Agatha Christie
A Murder Is Announced

To Ralph and Ann Newman
at whose house I first tasted --- "Delicious Death!"

First Published

UK

Collins, London, Jun. 1950

Daily Express, Feb.28-Mar.11 1950

US

Dodd Mead, NewYork, Jun. 1950

Plot

(from HarperCollins "The Agatha Christie Collection" cover)

The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn, including Miss Marple, are agog with curiosity over an advertisement in the local gazette which reads: 'A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30 p.m..'

A childish practical joke? Or a hoax intended to scare poor Letitia Blacklock? Unable to resist the mysterious invitation, a crowd begins to gather at Little Paddocks at the appointed time when, without warning, the lights go out...

Contents

Characters

Miss Jane Marple, Miss Blacklock, Miss Dora 'Bunny' Bunner, Patrick Simmons, Julia Simmons, Phillipa Haymes, Colonel Easterbrook, Mrs Easterbrook, Edmund Swettenham, Mrs Swettenham, Miss Hinchcliffe, Miss Murgatroyd, Rev.Harmon, Mrs Harmon, Rudi Scherz, Det.Insp.Craddock, Rydesdale, Belle Goedler, Myrna Harris, Det.Sgt Fletcher, Rowlandson, Sister McClelland

Play

A Murder Is Announced

adapted by Leslie Darbon

at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, on September 21, 1977.

First presented by Peter Saunders at the Theatre Royal, Brighton; and subsequently at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, on 21st September 1977, with the following cast of characters:

(in the order of their appearance)

JULIA SIMMONS	Patricia Brake
LETITIA BLACKLOCK	Dinah Sheridan
DORA BUNNER	Eleanor Summerfield
PATRICK SIMMONS	Christopher Scoular
MITZI	Mia Nadasi
MISS MARPLE	Dulcie Gray
PHILLIPA HAYMES	Barbara Flynn
MRS SWETTENHAM	Nancy Nevinson
EDMUND SWETTENHAM	Gareth Armstrong
RUDI SCHERZ	Michael Dyerball
INSPECTOR CRADDOCK	James Grout
SERGEANT MELLORS	Michael Fleming

Directed by Robert Chetwyn

Decor by Anthony Holland

Movie & TV

A Murder is Announced, 1956 (USA/TV)

"Goodyear Television Playhouse" Season 6, Episode 5

director Paul Stanley

cast Gracie Fields(Jane Marple), Jessica Tandy(Letitia Blacklock), Roger Moore(Patrick Simmons), Betty Sinclair(Dora Bunner), Josephine Brown(Miss Murgatroyd), Pat Nye(Miss Hinchcliffe), Malcolm Kuin(Inspector Craddock)

A Murder is Announced, 1985

Agatha Christie's MISS MARPLE

director David Giles

writer Alan Plater

cast Joan Hickson(Miss Marple), Renee Asherson(Miss Bunny), John Castle(Craddock), Paola Dionisotti(Miss Hinchcliffe), Ursula Howells(Miss Blacklock), Mary Kerridge(Mrs. Swettenham), Ralph Michael(Colonel Easterbrook), Joan Sims(Murgatroyd), Sylvia Syms(Mrs. Easterbrook), Kevin Whately(Fletcher)

A Murder is Announced, 2005

Agatha Christie's MARPLE Season 1

director John Strickland

writer Stewart Harcourt

cast Geraldine McEwan(Miss Jane Marple), Zoe Wanamaker(Letitia Blacklock), Elaine Paige(Dora Bunner), Keeley Hawes(Philippa Haymes), Robert Pugh(Colonel Archie Easterbrook), Cherie Lunghi(Sadie Swettenham), Christian Coulson(Edmund Swettenham), Sienna Guillory(Julia Simmons), Claire Skinner(Amy Murgatroyd), Frances Barber(Hinch), Alexander Armstrong(DI Dermot Craddock), Matthew Goode(Patrick Simmonds), Virginia McKenna(Belle Goedler), Catherine Tate(Mitzi Kosinski)

Yokoku Satsujin, 2007 (JP/TV)

director Kusuda Yasunobu

writer Watanabe Yusuke

cast Kishi Keiko, Hashino Emi

Link

1. Official Site: A Murder is Announced
2. Wikipedia: A Murder is Announced
3. IMDb: Goodyear Television Playhouse: A Murder is Announced (1956)
4. IMDb: Miss Marple: A Murder is Announced (1985)
5. IMDb: Marple: A Murder is Announced (2005)