I'm surprised by the amount of positive reviews for At Bertram's Hotel. Not because I have anything against it - it is an enjoyable murder mystery - but because it has a big flaw in it and that is the murder doesn't actually happen until four fifths of the way in. But that is more the fault of the novel, for which this adaptation follows almost faithfully, save for the ending.
The premise sees Miss Marple staying at Bertram's Hotel as a treat by a nephew, a place where she used to go when she was young and where nothing seems to of changed. The decor is the same, the food still the same as mother used to make and the staff are conscientious and curteous. Naturally, this last point is enough to make anyone suspicious, leading Miss Marple to think that something is not quite right at Bertram's. Not that it is dull there. There are old friends, such as Selina Hazy, who amusingly comments that "Jane looks ancient" while ironically the 65 year old Joan Greenwood who plays her looks so much older than the then 81 year old Hickson. I have to say Greenwood's distinctive voice has always grated with me, but she looks very frail and ill here, and would die just a month after this adaptation was broadcast. There are other visitors or guests that attend the hotel, such as edgy racing car driver Ladislaus Manilowski, forgetful Canon Pennyfather, and Colonel Luscombe and his young ward Elvira Blake. But standing out amongst them all is celebrity adventurer Bess Sedgwick. Caroline Blakiston is often guaranteed to liven up proceedings in nearly everything she appears in and she is hugely charismatic as Bess Sedgwick. She is fun and magnetic and adds so many different nuances to her character that you can't help but like her, even though hers is a selfish character at times. One such point is when she unexpectedly comes face to face with her daughter Elvira, who she gave up for adoption as she would interfere with her lifestyle. She dismissives Elvira's attempts of a mother/daughter reunion, telling her she is not the mothering sort, but far from disliking her you cannot help admiring the way she attempts to discourage Elvira from getting too close to her. She does it not from a sense of irritation but of love, knowing she cannot give what Elvira craves of her. It is Blakiston who holds so much of this together by sheer force of personality, but I have to say I also enjoyed her love/hate sparring with Irish doorman Michael Gorman (Brian McGrath), who also adds a good deal of charisma to the role. Gorman seems to know a secret about Bess, which leads her to threaten to "shoot you like the dirty dog you are." Which is a unfortunate thing to say in a murder mystery, because someone always takes them at their word.
However, that someone takes an awfully long time about it, as the mystery (and novel) is more interested in the lives of the residents and their various dramas as it builds up to "something terrible", rather than doing the murder and then trying to guess the culprit. Indeed, Miss Marple is puzzled at times just what IS going on at Bertram's, but she knows a policeman when she sees one and is quick to spot the bulky frame of Chief Insp Fred Davy (George Baker) posing as one of the guests. Baker is wonderfully cheery in this in what looks like a re-run for his role in the long running Inspector Wexford series later that year, complete with yokel accent, and he is another plus in the charismatic performances in this adaptation. He is quick to take her into his confidence (she could of been a master criminal for all he knew!) and tells he that he is there to investigate a series of robberies that he feels are linked in some way to Bertram's Hotel. But when Canon Pennyfather disappears after returning unexpectedly from a missed conference about the Dead Sea Scrolls, it seems to throw the case completely. However, never fear, as there is a link to the mysterious events.
The rest of the cast cannot really match the others, though they do their best. James Cossins does well as fuddy duddy Colonel Luscombe, but Robert Reynolds is not really standout as Malinowski, while Helena Michell (Captain Beaky's daughter) performs decently enough, but is hard to warm to as the somewhat cold Elvira. And the staff of Bertram's barely make an impact, despite the presence of Coronation Street's Derek Wilton (aka Peter Baldwin) as Mr Humphries and a debut appearance by Kate Duchene (Miss Hardbroom in ITV's The Worst Witch) as a maid who Davy gleefully gets all in a muddle when questioning her on the disappearance of Canon Pennyfather (a sweet Preston Lockwood). But despite the various dramas, the fact remains that it is a murder mystery, and when the murder eventually takes place, it seems more of an afterthought. It also leaves very little time for detection for both Chief Insp Davy or the viewer, which robs us somewhat of the usual enjoyment of a whodunnit. There is also an unintentionally amusing chase at the end, where the fleeing figure makes their getaway so slowly that I'm certain Miss Marple herself could of got down those stairs quicker to apprehend the culprit before they got to the bottom! However, at least the end is different from the novel (the culprit gets away with it in the book), though how they go about trapping the murderer is somewhat disappointing and simplistic.
One thing I do wish they hadn't changed from the book is the era it was written in. The book was written in 1965, while here it is set in 1955 (hence one scene mentioning about a Television Room they keep well hidden that also has that "hideous" new ITV channel - well, we wouldn't want choice now, would we?). But it missed the whole point of Bertram's Hotel not having changed, as the swinging sixties more than anything reflected a seismic change in so many ways, both visually and morally. By being set in the 1960's it made it even more obvious that there was something odd about Bertram's having stayed the same. However, the set and design of Bertram's Hotel are beautifully done and are suitably lavish, making it a feast for the eyes for the viewer. And it's true the unfolding dramas that take place at the hotel are absorbing to the viewer, helped no end by the charismatic performance of Caroline Blakiston as Bess Sedgwick. But this mystery overall feels like a social drama rather than a murder mystery, and that is why it feels as if we've been a little short changed.
