Miss Marple: The Moving Finger

The residents of a quiet English village begin to receive nasty, threatening letters. The wife of the local vicar calls in her friend Miss Marple to investigate.

Miss Marple: The Moving Finger (1985) is a British two-part miniseries adapted from an Agatha Christie novel for BBC One. Joan Hickson stars as the sharp, unassuming amateur sleuth Miss Marple, who is called in by her friend, the vicar's wife, after nasty anonymous letters begin arriving across a quiet English village. Michael Culver, Sandra Payne, and Richard Pearson play some of the residents whose secrets and resentments surface as Marple quietly observes them. The engine of the story is a patient hunt through village gossip, household routines, and small domestic contradictions, rather than forensic spectacle or action. Its two hour-long episodes unfold at a measured, deliberate pace, with the atmosphere shifting from polite tea-table civility to a rising undercurrent of suspicion. Set in a 1980s-produced, period-styled English countryside, it carries a cozy yet unsettling register. Fans of Poirot, Murder, She Wrote, and Midsomer Murders will find the same genteel puzzle-solving pleasure here, with Hickson's measured performance at the center.

• Murder, She Wroteshared cozy village mystery tone and amateur sleuth format
• Midsomer Murdersshared british period mystery with an amateur detective solving village crimes
• Poirotshared adaptation of agatha christie novels with a meticulous detective and genteel tone

Created by

Agatha Christie

Release Date

1985-02-21

Episode runtime

60 min

Rating

7.5 / 10 (39)

What is Miss Marple: The Moving Finger about?

When threatening letters start arriving across a quiet English village, the vicar's wife calls on her friend Miss Marple to unmask the writer.

What is Miss Marple: The Moving Finger like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Miss Marple: The Moving Finger as measured, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as easy to follow.

Is Miss Marple: The Moving Finger violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Miss Marple: The Moving Finger as mild.

Which shows are like Miss Marple: The Moving Finger?

Shows with a similar feel include Murder, She Wrote, Midsomer Murders, and Poirot.

How long is Miss Marple: The Moving Finger?

Miss Marple: The Moving Finger: 1 season, 2 episodes.

Is Miss Marple: The Moving Finger still running?

No, Miss Marple: The Moving Finger has ended.