A Caribbean Mystery

Sent on a recuperative holiday to Barbados, Miss Marple finds the Golden Palm Hotel - a tropical paradise of blue sea, white sand and lush vegetation - a rather dull place where nothing seems to occur. But then murder strikes ... an old Major dies from high blood pressure, so it seems, but the sleuthing spinster thinks otherwise having her interest aroused by an old soldier's yarn about a strange coincidence. Infuriatingly, just as he was about to show her an astonishing photograph, the Major's attention wandered. He never did finish the story...

I liked the Helen Hayes' A Caribbean Mystery, but this 2013 version is more closer to the book - which happens to be one of my favourite Miss Marple novels - yet inventive with some emphasis on voodoo and madness. A solid effort with a good cast of characters, a trail of misdirection and Julie MacKenzie doing really well as Miss Marple.

Most people read a good book when they are on holiday, preferably a tense thriller or a captivating murder whodunit. Not Miss Marple, though. She experiences a live murder whodunit, and solves it while at it! "A Caribbean Mystery" is one of the best Miss Marple stories, and one of the best entries in the ITV-series since actress Julia McKenzie took over the titular lead role. It's somewhat odd to see Miss Marple in an exotic setting, since she's so irreversibly linked to British small-town country life, but it provided Agatha Christie with the opportunity to insert a couple of unusual but fascinating themes, like voodoo. Our brilliant writer was a fervent traveler, and spent quite some time in places like Hawaii and Haiti, where she undoubtedly found lots of inspiration for this story and others.

Apart from the sunny beach setting and the occasional margherita-cocktail, all the traditional ingredients are well-represented. There's a holiday resort full of potential suspects, guests as well as servants, clever murders disguised as natural deaths, incompetent police officers, more murders, and a denouement so ingenious that only Miss Marple can explain it in a logical fashion. Great fun.

The most remarkable moment in the film is actually irrelevant to the plot! During an evening lecture, Miss Marple meets a writer who presents himself as Ian Fleming and he tells her he has trouble finding a suitable name for the protagonist of his book. Then the lecturer comes on stage and opens with: "My name is Bond... James Bond". Well, what do you know! James Bond is an ornithologist!

Julia McKenzies' finest performance as the ever loving Miss Marple.! Good show...! I really appreciated the lovely scenery and the the cast were reasonably good too. An enjoyable Sunday Night tv...😊

It wasn't too long ago that I watched the Joan Hickson version of this same tale and, while I enjoyed the color of it, I did feel that that version dawdled a bit too much and lacked forward motion, lingering in the characters and losing momentum the more it went on. So with the new ITV version I was pleased to find that the thing I usually dislike about them actually worked in its favor – the color, the liveliness and the pace. The mystery kicks in very quickly indeed and apart from a few sidesteps it more or less keeps things coming so that I felt engaged with the story. As is normal for me, I wasn't right there with the characters when the resolution was revealed, but I did feel like I was at least going with it.

The one exception is an odd moment where James Bond and Ian Fleming make it into the story; it is amusing perhaps but it served no purpose other than, if you're cynical, getting the writer a trip to the location for the sake of a few minutes of screen time. Higson probably deserved it though as he has done a good job as writer, making the story flow and having the material match the heat and color of the setting. The cast mostly get this too. McKenzie is still not really someone I like as Marple, but she is good here and in particular works very well with Antony Sher. The rest of the cast isn't quite that famous but has good turns from Webb, Brown, Wakefield and others.

Overall an enjoyable and lively piece of Sunday night mystery; it has color and energy and comes together pretty well.

In the time of "CORONAVIRUS WORLD WAR - 3" in 2020 when your own life is at the hands of a invisible pandemic it's cinema that breaks all barriers and provides solace and entertainment in the confines of the house,I haven't read this book but have seen all of Agatha Christie's "Movies" based on her bestsellers. Have also seen the play "THE MOUSETRAP" at the St Martins theatre in London.Excellent suspense with subtle murders is the secret that keeps the viewer totally engrossed in the movie.The signature played down style of Miss Marpyle ,the harmless looking old lady is what also adds spice to this who-dun-it which has its villain exposed in the end, a totally non-suspect among the group of suspects.