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BBC Radio 4 Marple
4:50 from Paddington
A Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation starring June Whitfield as the deceptively mild Miss Marple with Ian Lavender, Joan Sims and Susannah Harker.
Elspeth McGillicuddy is down from Scotland for a holiday and boards the 4:50 train from Paddington station to visit her friend, Miss Marple. During the journey, another train pulls alongside, and through the window Mrs McGillicuddy witnesses a tall, dark man strangling a blonde woman.
She reports what she has seen, yet no one takes any notice. There is no report of any murder, no dead woman found on any train, and the police have no record of any persons reported missing that match the description.
Only Miss Marple believes her account, and realising that the body must have been thrown off the train, with the help of maps and train timetables she pinpoints the exact spot where the body must be.
With the help of her young friend Lucy Eyelesbarrow, she goes about the tricky task of uncovering a murder - and a cunning murderer...
2 pages, Audiobook
First published January 1, 1997
28 people want to read
About the author
Michael Bakewell
72 books6 followersMichael Bakewell (7 June 1931 – 11 July 2023) was a British radio and television producer and radio playwright.
His work included adapting The Lord of the Rings (with Brian Sibley) into a 1981 radio series for the BBC and a series of 27 adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories broadcast between 1985 and 2007 by BBC Radio 4.
He was born in Birmingham, England. After graduating from Cambridge in 1954, he was recruited by the BBC's Third Programme. He became the first Head of Plays at the BBC in the 1960s.
His work included adapting The Lord of the Rings (with Brian Sibley) into a 1981 radio series for the BBC and a series of 27 adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories broadcast between 1985 and 2007 by BBC Radio 4.
He was born in Birmingham, England. After graduating from Cambridge in 1954, he was recruited by the BBC's Third Programme. He became the first Head of Plays at the BBC in the 1960s.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 16, 2023
Miss Marples' friend just happens to witness a murder on a passing train which she has to solve. God bless her!
August 2, 2019
4:50 from Paddington (1957) is one of Agatha Chritie's novels that I have read far less often than others (say...And Then There Were None or Murder on the Orient Express). I have watched various productions of it...including the farcical Margaret Rutherford version (which, apart from squishing Elspeth McGillicuddy and Lucy Eyelesbarrow's parts into Miss Marple and throwing in the extraneous Mr. Stringer, is actually fairly faithful to Christie's plot)...and Joan Hickson's version several times.
I've been rereading Christie's novels in publication order, but I'm afraid I've jumped rather ahead with this one. Fortunately, it's a BBC full-cast dramatization so I will feel fully justified in reading the complete novel when I reach that point in Christie canon.
The dramatization stars June Whitfield as the deceptively mild Miss Marple who takes on the case once her friend Elspeth McGillicuddy reports that she's just witnessed a murder while traveling on the train to visit Miss Marple in St. Mary Mead. As she looked out her compartment window at a train traveling on a parallel line, a window blind suddenly flew up and she saw the back of a man busily engaged in strangling a young woman. But after reporting the incident to both the railway officials and the police and an investigation by both parties, no evidence of a murder is found. It's suggested that perhaps Mrs. McGillicuddy misinterpreted what she saw--but Jane Marple knows her friend Elspeth. And if Elspeth McGillicuddy says she saw a woman being murdered, then obviously there is a dead body that just hasn't been found yet.
After determining the best place to pitch a dead body off the train, Miss Marple dispatches her young friend Lucy Eyelesbarrow (housekeeper extraordinaire) to work for the Crackenthorpes. Luther Crackenthorpe owns the country home that lies along the tracks and our sleuth is convinced that the woman's body is somewhere on the property. Of course, she's right--but tracking down both the body and the killer is going to be tricky. Especially if she's to find them before all of the Crackenthorpes go the way of the young woman on the train.
This was a very entertaining production by a talented group of actors. There was, of course, some paring down of the plot to accommodate the dramatization (rather than a full narration of the story). But the cuts that were made were hardly noticeable and didn't change the story in any real way. An enjoyable way to spend a mysterious evening.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
I've been rereading Christie's novels in publication order, but I'm afraid I've jumped rather ahead with this one. Fortunately, it's a BBC full-cast dramatization so I will feel fully justified in reading the complete novel when I reach that point in Christie canon.
The dramatization stars June Whitfield as the deceptively mild Miss Marple who takes on the case once her friend Elspeth McGillicuddy reports that she's just witnessed a murder while traveling on the train to visit Miss Marple in St. Mary Mead. As she looked out her compartment window at a train traveling on a parallel line, a window blind suddenly flew up and she saw the back of a man busily engaged in strangling a young woman. But after reporting the incident to both the railway officials and the police and an investigation by both parties, no evidence of a murder is found. It's suggested that perhaps Mrs. McGillicuddy misinterpreted what she saw--but Jane Marple knows her friend Elspeth. And if Elspeth McGillicuddy says she saw a woman being murdered, then obviously there is a dead body that just hasn't been found yet.