The premise sees Miss Marple staying at Bertram's Hotel as a treat by a nephew, a place where she used to go when she was young and where nothing seems to of changed. The decor is the same, the food still the same as mother used to make and the staff are conscientious and curteous. Naturally, this last point is enough to make anyone suspicious, leading Miss Marple to think that something is not quite right at Bertram's. Not that it is dull there. There are old friends, such as Selina Hazy, who amusingly comments that "Jane looks ancient" while ironically the 65 year old Joan Greenwood who plays her looks so much older than the then 81 year old Hickson. I have to say Greenwood's distinctive voice has always grated with me, but she looks very frail and ill here, and would die just a month after this adaptation was broadcast. There are other visitors or guests that attend the hotel, such as edgy racing car driver Ladislaus Manilowski, forgetful Canon Pennyfather, and Colonel Luscombe and his young ward Elvira Blake. But standing out amongst them all is celebrity adventurer Bess Sedgwick. Caroline Blakiston is often guaranteed to liven up proceedings in nearly everything she appears in and she is hugely charismatic as Bess Sedgwick. She is fun and magnetic and adds so many different nuances to her character that you can't help but like her, even though hers is a selfish character at times. One such point is when she unexpectedly comes face to face with her daughter Elvira, who she gave up for adoption as she would interfere with her lifestyle. She dismissives Elvira's attempts of a mother/daughter reunion, telling her she is not the mothering sort, but far from disliking her you cannot help admiring the way she attempts to discourage Elvira from getting too close to her. She does it not from a sense of irritation but of love, knowing she cannot give what Elvira craves of her. It is Blakiston who holds so much of this together by sheer force of personality, but I have to say I also enjoyed her love/hate sparring with Irish doorman Michael Gorman (Brian McGrath), who also adds a good deal of charisma to the role. Gorman seems to know a secret about Bess, which leads her to threaten to "shoot you like the dirty dog you are." Which is a unfortunate thing to say in a murder mystery, because someone always takes them at their word.
However, that someone takes an awfully long time about it, as the mystery (and novel) is more interested in the lives of the residents and their various dramas as it builds up to "something terrible", rather than doing the murder and then trying to guess the culprit. Indeed, Miss Marple is puzzled at times just what IS going on at Bertram's, but she knows a policeman when she sees one and is quick to spot the bulky frame of Chief Insp Fred Davy (George Baker) posing as one of the guests. Baker is wonderfully cheery in this in what looks like a re-run for his role in the long running Inspector Wexford series later that year, complete with yokel accent, and he is another plus in the charismatic performances in this adaptation. He is quick to take her into his confidence (she could of been a master criminal for all he knew!) and tells he that he is there to investigate a series of robberies that he feels are linked in some way to Bertram's Hotel. But when Canon Pennyfather disappears after returning unexpectedly from a missed conference about the Dead Sea Scrolls, it seems to throw the case completely. However, never fear, as there is a link to the mysterious events.
The rest of the cast cannot really match the others, though they do their best. James Cossins does well as fuddy duddy Colonel Luscombe, but Robert Reynolds is not really standout as Malinowski, while Helena Michell (Captain Beaky's daughter) performs decently enough, but is hard to warm to as the somewhat cold Elvira. And the staff of Bertram's barely make an impact, despite the presence of Coronation Street's Derek Wilton (aka Peter Baldwin) as Mr Humphries and a debut appearance by Kate Duchene (Miss Hardbroom in ITV's The Worst Witch) as a maid who Davy gleefully gets all in a muddle when questioning her on the disappearance of Canon Pennyfather (a sweet Preston Lockwood). But despite the various dramas, the fact remains that it is a murder mystery, and when the murder eventually takes place, it seems more of an afterthought. It also leaves very little time for detection for both Chief Insp Davy or the viewer, which robs us somewhat of the usual enjoyment of a whodunnit. There is also an unintentionally amusing chase at the end, where the fleeing figure makes their getaway so slowly that I'm certain Miss Marple herself could of got down those stairs quicker to apprehend the culprit before they got to the bottom! However, at least the end is different from the novel (the culprit gets away with it in the book), though how they go about trapping the murderer is somewhat disappointing and simplistic.
One thing I do wish they hadn't changed from the book is the era it was written in. The book was written in 1965, while here it is set in 1955 (hence one scene mentioning about a Television Room they keep well hidden that also has that "hideous" new ITV channel - well, we wouldn't want choice now, would we?). But it missed the whole point of Bertram's Hotel not having changed, as the swinging sixties more than anything reflected a seismic change in so many ways, both visually and morally. By being set in the 1960's it made it even more obvious that there was something odd about Bertram's having stayed the same. However, the set and design of Bertram's Hotel are beautifully done and are suitably lavish, making it a feast for the eyes for the viewer. And it's true the unfolding dramas that take place at the hotel are absorbing to the viewer, helped no end by the charismatic performance of Caroline Blakiston as Bess Sedgwick. But this mystery overall feels like a social drama rather than a murder mystery, and that is why it feels as if we've been a little short changed.