gridoon2018 Helen Hayes played Miss Marple, Agatha Christie's second most famous sleuth (after Hercule Poirot, of course), only two times. Although the actress is American and the character is English, Hayes is quite delightful in the role - witty, humane and still youthful in spirit. The supporting cast of "A Caribbean Mystery" doesn't contain any big names, but they all play their parts adequately; if anyone stands out, it's Season Hubley as Molly. The locations are pleasant (if Daphne's place in "Evil Under The Sun" was completely booked, I wouldn't mind spending my holidays in this hotel instead), and the story fulfills the basic demands of the mystery genre: it offers plenty of suspects and red herrings, and you won't know who the killer is until the moments he or she is revealed (unless you've read the book, of course). The revelation part is a bit rushed (as it gets squeezed into the last 5 minutes), and the film is at times a bit too leisurely paced. Within its limitations, though, this is good entertainment for fans of genre. (***)

Iain-215 I came across an old video of this TV movie and watched it for the first time in about fifteen years. It is hopelessly trapped in 80s TV soap land with big hair and bright costumes and a 'steel band' soundtrack - its a bit like Christie meets Fantasy Island! Where does Helen Hayes' Miss Marple come from? Certainly not from Saint Marymead, England! However, the story stays remarkably faithful to the book (apart from the updating), Hayes' Marple (apart from the accent) is actually very engaging and there are some good supporting performances (I particularly liked the Rafiel ensemble and poor,lost Molly Kendall). There is no denying the superior quality of the (slightly) later BBC version with Joan Hickson but having watched that too recently, I was surprised to find that it does not beat this earlier version as conclusively as I would have thought.This is an intriguing oddity and worth a look if you come across it.

Charles Herold (cherold) This is a pretty poorly made TV movie typical of the early 80s, with an overly syrupy score and bland cinematography and awful acting by everyone under the age of 60. So it can be taken as proof of Agatha Christie's genius that a straightforward telling of one of her stories is pretty enjoyable even when done by hacks. The best part is watching the way Miss Marple manipulates the situation, pulling the strings of those around her while managing to seem harmless and perhaps dotty. In spite of her floating accent, Hayes makes an excellent Miss Marple, and Hughes and Evans are also quite good. The rest of the acting varies from mediocre to truly incompetent, but the story is strong enough to survive. The ending is unfortunately weak and feels as though it was rushed through, so the feeling of satisfaction one gets in a Christie book is sadly lacking, but overall it's pretty watchable, and I give it 6/10, which is about as much as you can give something filmed with the care of an episode of MacMillan and Wife.

lucy-66 Cable TV here has just shown the two versions back to back. I prefer this one as the more 'solid and faithful' even though the British version has the great Joan Hickson and a strong supporting cast. This version has the great merit of sticking to the story with no fancy touches (or overacting). It's been updated (to the 80s from the 50s) but the cast have the right kind of glitter and vivid beachwear (and big hair).This US Christie series often looks like Agatha played by the cast of Dallas - appropriately enough since she often wrote about people who didn't need to work thanks to Daddy's money! xxxxxxx