History Literature / MissMarple

Miss Marple's first screen adaptation was in 1961, when she was portrayed by Margaret Rutherford in [[Film/MissMarple four films]] beginning in that year. The films are well regarded as comedies, if not as adaptations. Only the first was even based on one of Christie's Miss Marple novels, and that not very closely. Also, Margaret Rutherford is the polar opposite of the sweet old lady of the novels, playing the character as essentially herself: burly, resolute and outspoken. Miss Marple has also been portrayed on film by Creator/AngelaLansbury in ''[[Literature/TheMirrorCrackdFromSideToSide The Mirror Crack'd]]'', who later went on to feature in another LittleOldLadyInvestigates role in ''Series/MurderSheWrote'' -- which itself owes a huge debt to the Marple mythos, in particular the small-town setting.

* ''Series/{{Marple}}'' (ITV series)
* ''Series/MissMarple1984'' (BBC series)
* ''Film/MissMarple'' (Rutherford films)

* ''Literature/{{Nemesis}}'' (1971)

Of several television adaptations, the most faithful and best regarded is the BBC's ''Miss Marple'' series (1984-1992) of telefilms, starring Creator/JoanHickson. More recently, ITV's ''Series/{{Marple}}'' starring [=Geraldine McEwan=] and [=Julia McKenzie=] (2004-2013) is a much looser adaptation.

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[[folder:BBC series]]
* AdaptationalHeroism: In ''Nemesis'', Jason Rafiel is made into an activist working to help the homeless, rather than merely a former delinquent.
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: In the book of "4:50 From Paddington", every adult male in Rutherford Hall hits on Lucy Eyelesbarrow. The adaptation confines this to her two main suitors, Cedric Crackenthorpe and Bryan Eastley. Of the two, she ends up with the one Agatha Christie's notebooks said she wouldn't.
* AgeLift: In the book of ''Nemesis'', Miss Barrow and Miss Cooke are said to be "middle-aged". In the adaptation they're bikers aged around thirty.
* TheCatCameBack: Inspector Slack is driven to annoyance, if not actual distraction, by the way Miss Marple keeps showing up whenever he tries to investigate anything in St Mary Mead.
* DeathByAdaptation: In this adaptation of "Literature/MurderAtTheVicarage", [[spoiler:Anne Protheroe]] ends up committing suicide out of remorse.
* DelayedDiagnosis: In "4:50 From Paddington", one of the Crackenthorpe family has a terminal illness which Doctor Quimper didn't diagnose until it was too late. [[spoiler:Deliberately, as part of his plan to get his hands on the family fortune.]]
* FamedInStory: In "Literature/ACaribbeanMystery", the local police inspector knows all about Miss Marple -- to Mr Rafiel's astonishment, when he happens to mention the name of the little old lady who's taken an interest in the case.
* FingertipDrugAnalysis: Jackson is seen performing it on "Literature/ACaribbeanMystery".
* GilliganCut: In "Literature/TheBodyInTheLibrary", Dolly Bantry is woken up by a hysterical maid rushing into the Bantrys' bedroom to babble about a [[TitleDrop body in the library]], then rushing out again in tears before Mrs Bantry has any chance to ask what she's talking about. Wondering what in the world she's just heard, Mrs Bantry then nudges her husband awake and insists he go downstairs to check. A grumpy and half-asleep Colonel Bantry insists she dreamt the whole thing and he's not going downstairs to do something so obviously silly...
-->'''Colonel Bantry:''' I am ''not'' going downstairs to ask if there is a body in my library.
-->''(immediate cut to Colonel Bantry stumping down the stairs in his robe, only to be met by their butler informing him of said body.)''
* HandOfDeath: At the climax of "Literature/TheBodyInTheLibrary", the murderer is only seen as a black-gloved hand until the moment they are apprehended.
* MakeoverMontage: In "Literature/TheMovingFinger", Megan's makeover is shown as a series of black-and-white photographs.
* MythologyGag: When Miss Marple gets a local taxi in the adaptations, she addresses the driver as Inch. This is a reference to the novels and short stories, in which the local taxi firm was originally owned by a Mr. Inch, but that it had changed hands and name several times since then. However, the locals always continued to refer to the taxi firm as "Inch's".
* RightBehindMe: In "They Do It With Mirrors". Chief Inspector Slack almost seems to be expecting Miss Marple to turn up. He mentions that he keeps thinking of "that old busybody from St Mary Mead" -- and promptly hears her polite "Good morning, Chief Inspector" from behind him. His expression borders on OhCrap.
* {{Sexophone}}: Any time Lucky Dyson shows up in "Literature/ACaribbeanMystery".
* SparedByTheAdaptation: While "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side" is the only adaptation in which he appears, Marina Gregg's butler Giuseppe also survives, whereas the novel saw him [[spoiler: murdered by Marina for also trying to blackmail her. Due to his fate in the novel, however, he still [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse disappears from the episode with no explanation whatsoever.]]]]
** [[spoiler: Alexis Restarick]] survives the attempt on his life in "They Do It with Mirrors".
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Inspector Duckham for Inspector Craddock in "4:50 From Paddington".
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* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In her debut in "The Tuesday Night Club", Miss Marple is presented as a stately, almost ostentatiously Victorian figure, wearing an elaborate black silk dress "very much nipped in at the waist", black lace gloves and a lace scarf over her piled-up hair. While some of the character's overtly Victorian attitudes would persist into later stories, the period dress is never referred to again [[note]] This dress was based on Christie's inspiration her Auntie/Step-Grandmother who wore such clothes [[/note]].

