Here we go again. Paucity of original thought.
The BBC is spending licence payers’ money on filming Agatha
Christie novels that have been filmed just a few times already. Last year’s And Then There Were None was very
successful (altering the storyline in the process). Next up, The ABC Murders – which features Hercule
Poirot and was done very well with David Suchet in 1992. They’re also going to
film Ordeal by Innocence, memorably starring
Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple in 2007, though admittedly the story did not
feature her character; still it was also a major feature film in 1985. And then
there’s Witness for the Prosecution,
a two-parter that will feature the always watchable Toby Jones – though there
was a feature film in 1957 (and another expected big screen version in the next
year or so). All of the foregoing can be
obtained on DVD.
Following the lead of And
Then There Were None, it is said that these latest versions are ‘a new way
of interpreting Christie for a modern audience’.
A similar excuse is offered when yet another version is released
for an Austen, Bronte, or Dickens book: ‘It’s for a new generation.’
And the BBC boss Charlotte Moore says this run of Christie dramas
would ‘continue BBC1’s special relationship as the home of Agatha Christie in
the UK.’(sic) Where was she when Marple and Poirot were being aired on ITV: Marple
2004-2013/Poirot 1989-2013. Clearly, at some expense the BBC has acquired the Agatha
Christie rights. Spendthrifts. Shame on them.
In truth it’s laziness, mining seams that have already been explored.
Far easier to work on old mines than
discover new workings.
Don’t these dramatists, producers and directors read?
Go to a bookshop, or if there aren’t any of those in the
town, go to the general library (though there may not be many of those around
either); all right, go online, key in ‘books/murder mystery/’ and you’ll be
spoilt for choice.
I’m sure thousands of licence payers would happily recommend
some of their favourite books to be filmed for
the first time.
One response could be: Well, Hollywood has been doing it for
years, so why not the BBC? The difference is, Hollywood gambles their own
money, not licence-payers’ fees. The BBC airs enough repeats anyway, and to all
intents and purposes these remakes are not far removed from that!
And while the new Poldark
series is hugely popular, it is a remake. The author Winston Graham is one of
my many favourites. If they want to film a period piece, I’d recommend his Cordelia, a superb novel. There are
other historical novels from his pen worthy of transfer to the small screen
too. And countless other authors, alive and dead. Sigh. Sadly, that takes imagination… Yes, Hilary Mantel has done well, and Philippa Gregory, so it’s not all bad,
granted. Yet there are so many more on those library shelves!
