Agatha Christie's Marple

Series 4 - 1. A Pocket Full of Rye

A Pocket Full of Rye
Radio Times
Review by:
Alison Graham

Julia McKenzie made her very low-key 2009 Marple debut in an adaptation of A Pocket Full of Rye. She’s terrific but rarely on screen; most of the detecting duties are left to a proper policeman, Inspector Neele (Matthew Macfadyen). It’s a pretty faithful reworking of the novel, give or take a couple of sex scenes, and the cast list totters under the weight of its stars: Kenneth Cranham as the victim, Helen Baxendale as a frosty housekeeper, Ralf Little as Neele’s sidekick, Rupert Graves as a playboy. There’s even a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo from Prunella Scales as an embittered old woman.

About this programme

1/4. When a business magnate, his wife and their maid are murdered, Miss Marple is prompted by the circumstances surrounding the incidents to recall the nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence. She discovers the victims were part of a family tainted by secrets, and as she ponders the significance of the tune, a past scandal reveals itself. Murder mystery, starring Julia McKenzie, with Prunella Scales, Matthew Macfadyen, Ralf Little, Rupert Graves, Helen Baxendale and Wendy Richard.

Cast and crew

Cast

Miss Marple
Julia McKenzie
Mrs MacKenzie
Prunella Scales
Insp Neele
Matthew Macfadyen
Sgt Pickford
Ralf Little
Mrs Crump
Wendy Richard
Lance Fortescue
Rupert Graves
Mary Dove
Helen Baxendale
Rex Fortescue
Kenneth Cranham
Gladys
Rose Heiney
Miss Grosvenor
Laura Haddock
Tilly
Thea Collings
Pat Fortescue
Lucy Cohu
Prof Bernsdorrf
Edward Tudor Pole
Crump
Ken Campbell
Adele Fortescue
Anna Madeley
Vivian Dubois
Joseph Beattie
Percival Fortescue
Ben Miles
Jennifer Fortescue
Liz White
Elaine Fortescue
Hattie Morahan
Billingsley
Paul Brooke
Gerald Wright
Chris Larkin
Sanatorium Sister
Rachel Atkins

Crew

Director
Charles Palmer
Executive Producer
Michele Buck
Executive Producer
Damien Timmer
Executive Producer
Rebecca Eaton
Executive Producer
Phil Clymer
Producer
Karen Thrussell
Writer
Kevin Elyot
Writer
Agatha Christie
Categories
Drama

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