The Mirror Crack'd (1980)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Guy Hamilton

Writers:

Jonathan Hales (screenplay) and
Barry Sandler (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 December 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the murderer among them all?

Plot:

Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.

Plot Keywords:

See Through Brassiere | See Through Clothes | Nipples Visible Through Clothing | Agatha Christie | Murder

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Angela Lansbury	...	Miss Jane Marple
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Ella Zielinsky
Tony Curtis	...	Martin N. Fenn
Edward Fox	...	Inspector Dermot Craddock
Rock Hudson	...	Jason Rudd
Kim Novak	...	Lola Brewster
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Marina Rudd
Wendy Morgan	...	Cherry Baker
Margaret Courtenay	...	Dolly Bantry
Charles Gray	...	Bates, the Butler
Marella Oppenheim	...	Margot Bence
Maureen Bennett	...	Heather Babcock
Carolyn Pickles	...	Miss Giles
Eric Dodson	...	The Major
Charles Lloyd Pack	...	Vicar (as Charles Lloyd-Pack)

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie's The Mirror Crack'd (UK) (complete title)
A Maldição do Espelho (Brazil) [pt]
Assassinio allo specchio (Italy) [it]
Espejo roto, El (Spain) [es]
Miroir se brisa, Le (France) [fr]
Mord im Spiegel (West Germany) [de]
Pekniete lustro (Poland) [pl]
Spegeln sprack från kant till kant (Sweden) [sv]
Tuijottava katse (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Ireland:PG | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 (1981) | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Kent, England, UK

Company:

EMI Films

Trivia:

At one point Lola Brewster refers to having "Alexander" brought in to do her hair. 'Taylor, Elizabeth', playing Lola's rival Marina Rudd, had her hair done for the film by Alexandre de Paris.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The houses in the village have UHF television aerials. In Britain, broadcasting on the UHF band did not begin until the 1960s, when BBC2 started.

Quotes:

Vicar: Oh, Mr. Rudd. I understand that you are a fillum producer.
Jason Rudd: Oh, no, sir. A director.
Vicar: Is there any difference?
Jason Rudd: Yes, sir. The, uh, producer supplies all the money; the director spends it. Then the producer yells that the director is spending too much money; the director doesn't pay any attention, and goes right on spending. The director gets all the credit; the producer gets an ulcer. You see, it's all very simple; excuse me.

Movie Connections:

Featured in There's Something About Christie... Murder Made Simple (2007) (TV)

pretty good

Surprisingly faithful adaption of the excellent Christie book adds some campy insults to the story by having Taylor and Novak square off as jealous rivals, but the outcome still carries a mild punch. Lansbury is excellent as Jane and it's nice to see Liz reunited with Hudson after their stint in the 50's on Giant. One of the better all star casts for an Agatha picture, with a nice recreation of St Mary Mead. Makes you feel like you're really in a small English village.