REVIEW: What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw

What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw
Author: Agatha Christie

In 1957 this novel was published as The 4:50 from Paddington in the UK and What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! in the US. Before being published in novel form, the story was serialized in magazines in the US and UK, also under different titles. My research didn't turn up the title used for the UK serialization, but in the US it published in The Chicago Tribune as "Eyewitness to Death."

The basics: Two trains are running on adjacent tracks. A passenger on one train witnesses what looks like a murder on the other train. Only one person believes her -- Jane Marple. Can Miss Marple catch the criminal with so little evidence to go on? 

My old paperback copy from the 1970s was still in ok shape [Pocket Books, 1975?, 185 pages]. The pages were yellowed, but intact with just some wear/tear on the spine. Even the cover was starting to turn yellow. I loved the dramatic cover art. :) 

I listened to an audio book version while reading my old book for the last time [HarperCollins, 2013, 8 hours 8 minutes, narrated by Emilia Fox]. Emilia Fox once again does a great job of narration. 

I have read this Miss Marple novel before, but it was long enough in the past that I only remembered snippets of the story. 

I liked this story. The ending is a bit odd, leaving the fate of a major character a bit in the air. I researched online to find out what Agatha said about her choices and was completely disappointed in what I found. I can't elaborate more because.....spoilers. Let me just say that she was content with a really great character making an incredibly stupid, life-ruining choice. Why? Yuck.  

Adaptations: 

This novel has been adapted many times in various ways! 

1961 movie: Murder, She Said. This is another Margaret Rutherford movie very loosely based on this

story. I have to be honest and say I have never liked these movies. They take a Miss Marple story and turn it into a comedy that has very little resemblance to the original story. Why? They could have just written a totally original script and had a Miss Marple-like character, rather than butchering an Agatha Christie story.  Yuck. 

Television:  Miss Marple starring Joan Hickson had an episode based on this book in 1987. There are some changes to the story -- especially the ending. I usually am against changes that I know are opposite to what Agatha wrote or said about characters outcomes.....but in this case, her choice for this character was total shit.  This episode fixed the problem.  

Radio: BBC Radio 4 broadcast an audio drama based on this book in 1997. June Whitfield plays Miss Marple.  Whitfield does a great job in each Miss Marple audio drama. The episodes are always full-cast with sound effects. There were some changes mostly to condense the plot to fit into 90 minutes, but it was still a very good audio drama! 

Television: Agatha Christie's Marple had an episode based on this story in 2004. Geraldine McEwan portrays Miss Marple. This episode also made adjustments to the plot, but it was so much fun to watch. They chose a "cute" ending. Usually I prefer the Joan Hickson episodes, but this time Geraldine McEwan came out just a bit on top. I liked the addition of Tom Campbell to the plot, even though he is a character completely made up and added for this television episode. 

THE REST OF THIS PARAGRAPH ISN'T REALLY A SPOILER BUT MAYBE FRINGES ON BEING ONE -- SKIP IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE PLOT -- I zigged when Agatha zagged with regards to Lucy Eyelesbarrow's life choices. The actual ending left it ambiguous, but Agatha stated later what choice she was going to make and it would have been devastating to the rest of her life, in my opinion. Why marry her off at all....or why have her make a devastating, stupid choice? Maybe Agatha saw a bit of herself in the character? She made a poor choice in marriage and ended up divorced with a lot of life drama (her disappearance and her husband leaving her for another woman). I have seen many smart women make incredibly stupid choices in men. But Lucy was a strong, incredibly intelligent and independent woman. I sincerely think Lucy would have used her head and remained single or she would have made the choice that was best for her happiness and stability, not make a completely stupid mistake. OK RANT OVER. :) 

Television: Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple. Japanese television adapted this story in 2005. There are changes to characters and plot. The show is animated, not live action. 

Television: The Corpse that Lies. Another Japanese television adaptation broadcast in 2006. This made-for-television woman features a female police officer instead of Miss Marple. 

Video game: In 2010, a hidden object game based on this story was released. My guess is it may be no longer available as it was developed for Windows XP/Vista.  

Television: Again, Japanese television adapted this story in 2018 as part of a celebration of Agatha Christie's detective stories. And Miss Marple is again replaced by a female police officer. This adaptation kept the original UK title, 4:50 from Paddington.  

2008 Movie: Le Crime est Notre Affaire. This French movie makes significant changes to characters and plot. It stars a French couple rather than Miss Marple. 

 I didn't find any of the Japanese or French adaptations, but was able to watch both Marple television episodes and listened to the BBC audio drama. 

I enjoyed this story! Miss Marple really shines in this mystery. She came to the defense of her friend when nobody else would believe she saw a murder. 

Finished another one! The old paperback went into the recycle bin. And moving on! 

An aside -- someone asked me me why I am throwing my old paperbacks away. I have had these books on my shelves for years and never got a chance to read most of them. Several years ago I started this reading challenge to finally read the books -- all of Agatha Christie's mystery writings in publication order. These books are all damaged from many moves, kids, life....and just shelf wear. Most of them I bought used. I had nearly all of Agatha's mystery novels and many short story collections. 80 books takes up a lot of shelf space!! With my space for books being limited, it's time to read these books and let them go. Freeing up space for other books!! I will keep my non-fiction books about Agatha's writing and life (I even have two books on the poisons and venoms she used in her stories!)...but I'm throwing away each old paperback as I finish reading. Most of them are falling apart due to age -- time to move on and make space for other books!  

I started out with an entire Agatha Christie shelf double stacked from top to bottom and a few books tucked in nearby as they wouldn't fit. I'm down to one single stack of paperbacks and one short story collection. And, all my non-fiction Agatha related books now fit on the same shelf as the novels!  Progress has been made!! 17 books to go! I should finish this project this year, barring any unforeseen delays!