''The Body in the Library'' is a 3-part 1984

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

adaptation of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

's 1942

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

The Body in the Library ''The Body in the Library'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1942 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in May of the same year. The US edition retailed at ...

'', which was co-produced by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and the

A&E Network A&E (an initialism of its original name, the Arts & Entertainment Network) is an American cable and satellite television network and the flagship property of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Walt Disney Company ...

. The film uses an adapted screenplay by

T. R. Bowen Trevor Bowen (sometimes T. R. Bowen, born 1941) is a British actor and screenwriter who has appeared frequently in British television dramas since the mid-1960s. Early life He is the son of Major General W. O. Bowen and was educated at Dulwic ...

and was directed by

Silvio Narizzano Silvio Narizzano (8 February 192726 July 2011) was a Canadian film and television director, who lived and worked primarily in the United Kingdom. He is best known for directing the acclaimed 1966 comedy-drama film '' Georgy Girl,'' which is cons ...

. Starring

Joan Hickson Joan Bogle Hickson (5 August 1906 – 17 October 1998) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She was known for her role as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series '' Miss Marple''. She also narrated a number of ...

in the

title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

, it was the first film presented in the British television series ''

Miss Marple Miss Jane Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Miss Marple lives in the village of St Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterised as an elderly spinster, she is one ...

'' and premiered in three parts from 26 to 28 December 1984 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. In the United States the film was first broadcast on 4 January 1986 as a part of

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

's ''

Mystery! ''Mystery!'' is an anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston for PBS in the United States. The series was created as a mystery, police and crime drama spin-off of the PBS show ''Masterpiece Theatre''. From 1980 to 2007, ''Mystery!' ...

''. In his review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', critic John J. O'Connor wrote:

Miss Christie would no doubt approve of Joan Hickson, the veteran British character actress who plays Miss Marple... This BBC/Arts & Entertainment co-production offers an especially good example of Agatha Christie in adaptation. The characters are nicely realized and the suspense holds. Miss Hickson is lovely, neither as awesome as Miss Rutherford nor as overly cute as Helen Hayes. And the supporting cast is admirable, particularly Gwen Watford as Dolly and David Horovitch as Inspector Slack. As someone notes about the case, "you'll have to admit it has all the bizarre elements of a cheap thriller." Once hooked, you won't be able to turn it off.

''The Body in the Library'' was repeated on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in September and October 2013.

Plot

Miss Marple helps her neighbours the Bantrys when a lovely young girl is found dead in their library. The girl is traced to a seaside resort and the desperate family of a wealthy old man.

Cast

as Miss Marple *

David Horovitch David Horovitch (born 11 August 1945) is an English actor, perhaps best known for playing the character of Inspector Slack in ''Miss Marple''. He appeared in the ''Game of Thrones'' prequel series ''House of the Dragon'' as Grand Maester Mello ...

as Detective Inspector Slack *

Gwen Watford Gwendoline Watford (10 September 1927 – 6 February 1994), professionally known after the mid-1950s as Gwen Watford, was an English actress. Watford's talent was spotted by John Gielgud while she was still a schoolgirl, and with his help ...

as Dolly Bantry *

Moray Watson Moray Robin Philip Adrian Watson (25 June 1928 – 2 May 2017) was an English actor from Sunningdale, Berkshire. Life Watson was born in Sunningdale, Berkshire, to Gerard Arthur Watson (1901–1940), a ship broker, who was killed during World ...

as Colonel Bantry *

Frederick Jaeger Manfred Frederick Jaeger (29 May 1928 – 18 June 2004) was a German-born British film, television, theatre and radio character actor. Biography Jaeger was born in Berlin, Germany; his family moved to England following Adolf Hitler's rise to p ...

as Colonel Melchett *

Valentine Dyall Valentine Dyall (7 May 1908 – 24 June 1985) was an English character actor. He worked regularly as a voice actor, and was known for many years as "The Man in Black", the narrator of the BBC Radio horror series '' Appointment with Fear'' ...

