added that simply don't exist, too many characters removed and too many plot changes to what should be one of the cleverest Christie stories. Adding Marple was a waste of time. This version is made worse by some appalling acting from usually gifted performers and is made to look very 10th rate compared to far superior and much truer 2022 version. The plot twist at the end is just complete nonsense to go with what is a complete load of nonsense.

Since it's been so many years since I've read any of the Agatha Christie books - and I read them all - I have to admit I'm enjoying these various mystery series featuring the various Miss Marples. I like Julia McKenzie very much; she is very close to the Miss Marple of the books.

"Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" is actually not a Miss Marple story, but since the series runs roughshod over the Christie books, why not just throw some of her other characters in as well? The title of the book actually came from a conversation Ms. Christie overheard coming out of a movie theater, and she built a whole story around it. It wasn't this precise story, however.

Jane Marple is paying a visit to her friend Marjorie. Marjorie's son recently found a dead body whose last words were the story's title. He's eventually identified as a Mr. Pritchard. Bobby, Marjorie's son, is asked to go to the inquest, but upon arrival, there is no inquest there. Someone has tried to keep him away from the real one.

He and his pretty female friend, Frankie, decide to investigate on their own. They find out the man had a connection to the Savage Family, and Frankie crashes her car outside of the family castle and stays there to recover. The Savages are a dysfunctional bunch. The patriarch of the family, not well liked, is recently dead. Frankie is busy nosing around, trying to find out if there is an Evans, when both Miss Marple and Bobbie (disguised as a chauffeur) show up. It's quite a crowd. And Evans isn't who they think.

The production values of all these films are lush, with beautiful scenery, music, and '50s clothing. I do wish they set these films in the '30s, where they belong. The acting is very good, and despite the tinkering, this still manages to be an intriguing story, with the exception of the ending. Absolutely ridiculous. Be prepared for a big letdown.

Not all the recent Marple adaptations are bad or disappointing, Pocket Full of Rye, The Blue Geranium and The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side(I'd go further to say this one especially was the best version of the book) were excellent and Murder is Announced and Moving Finger were surprisingly good too. Why Didn't They Ask Evans? is not as bad as Nemesis, Sittaford Mystery and At Betram's Hotel, but for me it is one of the dullest and more disappointing entries to the series.

Is it bad as an adaptation? Yes it is really. The book was a compelling enough read without being definitive, the story and characters were interesting in the book, but the adaptation does a lot of alterations in the sense that the plot is one big rambling, illogical mess with a very unsatisfying and somewhat convoluted conclusion and the characters(more cardboard cut-outs than characters) I felt nothing for. The pacing is also very sluggish and the dialogue is weak, some of it is among the weakest I've heard in a Christie adaptation actually.

When it comes to the acting, only Julia McKenzie stands out properly. She is terrific as Miss Marple, with a wisdom and charm that makes you warm to her immediately. Georgia Moffett is decent too as is Sean Biggerstaff, but actors such as Richard Briers are given next to nothing to work with which is shameful in my opinion, Rik Mayall has never looked and acted as bored as he is here and this is one of those rarities where I didn't like Samantha Bond or Warren Clarke either. Bond has a very uninteresting character with some poor dialogue and she manages to be both flaccid and shrill at the same time. Clarke suffers from pretty much the same problems, and his shouting did get tiresome after a while. The worst of the performances comes from Freddie Fox who is really quite awful.

Despite all these outweighing criticisms, there is some good, aside from McKenzie. The production values are wonderful, with great photography and beautiful and authentic scenery and costumes. The music is both beautiful and haunting, and the direction also has flashes of brilliance. But really, this could and should have been much better than it was. 4/10 Bethany Cox

I have an idea that this whole story has been drastically changed from the original Agatha Christie story because it's so totally absurd from start to finish, with a host of unbelievable characters and Miss Marple thrown into the mix for the sake of all the changes in the plotting.

WHY DIDN'T THEY ASK EVANS? never makes real sense of any plot development and why or how Miss Marple is able to deduce all that she does based on the flimsiest of clues while knitting away as though her mind is on anything but solving a murder, is the real mystery.

Again, JULIA McKENZIE does a nice job as the rather inquisitive old lady but the plot is so full of red herrings and suspicions pointed at the wrong people that it's really no fun for the mystery fan to even try deciphering the truth. The final scene is so far fetched, it has to rank as one of the most unrealistic and melodramatic endings ever shown in a Christie tale.

It appears that the writer has decided to make something very exotic out of the whole tale and whatever remains of the original is probably well hidden.