Who edited the soundtrack for this episode? They should be permanently drummed out of the film industry. I have a background in sound production and was there when Aaron Russo mixed The Rose at Todd AO studios. You should witness the loving care that goes into balancing sound in a feature film.
Alas, that did NOT happen in this episode. A major portion of the dialogue is buried in the music track. Professionals NEVER allow that to happen. That's sound-mixing 101. As another reviewer pointed out, the sound editors even ruined Miss Marple's summation at the end. Which is the portion of each episode that is sacrosanct. It's almost as if pro-Poirot agents were infiltrated into the Marple editing room to assassinate Miss Marple behind closed doors.
I have to wonder, did Agatha Christie really write this plot? As another reviewer has pointed out, Is it credible for the hotel nurse to tell a highly dubious person that she saw the killer? Why didn't the hotel nurse go straight to the police or even Miss Marple? That nonsensical behavior drained all of the fun out of the story. Because the moment you watched that scene you KNEW the nurse was about to be killed. (No mystery there). How am I supposed to feel empathy in the funeral scene that follows her death when she basically killed herself?
And then there's the Molly character. We're supposed to believe she and her husband own a resort. Yet Molly's as weak as water. It's unrealistic to posit that such a person could successfully manage a business.
Donald Pleasence is OK in this story. But his considerable acting chops were not fully utilized. Which is a shame, because Pleasence possessed the capacity to transform this episode into something a LOT more mysterious and interesting.
IMHO, this is NOT one of the better Miss Marple stories. I'm thinking the filmmakers were looking for a premise to take a vacation that could double as a tax write-off. They certainly took a vacation when it came to the direction and editing of this horribly produced episode.
Alas, that did NOT happen in this episode. A major portion of the dialogue is buried in the music track. Professionals NEVER allow that to happen. That's sound-mixing 101. As another reviewer pointed out, the sound editors even ruined Miss Marple's summation at the end. Which is the portion of each episode that is sacrosanct. It's almost as if pro-Poirot agents were infiltrated into the Marple editing room to assassinate Miss Marple behind closed doors.
I have to wonder, did Agatha Christie really write this plot? As another reviewer has pointed out, Is it credible for the hotel nurse to tell a highly dubious person that she saw the killer? Why didn't the hotel nurse go straight to the police or even Miss Marple? That nonsensical behavior drained all of the fun out of the story. Because the moment you watched that scene you KNEW the nurse was about to be killed. (No mystery there). How am I supposed to feel empathy in the funeral scene that follows her death when she basically killed herself?
And then there's the Molly character. We're supposed to believe she and her husband own a resort. Yet Molly's as weak as water. It's unrealistic to posit that such a person could successfully manage a business.
Donald Pleasence is OK in this story. But his considerable acting chops were not fully utilized. Which is a shame, because Pleasence possessed the capacity to transform this episode into something a LOT more mysterious and interesting.
IMHO, this is NOT one of the better Miss Marple stories. I'm thinking the filmmakers were looking for a premise to take a vacation that could double as a tax write-off. They certainly took a vacation when it came to the direction and editing of this horribly produced episode.