Murder with Mirrors (1985) Reviews

• A good solid mystery

  gridoon20192008-06-18

  If "A Caribbean Mystery" (1983) was the traditional "murder at an exotic resort during the holidays" story, "Murder with Mirrors" (1985) is the traditional "murder in a huge English countryside manor" story. It was the second and last appearance of Helen Hayes as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, and it's a shame she didn't make any more: she is a very wily yet very human Marple, and acts quite youthfully for her 80+ years. The films themselves are better than the TV movies with Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot that were made around the same time, mainly because they don't overplay the comedy. Although the big names in the supporting cast are an old Bette Davis and a young Tim Roth, if anyone stands out it's the beautiful redhead Liane Langland and Leo McKern as the inspector on the case. The story contains the typical AC false assumptions and crafty illusions, and I, for one, did not have a clue what was going on until Miss Marple and the inspector revealed it. A good solid outing for fans of the genre. (***)

• Reflection of the 80's

  LDRose2005-12-01

  This is a made-for-TV movie starring Helen Hayes as Miss Marple and features several prominent stars - Bette Davis, John Mills, Dorothy Tutin and Leo McKern. Miss Marple is asked to visit an old friend, Carrie-Louise Serrocold (Davis) by her stepson who is concerned that his stepmother is being slowly poisoned. Once Miss Marple arrives at the English country estate, she soon discovers that all is not as it seems. The location scenery is lovely, however the story is set in the 1980's, losing the authentic period atmosphere so closely associated with Agatha Christie. Helen Hayes gives a decent performance, although Bette Davis is under-used and looks visibly frail. John Mills is good, as always, and Dorothy Tutin gives a sympathetic turn as Davis's down-trodden daughter. Leo McKern portrays the police inspector with relish, including several entertaining exchanges with Miss Marple. The plot keeps you guessing, complemented by the usual red herrings supplied by Agatha Christie. Overall, an enjoyable film.

• Rather Obvious Solution

  bkoganbing2008-09-27

  In what turned out to be Helen Hayes's farewell role, she reprises the role of Agatha Christie's famous spinster sleuth Jane Marple in Murder Is Easy. This also gives Hayes the once in a lifetime opportunity to work with another legend, Bette Davis who is the prospective victim of a poisoning plot. Helen's solicitor is worried about some strange goings on at his stepmother Bette Davis's place and is in fear for her safety. It turns out that the solicitor is the murdered party, shot while everyone else is seemingly accounted for. It's a typical Agatha Christie setup and of course there's the ever helpful Jane Marple to aid the police, in this case in the person of Leo McKern. Two more deaths occur before the mystery is solved. It's a delight to see both Hayes and Davis together and that's what the film is designed primarily to do. But frankly it's one of Agatha Christie's weakest plots. If you cannot figure out who did the crime almost immediately after the deed is done, you have not seen too many of these films. It's really rather obvious. Still for fans of Helen and Bette, it's not to be missed.

• A shame it starts out so nice....

  Movie_Man 5002002-01-06

  One of Agatha's easier mysteries to solve begins with some decent location atmosphere and solid characters then soon nosedives, like most Christie adaptions, into the silly. I agree that Dame Bette looks sadly old here and is basically wasted, so Helen Hayes makes up for a lot as the nosy Miss Marple. The funniest part of unintentional giggles, next to that exploding car crashing thru the gate, which never happened in book form, is seeing Tim Roth as a so called delinquient teen. He's a riot here and helps the disappointment factor from jumping too high. It's also nice to see Leo McCern from Rumple of the Bailey in a token, gruffy, voice-of-the-law role which plays off the Hayes cuteness level without too much strain. Too bad the plot wasn't as meticulously handled as the scenery...

• Not compulsive viewing

  Iain-2152008-07-16

  Having really rather enjoyed Helen Hayes' first outing as Miss Marple in 'A Caribbean Mystery' I was looking forward to this, her second and last. Unfortunately it doesn't work so well. Again, the adaptation follows the original novel quite closely (apart from the silly business with the Anton Rogers character and the cutting of a couple of characters) but the script is rather mediocre and plods along slowly. Updating the action to the eighties doesn't actually hurt the story very much - once we are at Stonygates we could be in any decade from the forties onwards. Despite a wandering accent, I like Hayes' Marple and she's probably the strongest thing in this. Unlike 'Caribbean Mystery' however she has rather a weak supporting cast this time. It's a pity to see such strong actors as John Mills, Dorothy Tutin and Frances de la Tour given so little to do and such 'cardboard cut-out' characters to play. Bette Davis is surely there for her name alone - it's sad to see this performance only ten years or so after her cracking Miss Van Schuyler in 'Death On The Nile'. I quite liked John Laughlin and Liane Langland as the young marrieds but that was about it. This film is not terrible and is worth a look; it's done with affection and is really quite faithful. To be fair the book is not one of Christie's strongest and even the Joan Hickson version is not all that great. After her adventure in the West Indies though, this Helen Hayes Marple remains disappointing.