After determining the best place to pitch a dead body off the train, Miss Marple dispatches her young friend Lucy Eyelesbarrow (housekeeper extraordinaire) to work for the Crackenthorpes. Luther Crackenthorpe owns the country home that lies along the tracks and our sleuth is convinced that the woman's body is somewhere on the property. Of course, she's right--but tracking down both the body and the killer is going to be tricky. Especially if she's to find them before all of the Crackenthorpes go the way of the young woman on the train.
This was a very entertaining production by a talented group of actors. There was, of course, some paring down of the plot to accommodate the dramatization (rather than a full narration of the story). But the cuts that were made were hardly noticeable and didn't change the story in any real way. An enjoyable way to spend a mysterious evening.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
January 16, 2023
Love June Whitfield as Miss Marple. Great cast in this one.
November 15, 2023
Short and effective dramatization with an expressive cast; loses nothing of the full story in the condensation. June Whitfield quirky and endearing as Miss Marple. The convoluted plot is explained away with flair after Mrs. McGillicuddy IDs the perpetrator. Michael Bakewell was an expert at amplifying story essentials! Well done.
April 9, 2022
A fun interlude between books - the radio dramas are so much fun to listen to.
January 10, 2025
Listening Time: 1 hr 30 min
An amazing audio drama with a twist I didn't see coming.
Miss Marple may not be my favourite detective but she understands people.
Lucy was also a cool character.
An amazing audio drama with a twist I didn't see coming.
Miss Marple may not be my favourite detective but she understands people.
Lucy was also a cool character.
September 18, 2012
Elspeth McGillicuddy ist ganz aufgeregt, als sie ihre alte Freundin Jane Marple besucht. Auf der Fahrt hat sie im parallel entgegenkommenden Zug einen Mord beobachtet! Keiner will ihr glauben, außer Miss Marple. Die beiden alten Damen melden den Mord, aber da keine Leiche gefunden wurde, kann auch nicht ermittelt werden. So nimmt Miss Marple den Fall selber in die Hand. Sie fährt die Strecke ab und stellt fest, es gibt da eine Stelle wo der Zug langsamer wird, und man die Leiche ganz einfach entsorgen könnte. Sie engagiert Lucy Eyelesbarrow, damit sie sich auf Rutherford Hall als Haushälterin einschleicht und die Umgebung nach Spuren der Leiche untersucht. Lucy wird in einem alten, verstaubten Sarkophag fündig.
4.50 from Paddington dürfte wohl der bekannteste Miss Marple Fall sein, weil wohl jeder die Verfilmung mit Margaret Rutherford zumindest einmal gesehen haben dürfte. Das Hörspiel, das sich an die Buchvorlage hält, lässt Lucy Eyelesbarrow für Jane Marple ermitteln, die beratend als Lucys Tante im Hintergrund agiert und die Strippen zieht. Der Fall ist, wie viele der Agatha Christie Fälle, doch sehr überkonstruiert. Das Miträtseln wird dadurch erschwert, dass wichtige Informationen bis zum Showdown zurückgehalten werden, was ich als schlechten Stil empfinde und nicht sonderlich mag.
Erneut spricht June Whitfield Miss Marple, in weitere Rollen, Joan Sims als Mrs. McGillicuddy, Susannah Harker als Lucy Eyelesbarrow, Ian Lavender als Det. Inspector Craddock, John Woodnutt als Luther Crackenthorpe und Janet Maw als Emma Crackenthorpe.
Da Mrs McGillicuddy recht breit schottisch spricht, sollte man schon recht gut Englisch können, um diese Passagen zu verstehen, der Rest der Sprecher spricht sauberes british English. Die Sprecher sind gut voneinander zu unterscheiden, man kann der Handlung sehr gut folgen und auch wenn der Fall überkonstruiert ist und die Auflösung durch das Zurückhalten von Informationen bis zum Showdown hinausgezögert wird, ist es doch ein sauber und gut nachvollziehbar ermittelter Fall.
Erneut reagieren die Betroffenen sehr kühl und routiniert auf die diversen Leichen und Morde, was mich doch sehr irritiert. Als wäre ein Mord im Haus etwas ganz alltägliches, selbst an Verwandten. Keiner verdrückt eine Träne, alle sind voll bei der Sache. Das finde ich doch sehr seltsam.
