Develiker terrible... so disappointed.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Mischa Redfern I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

pekinman The Body in the Library is one of the most satisfying of the twelve Marples starring Joan Hickson as a not-really-very-sweet little old lady who possesses "a mind more cynical... than any barrister you'll ever encounter.." as one older copper tells a young and ambitious inspector in this episode. Gwen Watford plays Miss Marple's batty chum from Saint Mary Meade (their home village). She is Dolly Bantry and is married to Moray Watson's daft and courtly Col. Arthur Bantry.If Hickson's Marple displays momentary hints of menace it is only that. Hers is a very subtle and dry performance, crammed with sparkling humor that shoots out from her beady little blue eyes. Hickson was a formidable comedian and she is very much one in these shows, powdered over with politeness and modesty. She is never annoying, like Geraldine McEwen's Marple is from time to time with that Old Mother Hubbard portrayal of hers; not her fault really as the producers of that later series had a political agenda which ruined the stories and scripts and any chance of McEwen's being as good as Hickson.With the cast alone you have one of the classics of British television from the mid-to-late 20th century. It isn't only that Joan Hickson is nigh perfect for the role of Miss Jane Marple, it is also that the supporting actors, direction, locations, props, everything are splendidly done. It took me awhile to accept the musical score because I had been watching the pretty awful Marple series with Geraldine McEwen and the score to those productions was very 20th century sounding, like the music of Prokofiev or Britten. In the Hickson series the music is disarmingly charming and almost sounds trite at first. Now it is one of the highlights in an already brilliant achievement. It is catchy and sticks in the mind, it is also frequently very funny. The ballet music in They Do It With Mirrors is hilarious.Some of the highlights of the supporting cast are Jean Simmons, Renée Asherson, Joyce Carey, Claire Bloom and greatest of all joys, Joan Greenwood who plays Selina Hazy in At Bertram's Hotel. After this film Greenwood went on to play a brilliantly macabre Mrs Clenham in Little Dorrit, dying young at 65 and still much missed.The vital secondary roles, inspectors, murderers, victims, chambermaids, cooks, butlers, young lovers and vicars are all appealingly cast by actors familiar to fans of British television. There are no misfires in the casting, which is very rare.The directors take a lot of time surveying the English countryside and the sea. The series, in general, is extremely atmospheric and has just enough sinister shots to prevent the story from becoming merely light entertainment.This Hickson Marple is the one to have in your collection if you need a Marple series to watch on demand, as I do. The Margaret Rutherford movies were bogus but entertaining, and Rutherford is her usual bumbling, hilarious self, but these Hickson shows are the real Marple as Mrs Christie intended her to be.I rate this series a 9 because I still think there is room for something even greater and more like the original stories. Some of the Hickson stories are updated to the 1950s when the entire series takes place. It works fine, but still....

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU A simple story about a rich old man who is going to adopt a dancer to give her his money or at least a good part of it against the will of his children, or in-laws, but Miss Marple is a lot trickier than that and the criminal is someone who wants to put their hands on that money by marrying one of the two official heirs, though the heirs don't seem to really care for the "caprice" of the old man: they may at most be condescendingly looking down upon the fancy of a sick old person. Clever but not enough for Miss Marple to be fooled. It is true she cheats because she has "accomplices" in the police, but she remains entertaining and the older actress that impersonates her is so quaintly delicate and dainty that it is a pleasure to listen to her shy and hardly impressive voice. But don't get fooled by her.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID

TheLittleSongbird While I slightly prefer A Murder is Announced(my personal favourite of the 12 feature length adaptations) and Sleeping Murder, The Body in the Library is a beautifully done adaptation of a very good book. And yes, it is much better than the Geraldine McEwan version, which was spoiled significantly by that wretched ending. I know people will say it is unfair to rag on the Geraldine McEwan adaptations, but I have to admit while I don't despise them with the exception of about four they are disappointing, particularly Nemesis, Sittaford Mystery and At Bertram's Hotel.Back to this version. While a tad overlong and a little slow, The Body in the Library is an interesting and very worthwhile adaptation, not to mention more faithful. It is lovingly photographed, with the photography, costumes and scenery as always beautiful, and the music is lovely. The story rarely loses interest, the direction is attentive and the script is sophisticated and thoughtful. The acting once again is very good, with Joan Hickson simply terrific as Miss Marple(and I concur with the reviewers who say she was the best Miss Marple, she is certainly the warmest and the wisest) and Gwen Watford delightful as Mrs Bantry. So in conclusion, a very good start to 12 worthwhile, beautifully filmed and thoughtfully acted and written adaptations with Joan Hickson. 9/10 Bethany Cox

papillonsoosoo Joan Hickson played the role as if she was born to do it, same as David Suchet for Poirot. Both are definitive performances and that's all there is to say.Geraldine McEwan is a fine actress. Sadly, she follows in Hayes' and Rutherford's footsteps in completely failing to capture Miss Marple such as Christie wrote her, a frail old lady with wise eyes and a mind beyond sharp. I even caught a glimpse of McEwan with a positive SPRING in her step in one of her scenes, for Goodness' sake!! Way too youthful, way too OTT.Joan Hickson, RIP.