By the Pricking of My Thumbs

Swedish TV is running the British Miss Marple series, and they recently had "By the Pricking of my Thumbs" on. But since it was such a gorgeous evening, we decided on food + sauna + swim in the lake at sunset instead of TV, so we taped it.

Yup, taped it. My friends still use a VHS recorder. Seems it took so long to learn how to use this, and it still works, and they can't really figure out the digital one they once bought, so they continue on. Works fine! Oh, we missed the first 3 minutes because it had to be turned on manually, but whatever.

The next evening we watched it. I rather enjoyed it - Miss Marple had rather been a long time ago. And I was not acquainted with Terry and Tuppence, so I had no expectations to be dashed.

A death and a mysterious disappearance from a nursing home, and a wonderful English small town with a viscous, drinking vicar and a pub and lots of secrets are the major points of the film. Tuppance drives a new-fangled car, there is a painting of a witch's house (and the "real thing", which is so obviously a model, that it is actually funny) with some strange things added, and there is a very bratty girl who thinks she is a princess. I've known a few of those.

Anyway, we watched and enjoyed - didn't know who the murderer was until the very end. In a little side story, the American soldier Chris goes AWOL to go to London to find his English birthmother, but she wants nothing to do with him. He cries as he tells this story to Miss Marple, which I found very touching.

Strangely, all the next day I found myself thinking about bits and pieces and sequences of this film. That rarely happens with other films - you consume them, and then on to the next.