as Lorrimer *

Anthony Smee Anthony Smee (22 November 1949), also known as Tony Smee, is an English theatre producer, writer, and actor who has worked in radio, theatre, television, and film since 1972. Background Education Smee trained at the Rose Bruford College. Ca ...

as Basil Blake *

Debbie Arnold Debbie Arnold (born 14 June 1955) is an English actress and producer. She is known for her portrayal of April Branning in BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' between 1995 and 1996. Arnold has portrayed regular characters in ''EastEnders'', ''Coronatio ...

as Dinah Lee *

Andrew Cruickshank Andrew John Maxton Cruickshank (25 December 190729 April 1988) was a Scottish actor, most famous for his portrayal of Dr Cameron in the long-running UK BBC television series ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'', which ran for 191 episodes from 1962 until ...

as Conway Jefferson *

Ciaran Madden Ciaran Anne Magdalene Madden (born 27 December 1942) is a retired English stage, film, and television actress, who was professionally active from the late 1960s through the late 1990s. She is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RA ...

as Adelaide Jefferson * Keith Drinkel as Mark Gaskell * Hugh Walters as Mr Prescott *

Jess Conrad Jess Conrad (born Gerald Arthur James; 24 February 1936) is an English stage and screen actor and singer. As a boy he was nicknamed "Jesse" after American outlaw Jesse James; as there was already an actor named "Gerald James" in Actors' Equity Ass ...

as Raymond Starr *

Trudie Styler Trudie Styler (born 6 January 1954) is an English actress, director, and film producer. Early life and family Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, the daughter of Pauline and Harry Styler, a farmer and factory worker. When Styler was ...

as Josie Turner * John Moffatt as Edwards *

Arthur Bostrom Arthur Bostrom FRGS (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, best known for his role as Officer Crabtree in the long-running BBC TV sitcom Allo 'Allo!''. Biography Early life Bostrom was born in Rugby, Warwickshire and attended Lawrence ...

as George Bartlett *

Stephen Churchett Stephen George Churchett (10 April 1947 – 11 January 2022) was an English actor and writer. Life and career One of his most notable roles was as solicitor Marcus Christie in ''EastEnders'', on and off from 1990 to 2004. He reprised the role ...

as Major Reeve *Astra Sheridan as Pamela Reeve *

Raymond Francis Raymond Francis (6 October 1911 – 24 October 1987) was a British actor best known for his role as Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart in the Associated-Rediffusion detective series ''Murder Bag'', ''Crime Sheet'' and ''No Hiding Place' ...

as Sir Henry Clithering *Ian Brimble as Detective Constable Lake *

John Bardon John Bardon (born John Michael Jones, 25 August 1939 – 12 September 2014) was an English stage and screen actor. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1988 (1987 season) for ''Kiss Me, Kate'', sharing the awa ...

as PC Palk *Anne Rutter as Mrs Palk *Karin Foley as Mary *Colin Higgins as Malcolm *Sarah Whitlock as WPC *

Sydney Livingstone Sidney Frederick Livingstone (born 29 March 1945) is an English stage, television, and film character actor. He has sometimes been credited as Sydney Livingstone. Early life Born in Rochdale, Lancashire, Livingstone was an apprentice chef, a sale ...

as Mr Brogan *Andrew Downer as Peter Carmody *Sally Jane Jackson as Ruby Keene *

Kathleen Breck Kathleen Breck (born 1940), is an English actress. She was born in Mutare, Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia) named Kathleen Swarbreck and took the stage name Breck. She was chosen to star in '' West 11'' over Julie Christie. The film was direct ...

as Bridget *Martyn Read as Hugo McLean *Karen Seacombe as Florrie Small *John Evans as Inch *Jacqui Munro as the body

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Body in the Library British television films BBC television dramas Films based on Miss Marple books 1984 television films 1984 films Films directed by Silvio Narizzano