Zimbalist, Stephanie

Agatha Christie Classic Mystery Collection (Murder Is Easy/Caribbean Mystery/Murder with Mirrors/Thirteen for Dinner/Dead Man's Folly/Murder in Three Acts/Sparkling Cyanide/The Man in the Brown Suit)

The grande dame of teacake murder mysteries, Agatha Christie, has kept generations of readers--and viewers--in her thrall, and this magnificent boxed set is a must for any Christie fan, rabid or casual. The collection includes eight films made for British TV in the '80s, most starring the first lady of the American theater, Helen Hayes, as Miss Marple, and the inimitable Peter Ustinov as Poirot. It would be hard to imagine more acting talent packed into compact TV mysteries.

The three Hayes tales (also available as a separate set) are Murder Is Easy costarring Bill Bixby, a still-radiant Olivia de Havilland, and a young Jonathan Pryce; A Caribbean Mystery, with Barnard Hughes and Swoosie Kurtz; and the grande-dame-duet Murder with Mirrors, with Hayes playing opposite her onetime real-life nemesis, Bette Davis. Mirrors alone is worth the price of the set, as Hayes is in fine form, completely un-vain and sweetly droll. As she heads toward a country manor to visit her "dear friend" Carrie Louise, played by Bette Davis. Davis, in one of her last film performances, plays a woman who may--or may not--be being slowly poisoned to death, but regardless is frail and slightly incoherent. Davis looks quite frail herself, and her line delivery seems a bit uncertain--perhaps extremely effective Method acting, or perhaps she was indeed as frail as she looks; either way, film fans won't want to miss this.

In the three Ustinov films (also available as a separate set), Thirteen for Dinner features Ustinov's Poirot trying to solve the murder of one Lord Edgeware, investigating, among others, the lovely mystery woman played by a witchy Faye Dunaway. (And in a fun bit of foreshadowing, David Suchet, who would go on to play a formidable, more metrosexual Poirot himself, appears here in the role of Poirot's sidekick Japp.) Dead Man's Folly finds Poirot and an old friend, a mystery writer played by Jean Stapleton, at a "murder hunt" party at which the dead body really does turn up dead. Murder in Three Acts finds Poirot far afield in sunny Acapulco, at a glorious villa belonging to a suave actor played by Tony Curtis. A random death-by-martini at a posh party opens the door to the possibility of murder--handy that Poirot is there to help the local constables. The supporting cast features top '80s TV actors like Emma Samms as the actor's arm candy, and Diana Muldaur (the wicked Rosalind Shays on L.A. Law). The production values are also topnotch--with gorgeous location shots in Mexico adding romance but also unnerving isolation to the proceedings.

The two non-Marple and -Poirot films (and thus not included on those individual DVD sets) are Sparkling Cyanide, starring Anthony Andrews and Harry Morgan as officers investigating serial poisonings, and The Man in the Brown Suit, a zippy yarn of international intrigue, with Stephanie Zimbalist as a tourist in Cairo caught in a nightmare of stolen diamonds and death. Supporting roles by Rue McClanahan, Tony Randall, and Edward Woodward add texture to the mysterious proceedings. Never has murder most foul been so deliciously entertaining. --A.T. Hurley

Who slipped poison into the cocktail of kindly old Rev. Babbington?... Why is a mysterious brown-suited stranger trailing a young woman through exotic lands?...What is the secret behind the malevolent deeds at palatial Stonygates? Discover the answers and much more in this star-packed collection of murder most foul, mystery most fun. All eight movies are on DVD for the first time. And all are from novels by the mistress of mystery, Agatha Christie. It'd be a crime to miss them!

The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal

Incident In A Small Town

Prison of Secrets

A young mother unknowingly breaks the law and is sent to prison. She is confronted by degradation and horror as guards extract sexual favors in exchange for everything from toothbrushes to drugs. Inspired by actual events.

Semi-Precious

Voices from Within

The Prophet's Game

The Story Lady

Looking to stay busy and useful in her latter days, Grace McQueen (Jessica Tandy) discovers the wonders of cable-access TV and starts her own show, reading stories for kids whose parents are too busy to pay them enough attention. A rising TV exec and single mom (Stephanie Zimbalist) realizes "the Story Lady" could advance her career--and maybe help her connect with her own daughter. This film has a lot in common with Miracle on 34th Street--both revolve around Christmas and both explore that uneasy middle ground in which children's dreams collide with modern commerce. Like the original 1947 Miracle, The Story Lady tells its story with heartfelt sincerity, while avoiding the mawkishness that marred the '94 remake of Miracle. Tandy brings a bit of spice to her role as "ideal grandma," and she's surrounded by a cast full of top pros, including Charles Durning in an unbilled cameo. Production design and directing clearly mark this as a made-for-TV movie, and you can see the plot points coming, but there's something very charming and true about it. Trivia factoid: That's Jessica Tandy's real-life daughter, Tandy Cronyn, playing her daughter in the film. --Geof Miller

You're never too old to enjoy a good story. Jessica Tandy stars as Grace McQueen, a retired woman who begins a new chapter in her life by bringing the world's greatest children's stories into the homes of New York via her public access show. When a television network comes to call, Grace must choose between becoming a commercialized creation or being herself.

The Prophet's Game [Region 2]

The Killing Mind