Shining Miss Marple is after the murderer or murderess of a shining young orphan who fell in love with a rakish young man, the son of a very rich man who entrusted the case with Miss Marple on his death bed, in a way. The director plays with us like a cat with his mice, showing unexplained people, characters and actions to mislead us into believing all kinds of plots were being carried out around that poor innocent old lady that never lets anything go. She is helped by her unhappy nephew who was locked out of his family home by his own wife. Once again we have the relation between a daughter and her foster parents, three sisters, who saw her beauty, her shine and also her escaping into real life with both love and apprehension. The decor of the investigation is marvelous: a tour to homes and gardens in England and it starts beautifully with Blenheim Palace and ends around Abbey Ducis where the whole business started. She sure is both under narrow surveillance from the Home Office and well protected by several guardian angels even if seriously in danger from the real criminal. But it will take her some real stamina to face the situation and confound the culprit with the crime, while her nephew will be running after the son of that millionaire practicing his repentance with London's homeless people. That too is marvelously done: showing what England was in the mid-1950s. Quite an interesting adaptation with such a nice actress knitting in the corner of the drawing room of some hotel.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU