Miss Marple: They Do It with Mirrors

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Miss Marple DVD box set
They Do It with Mirrors is a Miss Marple detective fiction novel written by Agatha Christie, originally published in 1952 in the US as Murder With Mirrors and in the UK under Christie's original title. At the instigation of Ruth Van Rydock, an old school friend, Miss Marple is invited to 'Stonygates', the manor house of Ruth's sister Carrie Louise Serrocold. There she is soon involved in solving a murder.

The BBC produced a series of twelve made-for-TV films between 1984 and 1992 under the original series title of "Miss Marple", all starring Joan Hickson as Jane Marple. They Do It with Mirrors was the eleventh of the series and was first broadcast on 29 December 1991. It also starred Faith Brook as Ruth van Rydock, Jean Simmons as Carrie-Louise Serrocold, Joss Ackland as Lewis Serrocold, Neal Swettenham as Edgar Lawson and Holly Aird as Gina Hudd.

The series is available on BBC DVD as 'The Miss Marple Collection'. The Internet Movie Database lists the individual films under the longer title of 'Agatha Christie's Miss Marple:'[1].

Filming on the SVRSevern Valley Railway

On her way to Stonygates, Miss Marple arrives at the nearby station by train. The scenes were filmed earlier in 1991 at Bewdley. The sequence comprises:

  • 6960 Raveningham Hall approaching Wribbenhall Viaduct southbound, filmed from the lineside on the viaduct itself.
  • Edgar Lawson waiting outside the station entrance with his car and then entering the station as the train is heard approaching.
  • 6960 crossing Wribbenhall Viaduct, filmed from the lineside location.
  • 6960 passing Bewdley North signal box, filmed from inside the box as the signalman resets the signal lever to danger.
  • 6960 arriving into Platform 1 southbound (a 'wrong platform' move on the present day SVRSevern Valley Railway).
  • Miss Marple descending onto the platform and meeting Edgar. After an altercation with a porter, Edgar carries her bag out of the station.
  • As they reach Edgar's car, Gina Hudd arrives in another car and announces that she will drive Miss Marple to Stonygates, ordering a disgruntled Edgar to bring her bag in his car. Gina and Miss Marple then drive away.

A short rake of GWRGreat Western Railway carriages was used to form the train. The carriage from which Jane Marple alights is a CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941-era corridor third, although its number is not visible.

The toilet bock seen in the final shot above caught fire circa 1999 and was later rebuilt[2].

6960 Raveningham Hall had previously been filmed at Bewdley for an earlier episode of the Joan Hickson series, Miss Marple: 4:50 from Paddington.

Other adaptations

Prior to the BBC production, a 1985 television film under the US title Murder with Mirrors was produced starring Helen Hayes as Miss Marple, Bette Davis as Carrie Louise Serrocold and Sir John Mills as Lewis Serrocold. Another adaptation for the fourth season of the ITV series Agatha Christie's Marple was aired in 2010 with Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple. Some elements of the plot were also used in the 1964 film Murder Ahoy! starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple[3].

See also

References

  1. Internet Movie Database
  2. Bewdley Station web site
  3. They Do It with Mirrors on Wikipedia

Links