Da es keinerlei Bezüge zu älteren Fällen gibt, kann dieses Hörspiel getrost außer der Reihe gehört werden.
4.50 from Paddington dürfte wohl der bekannteste Miss Marple Fall sein, weil wohl jeder die Verfilmung mit Margaret Rutherford zumindest einmal gesehen haben dürfte. Das Hörspiel, das sich an die Buchvorlage hält, lässt Lucy Eyelesbarrow für Jane Marple ermitteln, die beratend als Lucys Tante im Hintergrund agiert und die Strippen zieht. Der Fall ist, wie viele der Agatha Christie Fälle, doch sehr überkonstruiert. Das Miträtseln wird dadurch erschwert, dass wichtige Informationen bis zum Showdown zurückgehalten werden, was ich als schlechten Stil empfinde und nicht sonderlich mag.
Erneut spricht June Whitfield Miss Marple, in weitere Rollen, Joan Sims als Mrs. McGillicuddy, Susannah Harker als Lucy Eyelesbarrow, Ian Lavender als Det. Inspector Craddock, John Woodnutt als Luther Crackenthorpe und Janet Maw als Emma Crackenthorpe.
Da Mrs McGillicuddy recht breit schottisch spricht, sollte man schon recht gut Englisch können, um diese Passagen zu verstehen, der Rest der Sprecher spricht sauberes british English. Die Sprecher sind gut voneinander zu unterscheiden, man kann der Handlung sehr gut folgen und auch wenn der Fall überkonstruiert ist und die Auflösung durch das Zurückhalten von Informationen bis zum Showdown hinausgezögert wird, ist es doch ein sauber und gut nachvollziehbar ermittelter Fall.
Erneut reagieren die Betroffenen sehr kühl und routiniert auf die diversen Leichen und Morde, was mich doch sehr irritiert. Als wäre ein Mord im Haus etwas ganz alltägliches, selbst an Verwandten. Keiner verdrückt eine Träne, alle sind voll bei der Sache. Das finde ich doch sehr seltsam.
Da es keinerlei Bezüge zu älteren Fällen gibt, kann dieses Hörspiel getrost außer der Reihe gehört werden.
January 29, 2009
Title: 4:50 to Paddington
Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Mystery
Challenges: Winter Reading Challenge 2009, TBR Challenge 2009 , A to Z Reading Challenge, 2009 Support Your Local Library, 2009 Audiobook Challenge, 20 Books in 2009, Pages Read Challenge 2009, Agatha Christie Challenge 2009, 101 Books in 1001 Days Challenge, Numbers Challenge
Rating: 4/5
No. of Pages: Audio (320)
Published: Originally 1957 (Audio 2005)
From the back:
Elspeth McGillicuddy is down from Scotland for a holiday and boards the 4:50 train from Paddington station to visit her friend Miss Marple. During the journey, another train pulls alongside, and through the window Mrs. McGillicuddy witnesses a tall, dark man strangling a blonde woman. She reports what she has seen, yet no one takes any notice. There is no report of any murder, no dead woman found on any train, and the police have no record of any persons reported missing that match the descripton given by Mrs. McGillicuddy. Only Miss Marple believes her account, and realizing that the body must have been thrown off the train, with the help of maps and train timetables she pinpoints the exact spot where the body must be. With the help of her young friend Lucy Eylelesbarrow, she goes about the tricky task of uncovering a murder – and a cunning murder…….
Mine:
Mrs. McGillicuddy sees a murder – but no one wants to believe her , but her good friend Miss Marple does. Now all she has to do is solve the crime, since the police won’t believe them. She enlists her friends Lucy Elylelesbarrow to check out the family. Who could be the guilty one, the family of dark horses all have a secret to hide.
Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Mystery
Challenges: Winter Reading Challenge 2009, TBR Challenge 2009 , A to Z Reading Challenge, 2009 Support Your Local Library, 2009 Audiobook Challenge, 20 Books in 2009, Pages Read Challenge 2009, Agatha Christie Challenge 2009, 101 Books in 1001 Days Challenge, Numbers Challenge
Rating: 4/5
No. of Pages: Audio (320)
Published: Originally 1957 (Audio 2005)
From the back:
Elspeth McGillicuddy is down from Scotland for a holiday and boards the 4:50 train from Paddington station to visit her friend Miss Marple. During the journey, another train pulls alongside, and through the window Mrs. McGillicuddy witnesses a tall, dark man strangling a blonde woman. She reports what she has seen, yet no one takes any notice. There is no report of any murder, no dead woman found on any train, and the police have no record of any persons reported missing that match the descripton given by Mrs. McGillicuddy. Only Miss Marple believes her account, and realizing that the body must have been thrown off the train, with the help of maps and train timetables she pinpoints the exact spot where the body must be. With the help of her young friend Lucy Eylelesbarrow, she goes about the tricky task of uncovering a murder – and a cunning murder…….
