Iain-215 This is one of my favourites of the Hickson Miss Marple series. Miss Marple is alerted to goings on at Yew Tree Lodge by an ex maid, Gladys but by the time she gets there, there have been three murders already including Gladys herself! The nursery rhyme of the title is largely irrelevant but the story is well plotted and the conclusion satisfying. I don't feel enough is made of the plight of the pathetic Gladys - the book does this so much more effectively and you really end up hating the murderer as a result but apart from that it's pretty good. The cast here is generally excellent. Tom Wilkinson is one of the better accompanying detectives and there are good turns from Stacy Dorning as the airhead second wife, Rachel Bell as the childlike Jennifer and Peter Davison as the charming Lance. Miss Marple finds a kindred spirit in the formidable Miss Henderson of Fabia Drake. My favourite though is Selina Cadell's Mary Dove - exactly as I pictured her in the book! A satisfying mid series entry.

Neil Doyle JOAN HICKSON was an excellent Jane Marple and this is definitely one of the better TV works of Agatha Christie's A POCKET FULL OF RYE. The clever plotting uses a nursery rhyme (one of Christie's favorite ways of linking a complex set of clues to a murder), and gives a nice assortment of suspicious characters a chance to make the perfect sort of red herrings.The mystery gets underway as soon as Rex Fortescue is killed. He's a rich, nasty old man who has a fortune tied to some nasty business in his past, and enough enemies to make everyone a likely suspect. Crisply acted and played in elegant British fashion by an assortment of reliable British supporting players, it keeps you interested in solving the crime along with the baffled inspector, who is no match for Miss Marple.Hickson is perfectly cast as the wise old lady and makes the character seem as though Christie had her in mind for the role.

notmicro Probably the least interesting of the BBC TV adaptions; and one of the few unavailable on DVD for some reason. The only really entertaining parts come from the formidable elderly actress Fabia Drake, who plays "Miss Henderson". She wanders around making stern condemning comments; the best comes when the ditzy young blonde wife makes a comment about going to the Clubhouse (located on a nearby golf-course as I recall). Miss Henderson gives a loud sniff, and mutters "Clubhouse! .... WHOREhouse!" which always leaves me in stitches. Otherwise its not that memorable; I can't recall if the book itself was very interesting to begin with. Its fun to see Tom Wilkinson in a younger role.

tedg Do this: read the Marple mysteries. They are an amazing collection of experiments with the form. The whole idea in Christie's mind is one of competing forces, competing realities. The narrator, reader and detective conspire to make one of these competing realities dominate.Her whole game is based on the rules of the genre. She bends them, twists their influence. Each story takes one of these rules and goofs with it. But it all depends on the rules.Now watch these TeeVee Marple movies. Not a one of them respects the rules. In the books, you work the puzzle. But TeeVee viewers just want it to be worked out on the screen and don't care to have the clues properly presented.Its a scandal to anyone whose mind is still alive.The one interesting feature here is the boff gold digger. BBC's bread and butter is faces and spaces, and they spend particular attention to faces. The engineered face in this crowd is Adele, what is now called the Christina Ricci look.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.