* SupportingLeader: Due to her physical limitations, Miss Marple rarely take active part in the investigations. The readers usually learn about the case through various proxies, such as the local police.

** "The Idol House Of Astare"

** ''The Tuesday Night Club''
** ''The Idol House Of Astare''
** ''Ingots Of Gold''
** ''The Blood Stained Pavement''
** ''Motive v Opportunity''
** ''The Thumb Mark of St Peter''
** ''The Blue Geranium''
** ''The Companion''
** ''The Four Suspects''
** ''A Christmas Tragedy''
** ''The Herb of Death''
** ''The Affair at the Bungalow''
** ''Death By Drowning''

** ''Strange Jest''
** ''The Tape-Measure Murder''
** ''The Case of the Perfect Maid''
** ''The Case of the Caretaker''
** ''Miss Marple Tells A Story''
** ''The Dressmaker's Doll''

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In her debut in "The Tuesday Night Club", Miss Marple is presented as a stately, almost ostentatiously Victorian figure, wearing an elaborate black silk dress "very much nipped in at the waist", black lace gloves and a lace scarf over her piled-up hair. While some of the character's overtly Victorian attitudes would persist into later stories, the period dress is never referred to again.

Of several television adaptations, the most faithful and best regarded is the BBC's ''Miss Marple'' series (1984-1992) of telefilms, starring Joan Hickson. More recently, ITV's ''Series/{{Marple}}'' starring [=Geraldine McEwan=] and [=Julia McKenzie=] (2004-2013) is a much looser adaptation.

* AgeLift: In the book of ''Nemesis'', Miss Barrow and Miss Cooke are said to be "middle-aged". In the adaptation they're {{Biker Babe}}s aged around thirty.

Miss Jane Marple is a little old spinster lady living in the English village of St Mary Mead, with an occasional tendency to stumble into murder mysteries. Her gently ultra-conventional exterior hides a keen perception and wide-ranging understanding of human nature from which she gains insight that lets her proceed where the official detectives are baffled. The kicker is that this wisdom is derived entirely from her observation of one village's life; confronted with a horrific murder, she invariably can draw the 'village parallel' between the suspects' behaviour and some random schoolboy prank or irregularity with the church funds. ("Human nature is much the same everywhere, I find...") This makes her the TropeCodifier for LittleOldLadyInvestigates.

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[[folder: Other stories and novels]]

* MaidenAunt: Miss Marple is a sweet and kindly elderly spinster of a Victorian upbringing and wholeheartedly conservative morals. She has many young relatives (including a novelist nephew) who are quite fond of her, though they don't always appreciate her old-fashioned views and rather her rambling manner of speech.

%%* ImportantCharacterImportantEvidence

-->''(immediate cut to Colonel Bantry stumping down the stairs in his robe, only to be met by their butler informing him of said body.)

* GilliganCut: In "Literature/TheBodyInTheLibrary".

* MysteryMagnet: For a sweet little old lady living in a peaceful small village, Miss Marple stumbles on an awful lot of murders. Lampshaded in one book, with Miss Marple remarking that a lot more goes on in "peaceful" small villages than urban folk tend to assume.
** Also, in ''A Murder Is Announced," we get this gem of a lampshading from the vicar:

* RearWindowWitness: The plot of ''4.50 From Paddington'' is kicked off when a character on a train witnesses a murder happening on another train on a parallel track.
* ScienceMarchesOn: Miss Marple's ruse to expose the murderer in ''Literature/FourFiftyFromPaddington'' relies on [[spoiler: him assuming the body position similar to that he took during the first murder (done by strangling) by making him try to rescue a choking woman. Should this have happened nowadays, however, it is likely that the murderer would have resorted to abdominal thrusts instead - a method invented by Henry Heimlich in 1974.]]

* ''4.50 From Paddington'' (1957)

[[spoiler:Not that she drinks this particular glass, since she knows it wouldn't be at all good for her.]]

* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Miss Barrow and Miss Cooke]] in ''Nemesis'' show up to find Miss Marple peacefully talking with the murderer.

* FinallyFoundTheBody: The resolution of [[spoiler:''Nemesis'']].

* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: The trope is discussed in ''Nemesis'', concerning the relationship between two characters:
--> "Verity had lost her real guardians, her parents, she had entered on her new life after their death, at an age when a schoolgirl arrives at having a "crush" on someone. An attractive mistress. Anything from the games mistress to the mathematics mistress, or a prefect or an older girl. A state that does not last for very long, is merely a natural part of life. Then from that you go on to the next stage when you realize that what you want in your life is what complements yourself. A relationship between a man and a woman...I think Verity adored Clotilde in an almost romantic way."

%%* TheSummation

* WarmMilkHelpsYouSleep: In ''Nemesis'', Clotilde offers Miss Marple a glass of warm milk when she goes to bed. Miss Marple agrees, on the grounds that it "always gives one a good night". [[spoiler:Not that she drinks this particular glass, since she knows it wouldn't be at all good for her.]]

* ''Nemesis'' (1971)

* SparedByTheAdaptation: While "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side" is the only adaptation in which he appears, Marina Gregg's butler Giuseppe also survives, whereas the novel saw him [[spoiler: murdered by Marina for also trying to blackmail her.]]

[[index]]

[[/index]]

* ''They Do It With Mirrors'' (1952)