Mine:
Mrs. McGillicuddy sees a murder – but no one wants to believe her , but her good friend Miss Marple does. Now all she has to do is solve the crime, since the police won’t believe them. She enlists her friends Lucy Elylelesbarrow to check out the family. Who could be the guilty one, the family of dark horses all have a secret to hide.
August 15, 2016
This audio book was extremely different from the usual audio books I have listened to. In fact, I'm wondering if it was completely accurate since it sounded more like a radio show. There were so many actors speaking the character's voices. It was fun hearing all of them, so I'm thinking I missed a lot of the description in the novel, but again, not sure. It would be interesting to find out. (And as I type this, I hear Miss Marple's voice talking).
As far as the book, it is a little annoying that Agatha Christie does leave some important details until the end of the novel, making it practically impossible to solve the mystery fully. I actually had lots of ideas on who did it, but one stood out and I was right. I just didn't know why he murdered the woman until the very, very end.
As far as the book, it is a little annoying that Agatha Christie does leave some important details until the end of the novel, making it practically impossible to solve the mystery fully. I actually had lots of ideas on who did it, but one stood out and I was right. I just didn't know why he murdered the woman until the very, very end.
February 11, 2010
The title of this one always makes me want to read it (again), and its US title ('What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw') just doesn't have the same ring.
This one may begin on a train, but we are quickly immersed in a large rich family and their rambling country home, with Miss Marple behind the scenes pulling the strings and setting up intrigues to spy on people. I do like the character of Lucy, who is a much more enjoyable sleuth than 'Aunt Jane'.
While the initial murder and subsequent sleuthing are quite outrageously implausible, this is still a pretty good story overall.
This one may begin on a train, but we are quickly immersed in a large rich family and their rambling country home, with Miss Marple behind the scenes pulling the strings and setting up intrigues to spy on people. I do like the character of Lucy, who is a much more enjoyable sleuth than 'Aunt Jane'.
While the initial murder and subsequent sleuthing are quite outrageously implausible, this is still a pretty good story overall.
November 19, 2010
Sono di parte. amo Agatha Cristie... assieme alla canzoni dei Beatles ha "formato" il mio inglese... soprattutto nel vocabolario...che per questo a volte �� quasi "vittoriano".... ;-)
Voto di affetto e nsotalgia pi�� che di pregio...ma cosa volete rimproverare alla regina del giallo tranne un po' (molta) spocchia e parecchio pregiudizio???
Voto di affetto e nsotalgia pi�� che di pregio...ma cosa volete rimproverare alla regina del giallo tranne un po' (molta) spocchia e parecchio pregiudizio???
October 7, 2024
I love listening to these radio plays when I'm traveling in the car, it makes the trip go back faster.
This is one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels. And since it takes place just after Christmas, it's a perfect way to start off the new year. And I love June Whitfield as Miss Marple.
11/7/22 - Relistened to this today for November’s Read Christie 2022 selection. Still a favorite.
This is one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels. And since it takes place just after Christmas, it's a perfect way to start off the new year. And I love June Whitfield as Miss Marple.
11/7/22 - Relistened to this today for November’s Read Christie 2022 selection. Still a favorite.
September 9, 2016
Another fun, short little dramatization.
As far as actual plot comments, a small one: I am highly amused that Miss Marple's friend, when looking for a body, decides to enlist two schoolboys to unknowingly help. (She tells them she's looking for her lost golf balls.) Because kids love looking for things. Um, yes, many of them do, but potential for trauma, much?
As far as actual plot comments, a small one: I am highly amused that Miss Marple's friend, when looking for a body, decides to enlist two schoolboys to unknowingly help. (She tells them she's looking for her lost golf balls.) Because kids love looking for things. Um, yes, many of them do, but potential for trauma, much?
December 5, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audio CD on my journey to and from work. Beautifully dramatised by the BBC. June Whitfield is superb in the role of Miss Marple. Makes my travels to work enjoyable!
September 8, 2010
I liked this one - it was fun. It moved quickly, had a good plot, and I wasn't able to figure out "who dun it" before the big reveal.
October 1, 2015
Great and entailing mystery
March 12, 2022
The audiobook was as pleasurable as the book! This one I quite like, I find the train plot original enough :)
April 4, 2020
⭐️3.5⭐️
April 27, 2021
Really enjoyed this story. Great full cast dramatisation really brought it to life. Love a good Miss Marple mystery.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews