It was a success and the Christie estate liked it, enabling him to get the rights to Caribbean Mystery.
Marguiles had to update the stories to the present day because he was unable to do period pieces on a TV movie budget.
Hayes said she turned down the role at first because she "adored" the character of Marple "and I didn't want to follow Margaret Rutherford...
"[3] The New York Times said the film "has its engaging moments, thanks primarily to an exceptionally good cast.
The film was seen on TV by writer Richard Levinson who noted its ratings success.