on a movie set, but actresses have certainly thought about it a lot. But they've never said it. That's why this movie was so much fun." However, her return to filmmaking was only temporary. "Doing something once in a while, like The Mirror Crack'd, is fine and it makes me feel like Cinderella at the ball. But as a steady diet—no way." Title The title—shortened from the one used for Christie's book—is part of a line from "The Lady of Shalott" by English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Out flew the web and floated wide— The mirror crack'd from side to side; "The curse is come upon me", cried The Lady of Shalott. Inspiration theory Biographers theorise that Christie used an incident in the real-life of American film star Gene Tierney as the basis of the plot of The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side. In June 1943, while pregnant with her first daughter, Tierney contracted German measles during her only appearance at the Hollywood Canteen. Due to Tierney's illness, her daughter was born deaf, partially blind with cataracts, and severely developmentally disabled. Sometime after the tragedy surrounding her daughter's birth, the actress learned from a fan who approached her for an autograph at a tennis party that the woman (who was then a member of the women's branch of the Marine Corps) had sneaked out of quarantine while sick with German measles to meet Tierney at her only Hollywood Canteen appearance. In her autobiography, Tierney wrote that after the woman had recounted her story, "I stood there for a very long minute. There was no point in telling her of the tragedy that had occurred. I turned and walked away very quickly. After that, I didn't care if I was ever again anyone's favorite actress". The incident, as well as the circumstances under which the information was imparted to the actress, is repeated almost verbatim in Christie's story; Tierney's life experience had been well-publicized. Reception The film was considered a box office disappointment in the United States. Lansbury never reprised her performance as Miss Marple. References External links 1980 films 1980 crime films 1980 thriller films 1980s British films 1980s crime thriller films 1980s English-language films 1980s mystery thriller films British crime thriller films British mystery thriller films EMI Films films Films about actors Films about filmmaking Films based on Miss Marple books Films directed by Guy Hamilton Films scored