Miss Marple: On Stage and Screen

We take a look at the different actresses that have portrayed Agatha Christie's famous elderly sleuth over the years, from Gracie Fields to Julia McKenzie. 

Gracie Fields 

She was the first actress to play Miss Marple, five years before Margaret Rutherford played the role. She only played Miss Marple once, in the 1956 US adaptation of A Murder Is Announced. Roger Moore also starred.

Margaret Rutherford 

(c) MGM

Margaret Rutherford, a great friend of Agatha Christie, was selected to play Miss Marple in four films by MGM. Her portrayal of Miss Marple was a far cry from Christie's descriptions of the character, and Agatha never liked her friend's portrayal. Although she did dedicate her novel The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side to Rutherford. Rutherford's Marple was more of an eccentric and large action hero, rather than a small elderly woman who knits and drinks cherry.

Angela Lansbury 

(c) EMI

The BAFTA award winning American actress played Miss Marple for one time only in the 1980 film The Mirror Crack'd. Her portrayal of Miss Marple was fairly accurate, except for the fact she smoked cigarettes, something the real Marple would never do. Edward Fox also appeared as DI Craddock, and Geraldine Chaplin also starred.

Helen Hayes

Another American actress played Miss Marple, this time it was Helen Hayes. She played Marple twice in A Caribbean Mystery (1983) and Murder With Mirrors (1985), which was based on They Do It With Mirrors. Both were TV movies made of CBS, and were relatively faithful, as was Hayes' portrayal.

Joan Hickson 

(c) BBC

When Agatha Christie saw Joan Hickson in one of Margaret Rutherford's Miss Marple films, the writer wrote her a letter saying that she wished Hickson would one day play Miss Marple. So when the BBC were looking for an actress to play the elderly sleuth, Joan Hickson was an obvious choice. She played the character in all twelve Miss Marple novels, and was nominated for two BAFTA awards for her accurate and charming portrayal. The series ran from 1984 - 1992 and starred many of the finest actors of the time. Joan's portrayal is regarded by many as the difinative version of Miss Marple.

Geraldine McEwan 

(c) ITV

BAFTA award winning actress Geraldine McEwan played Miss Marple in the ITV series from 2004 - 2009. She played the character twelve times, and he portrayal was great. Her version was more eccentric and added more humor to the character, whilst still maintaining a sense of justice. Even though the TV films she appeared in could be nothing like the novels they were based on, McEwan still played Miss Marple well.

Julia McKenzie 

(c) ITV

After Geraldine McEwan retired from the role in 2008, Julia McKenzie took over the role of Miss Marple in the ITV series. She played Miss Marple from 2009 - 2013 and is the latest in a long line of talented actresses who have portrayed the character. She is my personal favourtie Miss Marple as she adds a warmth and a keen sense of justice, as well as a great mind for solving crimes to Miss Marple, and plays her powerfully, Last year, she filmed her final episode as Miss Marple, Endless Night (2013), which was broadcast last Christmas.

So who will be the next actress to play Miss Marple? Robert Powell and now Jason Durr are the latest actors to play Hercule Poirot and David Walliams is now going to play one half of Tommy and Tuppence, so will Miss Marple get a new makeover?

Who is your favourite Miss Marple? Leave a comment below or tweet me @AChristieWeb