Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

gridoon2018 I saved "A Murder Is Announced" for last in my Joan Hickson - Miss Marple viewing marathon, because I've read more than once that it's the best of the series. Personally I wouldn't go THAT far - I'd still rank "The Body In The Library" above it and "Nemesis" about equal - but it is certainly one of the better entries in the series. Not so much for the plot, which is filled with twists ("I'm Pip"!), false identities, coincidences (the killer just happens to be visiting Miss Murgatroyd EXACTLY when she's remembering crucial information about the night of the first murder), but the identity of the killer won't impress any longtime Agatha Christie fans who have learned to be suspicious of repeated unsuccessful murder attempts. And not so much for the direction either, which is at times inspired (the "lights out" moments are really well done) but mostly just functional. No, it's the characters that make "A Murder Is Announced" stand out among most Hickson-Marple films: just about everyone, from the sarcastic, witty Samantha Bond & Simon Shepherd to the tough Paola Dionisotti and from the slightly nutty Mary Kerridge to the calm, smooth-voiced John Castle, they're all strongly drawn and vividly acted. (***)

Neil Doyle A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED in the Chipping Cleghorne Gazette at the very start of this clever Christie tale about an announcement in the local paper that sends several people to Little Paddocks cottage, just curious observers who wonder if anything actually will happen as predicted ominously in the quaint cottage shared by Letitia Blacklock (URSULA HOWELLS) and her old friend Dora Bunner (RENEE ASHERSON). Indeed, when the lights go out that evening, a man enters and a gunshot sound alarms the gathering, only to find that the intruder himself is the murder victim and Miss Blacklock has a flesh wound which makes her look like the intended victim.The storyline soon involves a bunch of others and it becomes clear that nothing is really what it seems as to the identities of several people and the purpose of the murder scene. This is one of the most enjoyable of all the Agatha Christie books that I read years ago at a time when I was going through a number of her books, as a mystery fan. I always found this particular story one of special interest, and could easily have pictured Olivia de Havilland as Letitia Blacklock (what a name!!), the kind of role that would have been perfect for her at a time when she was playing more difficult roles.However, the casting here is highly satisfactory with most of the British cast doing well in their parts--notably SAMANTHA BOND, SIMON SHEPHERD and SYLVIA SYMS.This was later remade for the series starring GERALDINE McEWAN, all of which are less well regarded than the series here with JOAN HICKSON as Miss Marple. Hickson has a pensive, inquisitive look that makes us believe she is slowly coming to realize the truth, while McEwan is only able to suggest a sweet little old lady with a sly look, but never intelligent enough to unravel the mystery.

Glyn Treharne Now that the campy ITV Marple series is well into its stride it is time to reflect on whether the BBC Miss Marple programmes were as good as we thought. Judged by this outing there is no contest.Alan Plater's witty script, while faithful to Christie's convoluted plotting, adds colour and shading to the proceedings and clips along at a nice pace. The actors certainly rise to the occasion; Joan Hickson is on top form, her interpretation of an inquisitive old lady from a 1950s country village is totally believable; Renee Asherson's character is rather irritating and the actress reflects this in her performance; Ursula Howells is quite brilliant, making a complex personality convincing; and there is good support from Samantha Bond, Joan Sims, Ralph Michael and a somewhat underused Sylvia Syms.

elmochook I really loved this adaptation. I felt it stuck closely to the book and it was well casted. I initially hesitated to see this version after being extremely dissapointed with "Ten Little Indians/And then there were none.Rent it - I think you wont be disappointed either