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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Strong Women, Humor & Homosexuality in the Library

Warning: This article contains spoilers!

Recently, I watched a TV adaptation of the Agatha Christie story "The Body in the Library." This production featured Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple, and the vivacious Joanne Lumley as her friend Dolly Bantry. I've loved Geraldine McEwan's work ever since I saw her playing Lucia in a London Weekend Television production of "Mapp And Lucia," and also as reclusive Miss Farnaby in the Fantasy Sitcom "Mulberry." In many ways, she seemed a perfect fit for the character of Miss Marple, but I always had trouble seeing her as that character. Ms McEwan must have agreed, for she left the series after playing the character for a mere two years. 

One thing I noted in the TV story was how many strong female character there were. Of course there's Miss Marple, who dresses in dowdy clothes and mumbles strange phrases that no one understands. As she seems so odd, few people initially respect her. But in the end, she solves the murder, and proves all the male police wrong, so there! Then there's her friend Dolly Bantry, who is thrilled to have found a corpse in her library. How delicious: a body found in her own library! A murder for her friend to solve! 


Hercule Poirot's library
 in Torquay, England

She empowers Miss Marple, taking her out to a seaside resort, and putting her up in the hotel where the dead woman worked, in order to tag along, and assist her friend, the great but quiet detective, in every possible way. We view Dolly as extraordinarily strong, because her husband retreats from the world when a body of a beautiful young woman, and all that implies, is found in his house.

There's the dead woman, who was so extraordinarily successful in playing up to an elderly man that he decided to adopt her, and leave her a fortune in his will. And there are the two villains, who turn out to be two women, who have fallen in love with each other. They kill the money-hungry young woman, and attempt to kill the rich old man, in the hopes of getting their hands on the money. Really, all the key characters are female in the production, with the exception of the police, who are all male.

For their adaptation, the production decided to do something modern and daring. They updated Christie's story to make the two villains female, and unite them in a homosexual love affair. I can't say this is really a huge change, when you consider how the Hercule Poirot stories starring David Suchet were adapted for TV. I suppose it did portray these two women as stronger, as they indulged in a love affair, despite how society of that time would view such a relationship. It also highlighted their intellect, in that they committed such an intricately planned crime, which called for great ingenuity, and a lot of work, to pull off.

Ultimately, the production left me dissatisfied, however. Although they left the revelation until the end, the homosexual angle struck an inauthentic note, and seemed out of character with Christie's writings. The production also stressed sexuality in other ways, most explicitly in the character of a male dancer at the hotel, who also had sex with any female guest willing to give him money. He seemed unapologetic in this regard, as if flaunting his liaisons as a virtue. Overall, the adaptation reminded me of a big screen movie, edited for pace and filled with humor. It unreeled too quickly for a mystery, and kept me laughing constantly. 

Sadly, Geraldine McEwan has left this mortal plane, so I cannot ask her why she left the series, and such a popular character, after a mere two years. But the changes to this Christie story, and the ample humor, left me feeling as if the production were more spoof than serious. After all, if you don't really love and respect the original material, you're likely to take far greater liberties with it, such exploiting the story's humorous potential, playing up the sexuality, and changing the identity of the murderers. 

I wonder if Ms McEwan had similar doubts about the character she portrayed, and how those productions were updated for modern sensibilities. While I cannot judge a series based upon one story, I must say that this production of "The Body in the Library" left me cold. 



And that's a horrible thing to say, especially in regard to writer Agatha Christie, her great detectives Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, and in association such a wonderful thing as a library.

Dragon Dave 

Friday, May 13, 2016

Agatha Christie Loves Life

Life in Torquay, England

A thought for today:

"I like living. I have sometimes been wildly despairing, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing."

--from Agatha Christie: An Autobiography

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

The Importance of the Family

Left to Right:
Lord Kalidor, Red Sonja, Prince Tarn, & Falkon
(Photo courtesy of Chud.com)

While based on a Robert E. Howard character, the Red Sonja known and loved by fans of the Sword and Sorcery genre was created by comics writer Roy Thomas. She appeared in Marvel's "Conan The Barbarian" series, and her popularity demanded reappearances, and eventually, her very own comic. Yet, when you think of Red Sonja, you typically think of a loner. 

Clive Exton, the co-screenwriter for the 1985 "Red Sonja" movie, chose to give her a family. Not a blood-based family: those were all killed by evil Queen Gedren. But a host of companions to assist her on her journey. Red Sonja, as I mentioned, is a loner, so it's not as if she invites these folks to tag along. But they come along regardless. One is Lord Kalidor, who has sworn to protect (and if need be, destroy) a powerful artifact in Gedren's possession. Another is young Prince Tarn, whose kingdom has been vanquished by Gedren's forces. He, in turn, is accompanied by his bodyguard Falkon, who overlook's all his young charge's faults. These people need Red Sonja, and in her own way, she needs them. And so, as I mentioned in my previous post, "The Gentle Humor of Red Sonja," Clive Exton gathered these other characters around her, and give her a sense of family.

Left to Right:
Inspector Japp, Hercule Poirot, Captain Hastings, Miss Lemon
Photo Courtesy of Gumshoe Pages

Would we have fallen in love with David Suchet's portrayal of Hercule Poirot in the TV series Agatha Christie's Poirot had Clive Exton not surrounded the famous detective with his friend Captain Hastings, his secretary Miss Lemon, and Scotland Yard detective Japp? Personally, I think not. I find the later adaptations, in which Poirot's early family is mostly absent, and he is only surrounded by characters unique to that particular story, rather empty. 

Hercule Poirot & Ariadne Oliver
(Photo courtesy of Pinterest.com)

It's only in the last few seasons, when the production team paired him continually with mystery writer Ariadne Oliver, that the series gave me that buzz that made those early shows so powerful.

But then, that's the importance of family. I'm sure Clive Exton knew it before "Red Sonja," but it's a skill he demonstrated in the fantasy movie, a few years before he perfected it in Agatha Christie's Poirot.

Dragon Dave

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