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The Mirror Crack'd

From Alfawiki
The Mirror Crack'd
Company typeFilm
IndustryFilm industry
Founded1980
FounderGuy Hamilton (director), Jonathan Hales and Barry Sandler (screenplay)
Headquarters
United Kingdom
ProductsMystery film

The Mirror Crack'd is a 1980 British mystery film helmed by director Guy Hamilton, with a screenplay by Jonathan Hales and Barry Sandler. The movie adapts Agatha Christie's 1962 novel The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side. The cast features prominent actors such as Angela Lansbury, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson. Production took place at Twickenham Film Studios alongside various locations in Kent.

Plot

Set in 1953, the story unfolds as Hollywood descends upon the quaint English village of St Mary Mead to film a period piece centered on Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I. The project stars Marina Rudd and Lola Brewster, who are professional rivals. Marina returns to acting following a break due to her son's severe brain injury and is accompanied by her husband, director Jason Rudd. Lola, who co-produces the film with her spouse Marty Fenn, also participates in the production.

A reception at Gossington Hall brings the villagers together, where the rivalry between Marina and Lola intensifies amid press scrutiny. During this gathering, fan Heather Babcock approaches Marina and recounts a wartime meeting with her before succumbing to poison from a cocktail intended for Marina. Initially, her death is thought to be caused by an overdose of barbiturates.

Marina becomes the target of further menacing acts, including arsenic-contaminated coffee on set. Scotland Yard's Inspector Craddock requests assistance from his aunt, Jane Marple. Among the suspects are Ella Zielinsky, Jason’s assistant who harbors secret feelings for him, and the passionate Lola Brewster.

After threatening to reveal the murderer through phone calls, Ella is found dead from prussic acid poisoning contained in her hay-fever medication. Miss Marple conducts her inquiry at Gossington Hall, aided by Cherry Baker, a waitress who witnessed events on the night of the murder.

Marina Rudd is later discovered dead in what appears to be suicide. Miss Marple uncovers that Marina was responsible for poisoning Heather due to a past incident: Heather had unknowingly transmitted German measles to Marina during pregnancy, resulting in her child’s severe disability. To conceal this truth, Marina fabricated threats and poisoning attempts to divert suspicion and eliminated Ella when she threatened exposure. Jason confesses to having poisoned Marina’s hot chocolate as a protective measure, although she never consumed it.

Cast

Additional performers such as Anthony Steel, Dinah Sheridan, among others, feature in Murder at Midnight, a black-and-white prologue shown at the film’s opening. Initially, the role later played by Taylor was assigned to Natalie Wood.

Margaret Courtenay also appeared in the BBC television adaptation of The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side, which starred Joan Hickson.

Production

The novel was originally released in 1962. In 1977, Warner Bros. revealed plans for Helen Hayes to take on the role of Miss Marple in adaptations of A Caribbean Mystery and The Mirror Crack'd. The film rights for Mirror were secured by producers John Brabourne and Richard Goodwin, who had previously worked on acclaimed adaptations such as Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and Death on the Nile (1978). By 1979, they announced Angela Lansbury would lead the cast following her completion of the stage production of Sweeney Todd.

Nat Cohen, a producer behind earlier Christie films, expressed reservations about creating a Miss Marple movie, considering it potentially ill-advised.

Despite enduring severe injuries from a bomb explosion that tragically claimed family members, Brabourne persisted with the project. Guy Hamilton was chosen as director even though he was not an admirer of Christie’s work; the producers believed his perspective would positively influence the film. Hamilton described the screenplay as "awfully funny."

Casting director Dyson Lovell sought to incorporate actors prominent in the 1950s to complement the film’s period setting. Rock Hudson, Kim Novak, Tony Curtis, and Elizabeth Taylor were signed on, with Taylor stepping in to replace Wood. Curtis joined after being dismissed from a Broadway production.

This film marked Taylor’s return to cinema after a three-year hiatus; she cited her enthusiasm for the project and its proximity to her husband as key reasons for participating.

The production aimed for a portrayal of Miss Marple more faithful to Agatha Christie’s original than the earlier 1960s versions featuring Margaret Rutherford. Lansbury committed to a serious depiction that reflected Miss Marple as an alert, inquisitive Edwardian spinster with deep compassion. She agreed to a three-film contract to continue portraying Miss Marple in subsequent projects.

Filming

The St Clere Estate in Heaverham, part of Sevenoaks in Kent, was used as the stately residence of Marina Rudd (Taylor) and her husband Jason (Hudson). Additional scenes were filmed at Ye Olde George Inn and a bridge on Church Street in Shoreham, both standing in for locations within the village of St Mary Mead. The village of Smarden and its St Michael's Church represented the broader village setting, with Smarden’s "Thatched House" cottage serving as Miss Marple’s home. Smarden’s authentic thatched cottages and local shops provided an ideal backdrop for filming. Production took place over ten weeks from 12 May until 18 July 1980.

Tony Curtis described the shoot as "fun" and "a piece of cake," contrasting it with his demanding experience on Spartacus. Kim Novak referred to this project as her most enjoyable film experience, appreciating the creative freedom allowed without studio interference. She highlighted the witty and sharp dialogue exchanges between her character and Taylor’s as particularly enjoyable but viewed this return to acting as temporary: "Doing something once in a while... is fine... But as a steady diet — no way."

Title

The film’s title, shortened from Christie’s original book name, is derived from a verse in Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem The Lady of Shalott:

Out flew the web and floated wide —
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me", cried
The Lady of Shalott.

Inspiration theory

Biographers have proposed that Christie drew inspiration for The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side from an event involving American actress Gene Tierney. In June 1943, during her pregnancy, Tierney contracted German measles while attending her only Hollywood Canteen appearance. Her child was subsequently born deaf, with partial blindness and significant developmental disabilities. Later, Tierney discovered that a fan who had secretly broken quarantine despite being infected with German measles had interacted with her at the event. She detailed this experience in her autobiography, reflecting on the profound emotional effect it had and how it altered her views on celebrity.

This true incident closely parallels the narrative in Christie's novel and was extensively reported at the time.

Reception

The movie underperformed at the U.S. box office. Angela Lansbury did not return to portray Miss Marple.

External links

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