The Secret of Chimneys

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!

Ah, the eternally recurring and inevitably clichéd pieces of criticism that one encounters in almost every single review of every single instalment in the "Agatha Christie's Marple" series... It's always "True Agatha Christie lovers will hate it" this, and "the original Christie novel ruined" that. Please let me assure you; - I am an obsessive Agatha Christie admirer, and I'm perfectly okay with the fact that the series' writers took the liberty to make drastic changes to plot, characters and denouements. What matters mostly, to me at least, is that the adaptations remain respectful to the style, settings and storytelling of Christie's original creations. And that is definitely the case in ALL episodes of the series.

The most obvious change in many of the individual episodes, including here in "Secret of the Chimneys", is the inclusion of Miss Marple as the protagonist, simply because she wasn't the heroine in Christie's original novels. She's usually dragged in as a guest at a party, or as a close friend of one of the real lead characters and then gradually steps into the shoes the original novel's sleuth.

"Secret of Chimneys" is pure, old-fashioned Agatha Christie goodness. In 1955, in order to restore the status of their once glorious estate, Lord Caterham and his daughters invite a group of aristocrats gathers for a weekend of lobbying and Cognac-drinking at the Chimneys domain. Late in the first evening already, the eccentric guest and Austrian diplomate Von Steinach is shot and killed in a secret tunnel underneath the mansion. The crime quickly gets linked to the unsolved theft of a valuable diamond and the disappearance of a housemaid in 1932, but what exactly is the connection and who is the murderer? Slick spinster Marple to the rescue.

Although I have absolutely nothing against her, it's still difficult for me to accept Julia McKenzie in the role of Miss Marple, even after five more than adequate instalments. Her performance is very good, but Geraldine McEwen (lead actress in seasons 1-3) remains the ultimate Miss Marple to me. The supportive cast here is excellent, including familiar faces (Edward Fox, Adam Godley, ...) and a stunning natural beauty in the shape of Charlotte Salt.

Miss Marple visits Chimneys, the estate of Lord Caterham. While there, the Lomaxes are visited by Count Ludwig Von Stainach. That evening the Count is found dying in the estate's secret passage, with Cade, one of the young guests, standing over him. Suspicion falls on Cade but it doesn't seem so cut and dried. Inspector Finch of Scotland Yard is soon on the case, assisted by Miss Marple. An event at the estate 23 years earlier may have a very large bearing on the case.

Quite intriguing, with a rather unpredictable culprit. Some interesting sub-plots, especially the romantic angle involving Virginia.

Stephen Dillane is great as Inspector Finch, as is Charlotte Salt as Virginia. Edward Fox is a bit stuffy as Lord Caterham.

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 ?