When it comes to getting all the Miss Marple traits correct, Joan Hickson can’t be topped, but if someone prefers Helen Hayes, I can’t quibble too much. The American legend is often correctly criticized for not capturing Marple’s British accent (it’s mostly American, sometimes slipping into Irish), but everything else is on point in the initial energetic, engaging adaptation of “A Caribbean Mystery” (1983).
In this Santa Barbara-shot TV-movie production of Agatha Christie’s 1964 novel, Hayes’s Marple is kindly in the right places, annoyed in the right places, ingenious in the right places. The actress, in her 80s, has a wonderful wise old woman voice. Other than the accent, I honestly can’t complain.
A relaxing yet exciting vacation
The vacationers’ interactions are lively as director Robert Michael Lewis and writers Sue Grafton and Steve Humphrey (also the trio behind “Sparkling Cyanide,” from the same year) fib slightly from Christie’s portrayals, but in an appealing way.
“A Caribbean Mystery” (1983)
Director: Robert Michael Lewis
Writers: Sue Grafton, Steven Humphrey (teleplay); Agatha Christie (novel)
Stars: Helen Hayes, Barnard Hughes, Jameson Parker
Instead of being annoyed with Major Palgrave (Maurice Evans), Marple is sociable, and believes he is a fine “yarn spinner” (no pun intended by the knitting enthusiast). They strike up a friendship before Palgrave’s murder, and later Hayes has sparking chemistry with the curmudgeonly Mr. Rafiel (Barnard Hughes).
Rafiel is a fiery personality from his wheelchair, but Marple matches him at every step, and is an even bigger personality when she needs to be. Hayes nails the comic timing in a running joke where various games – croquet, shuffleboard, charades — are offered at the resort and Marple finds excuses to avoid most of them.
Marple’s and Rafiel’s oddball friendship rings truer here than it does in the “Miss Marple” TV series, where Hickson was hampered by playing across from two different Rafiel actors and shooting the novels out of narrative sequence. That show’s “Caribbean Mystery” is drab compared to this version.
The whole production has an Eighties vibe. Although it isn’t explicitly stated, the hairstyles make it extremely likely this story has been moved up to 1983 from 1964. Since there’s nothing time-sensitive about this particular story, that’s fine.
Marple in the Eighties
I felt Poirot seemed out of place in the Eighties when watching “Thirteen at Dinner” (1985). Possibly that’s because he’s played by Peter Ustinov, the same actor who played him in three period pieces before that. But also, I wonder if the dapper, old-school Poirot belongs to the midcentury, whereas Marple simply belongs in her 80s – it doesn’t matter what decade the story is set in. The sleuth is all about universal human nature, with St. Mary Mead’s residents behaving the same as big-city folk. The place doesn’t matter, and maybe the time doesn’t matter either.
The rest of the cast is quite Eighties – fashionably high class — but also quite good. Season Hubley does heavy lifting as Molly, one half of the proprietor couple at this resort; as guests begin to turn up dead, she believes she is going crazy. Swoosie Kurtz is magnetic as Rafiel’s nurse, but the movie could’ve had more humorous fun with the promiscuous Lucky (Cassie Yates).
It’s fun to see Brock Peters, who I knew as Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” radio dramas, as Dr. Graham. He smoothly blends his distinctive deep voice with a Caribbean accent and is a steadying presence amid the mysterious deaths.
A party scene finds everyone wearing pirate masks; this is a neat way to hide the murderer’s identity when an unfortunate staffer gets stabbed.
Hickson may be the truest Marple, and the midcentury might be the most accurate time for this story. But if dramatic license doesn’t bother you much, this is a fun adaptation of “A Caribbean Mystery.”