Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (2011)

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Im a fan of Christie books and normally the TV adaptations are quite good, but this is not. The cast is good- I really like McKenzie and you've got some good names there (Natalie Dormer, Samantha Bond, Rik Mayall) but none of them can salvage this mess. Miss Marples hardly in it at the beginning and it focuses more on posh Lady Frankie who's accent 'oh pongo... Yes... Lady Derwent you know' and constant belief she knows everything got on my nerves. The relationship between the two young main characters was not the best in a Christie adaptation- Frankies seemed to treat Bobby often with childish cruelty rather than with chemistry. The ending itself was completely ridiculous, with the murderers constantly pausing to allow Miss Marples narrative rather than actually murdering the person like they had ample opportunity to do, which was clearly forced and unrealistic. And then the two orphaned murderers- one with a sad tale of being forced to 'entertain soldiers' in China- were 'murdered' themselves. The ending was silly and felt unfinished.By all means watch, but be prepared for a rather disappointing end to an hour and a half.

Since it's been so many years since I've read any of the Agatha Christie books - and I read them all - I have to admit I'm enjoying these various mystery series featuring the various Miss Marples. I like Julia McKenzie very much; she is very close to the Miss Marple of the books."Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" is actually not a Miss Marple story, but since the series runs roughshod over the Christie books, why not just throw some of her other characters in as well? The title of the book actually came from a conversation Ms. Christie overheard coming out of a movie theater, and she built a whole story around it. It wasn't this precise story, however.Jane Marple is paying a visit to her friend Marjorie. Marjorie's son recently found a dead body whose last words were the story's title. He's eventually identified as a Mr. Pritchard. Bobby, Marjorie's son, is asked to go to the inquest, but upon arrival, there is no inquest there. Someone has tried to keep him away from the real one.He and his pretty female friend, Frankie, decide to investigate on their own. They find out the man had a connection to the Savage Family, and Frankie crashes her car outside of the family castle and stays there to recover. The Savages are a dysfunctional bunch. The patriarch of the family, not well liked, is recently dead. Frankie is busy nosing around, trying to find out if there is an Evans, when both Miss Marple and Bobbie (disguised as a chauffeur) show up. It's quite a crowd. And Evans isn't who they think.The production values of all these films are lush, with beautiful scenery, music, and '50s clothing. I do wish they set these films in the '30s, where they belong. The acting is very good, and despite the tinkering, this still manages to be an intriguing story, with the exception of the ending. Absolutely ridiculous. Be prepared for a big letdown.

It is very disappointing that the so-called "writers" of this film, and further more, all the other Julia Mckenzie renditions of Agatha Christie novels, think the can do a better job than the acknowledged greatest crime writer ever, by changing completely what she had written .... Even to the extent of including Miss Marple in a story which never included Miss Marple, not the only instance of this blasphemy. Please, if you want to pretend to be a writer, try for originality rather than half hearted plagurising of a legend. Please do not commit the same crime with Poirot as you have done with Tommy & Tuppence and Miss Marple. Thank you

It has taken me a long time to bite down the horrid re-writes of Agatha Christie's books. This series has done many hatchet jobs and made her books into garish, horrible episodes. However, I've accepted this and focused mainly on the visuals and the acting, not the story.With that in mind, I actually enjoyed "Why Didn't They Ask Evans." Yes, there are many issues like the first 30 minutes barely showing Miss Marple at all, and the story re-writes. But that was done to Geraldine McEwan in "Bertrams Hotel", with a created hotel maid summing up the crime. Yes, I have the book and it wasn't a Marple story, but neither were many done in the first three seasons.I do enjoy Julia McKenzie in this role and think she is almost as good as Joan Hickson, who did a superb job. The young actors sleuthing the crime with her were also very good. They kept the actual ending of who was "Evans." The visuals of the English countryside were stunning! And they kept the background music appropriate.