Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
In this story Agatha Christie is stepping in Conan Doyle's footsteps with a mystery that revolves around some colonial strife, or rivalry and vengeance. But at the same time she keeps her naiveté and her nursery simplicity with a whole murder case based on a nursery rhyme, a common and popular nursery rhyme: the repetitiveness becomes the key to the series of murders. And yet there is something ugly in the fact that the criminal looks for the simplest mind in the lot to use that simple mind to his own ends. And this time it is both poignant and disquieting: he uses an orphan who has found some peace of mind and some stability as a maid in a wealthy home. "Sing a Song of Sixpence, A bag full of Rye, Four and twenty Blackbirds, Bak'd in a Pye." We can't avoid thinking of the ten little n*****s, killed one by one and one after the other. Then Miss Marple is just some kind of inner voice that tells us how true and vicious life can be: from vice to evil there is only one little step.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID
TheLittleSongbird
I absolutely love the Joan Hickson Miss Marple mysteries. They are clever and well made, and Joan Hickson is for me the definitive Miss Marple. A Pocket Full of Rye is a wonderful adaptation, and my second favourite of the Miss Marple adaptations after A Murder is Announced. The photography, scenery and costumes are truly lovely, and the music is superb. The script is often thought-provoking and the story is faithful, well paced and clever. My only minor criticism is that they could have developed Gladys a little more, but this is very minor. The acting across the board is of high calibre, Joan Hickson coming of best being absolutely terrific as Miss Marple. Overall, wonderful and one of my favourites. 10/10 Bethany Cox
ctyankee1
I liked this "Pocket Full of Rye" with Joan Hickson as Miss Marple. I have seen the one with Geraldine McEwen which I think is a great Miss Marple but the movies are put together different and I liked this one better.One actor who I like is Peter Davison, at first I did not recognize him. Peter plays Lance son of the father that is rich and is murdered. This is a 1985 movie and Peter Davison plays in "The Last Detective" a series on British TV in which he is a detective and also plays in a series called "Campion".As in most Agatha Christies stories there are a lot of knots to tie to find out who the killer or killer are. This is one of those movies.I enjoyed it.
gridoon2018
Although I wouldn't classify "A Pocketfull Of Rye" as one of Agatha Christie's best stories, it still keeps your interest; there is a variation on the "ABC Murders" theme (the killer hiding the one and only murder that is important to him / her among a series of seemingly related murders), and a pretty clever solution to the problem of "murder via long distance"! I must admit that my favorite part of this film is by far Selina Cadell as Mary Dove, the efficient housekeeper. Smart, sarcastic, observant - she is the thinking man's ideal wife. I particularly loved the scene where she confesses to some "minor discrepancies in the home accounting"! I just wish she had more to do in the second half. Second favorite is Fabia Drake as Miss Henderson, who has some of the best lines: "I have ALWAYS been very peculiar" and "The journey between Vice and Evil is but a step". And third favorite is Tom Wilkinson as Inspector Neele, a likable, level-headed fellow who is quicker to appreciate the value of Miss Marple's contributions than a certain Inspector Slack! (***)
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