The Secret of Chimneys

I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie, both her books and most of the adaptations based on her stories. The stories are clever and complex and the characters are interesting. That said, I was disappointed with The Secret of Chimneys. As far as these Marple adaptations go, it is not as awful as At Bertram's Hotel and Sittaford Mystery which were not only poor adaptations but severely lacking on their own terms too, but it is not the best either, Murder is Announced, Moving Finger and Pocket Full of Rye were surprisingly well done.

Starting with the good things, the adaptation is blessed with lovely production values. I loved the scenery and costumes as well as the photography, while the house itself was amazing. The music was very good too, not just the wonderful Vienesse Waltz that repeated itself but the accompanying music too. The script has its moments, there are some juicy red herrings and nice attempts at humour, while the direction was okay. The cast in general are first rate, Julia MacKenzie is a splendid Miss Marple(despite the fact The Secret of Chimneys is not even a Miss Marple story), shrewd, inquisitive yet very charming, while Stephen Dillaine is excellent. Out of the supporting cast, Edward Fox and the lovely Charlotte Salt come off best, and Anthony Higgins(his deep voice and accent reminded me slightly of Gary Oldman's Dracula) and Michelle Collins are decent.

However, despite these good things, the adaptation suffers from a very jumbled and convoluted plot with plot holes galore. I think it started off fine and intriguing, but it was about halfway through where it started getting complicated and hard to follow. The revelation was to say the least baffling, yes I got the culprit and the motive but some other explanations had me reaching for the rewind button. I also think in an attempt to cram a lot in, the adaptation felt rather rushed, so some parts felt skimmed over and underdeveloped. While the cast were fine in general, one or two members suffered from some moments of bad writing and character development. Anthony Cade was the main one, Jonas Armstrong looked dashing but he came across as bland and perhaps too earnest. I think this was the fault of the writer, turning a clever and cunning yet likable character into a very wimpy and uncharismatic shadow of his former self. Plus is it me or did the early attack on Virginia seem rather forced? The other was George Lomax, Adam Godley tried hard, but Lomax was made way too stiff and dull here. Consequently, the relationships between the two men and Virginia were very unconvincing. Just for the record, I don't mind changes to books, as long as the spirit is maintained. Sadly, the adaptation lacked the playful and witty charm of the book.

So overall, not a complete waste of time but disappointing. Hopefully The Blue Geranium will be an improvement. 5/10 Bethany Cox

I knew after the first minute this was going to be really enjoyable, and it was. Starting a drama with a bit of Strauss (Wiener Bonbons) is never a bad idea, it sets the tone. The worst case of saved on a bicycle whilst wearing an anorak as I have ever seen.

We learn that after a party in 1932, a maid Agnes stole a hugely valuable jewel from one of the guests and then vanished. A diplomatic gathering happens at the old family home of the Caterham family, Chimneys. Honoured Guest and dignitary Count Ludwig is found murdered and Miss Marple sets about unravelling a web of secrets and lies.

It's a deep plot, it's not straightforward like Library or Vicarage, but it at least allows a little intelligence from the viewer. I don't see where some reviewers are coming from when they say they don't understand it, have you seen an episode of Waking the dead? This is deep not complex.

Wonderfully acted as you'd expect, it's very much McKenzie that stands out as the class act of the piece. Edward Fox is as usual very good, he plays the unsympathetic aristocrat very well, he's a commanding actor. Ruth Jones and Dervla Kirwan provide the lighter side. Good to see Michelle Collins cast against type, and playing a more dowdy character, she clearly does sinister very well. Matthew Horne is a little silly at times I thought.

I like the humour in it, mainly coming from the Kirwan/Jones combination. The music as mentioned briefly is superb, you can't beat a Strauss waltz, but the incidental music is lovely too. As a production it looks beautiful, gorgeous settings, great shots, it's a visual treat.

It gets an 8/10, it's not brilliant or flawless, but it's imaginative, beautifully produced, and original, Miss Marple fitted in beautifully to this story, she din't seem contrived.

This is so good on so many levels, the location, the wonderful all start cast of so many brilliant artists the filming and direction, costumes the score, attention to detail and then the whole thing is wrecked by post editing... Not a single scene or shot isn't edited to be on screen for more than 1-3 seconds creating a strobing effect that complete ruins the whole production. Take it back and reedit it properly we do not all have the attention span of a cocker spaniel. Could have really enjoyed this, pity ..... to pad this out to the minimum ten lines ill add that this trend of late to edit TV to shots that last no longer than one to four seconds is becoming all to common. I hope this advertising like attention trend will be arrested by the ratings Really ten lines minimum for a review ?

As it is it is fine, the plot is pretty good, however if you expect it to have any similarity with Agatha Christie's story then you will be disappointed and confused. Miss Marples does not appear in the book, and the story line is completely different. However the plot is quite decent, so watch it for what it is, and disregard it as having any connection to the book.

As somebody who loves Agatha Christie's novels, and loves adaptations of her books, I am an avid defender of the ITV adaptation of Miss Marple. Both Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie are superb in their own interpretations of the character, meaning that every episode is a pure delight to watch. The Secret of Chimneys is definitely among the best of the episodes! Having watched this the very afternoon of finishing the book, it is worth mentioning - as all other reviews do so temperately - that they have strayed from the book. Very far. To the point of being completely unrecognisable. Fair enough - this particular book is a bit of a nightmare to adapt - but one does wonder why they didn't just...adapt a different story? Although this TV series is famous for changing plots rather radically, this was the first time I saw a book completely rewritten almost without a trace.

HOWEVER, I don't care about novelistic accuracy. In fact, I admire the way that the 'Agatha Christie's Marple' series changes the plots. If the film is good in its own right, that is all that matters! A film is an entirely different thing, and the film is not the book. For example, several reviewers slate the Marple adaptation of "The Sittaford Mystery" for too many deviations. Whilst I myself do not like that film, my dislike has nothing to do with the inaccuracies: my dislike stems from it just not being a particularly well-directed film. The Secret of Chimneys though, as a film in its own right, is fantastic! Beautiful production values, well-shot, classic Christie (everyone up at a country house...) and, as always, an absolute standout performance from Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple. She has earned my full respect with her work on the role; she is flawless.

Bravo!