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At Bertram's Hotel

1986, Movie, NR, 102 mins

At Bertram's Hotel: Review

Agatha Christie's beloved sleuth, Miss Jane Marple, tries to get some rest and relaxation in this talky made-for-TV mystery. Marple (Joan Hickson) accepts her nephew's offer to pay for a restorative stay at Bertam's Hotel. Although the famous hotel doesn't appear to have changed much since the last time she was a guest, observant Miss Marple senses that the new staff and clientele may have hidden agendas. Socialite Lady Bess Sedgwick (Caroline Blakiston), a magnet for scandal ever since she ran off with her family's chauffeur in her younger years, also checks in. Lady Sedgwick's daughter, Elvira Blake (Helena Michell), is on hand, driven by the desire for a reunion with her absentee mother, but the aging, self-centered heiress has no time for a grown daughter when she has an affair with a racing-car driver named Ladislaus Malinowski (Robert Reynolds) to manage. What Lady Sedgwick doesn't know is that Malinowski has also been courting her daughter. While Elvira grills solicitors about her trust fund, Lady Sedgwick bumps into old flame Michael Gorman (Brian McGrath), who's now the Bertam Hotel's doorman. In the midst of this blueblood soap opera, a gang of robbers pulls off a multi-million dollar Irish Mail heist. No sooner does Miss Marple poke her nose into the theft than she butts into a murder investigation: someone shoots Gorman, but Elvira claims that she was the intended target. To solve the crimes, Miss Marple factors in Elvira's inheritance, Malinowski's gigolo status and Lady Sedgwick’s secret life. Is Gorman's murder connected with the shady goings-on at the once reputable Bertram Hotel? Writer Jill Hyem drops the ball when it comes to integrating the stories of the robbery ring and the central mystery, but this minor effort remains watchable despite its sketchy plot and character development. leave a comment --Robert Pardi