The Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries Movie is Happening!

By Travis Johnson

It’s been a long time coming, but after considerable fan furore and a hugely successful crowdfunding campaign, wildly popular flapper flatfoot Miss Fisher is making the leap to the big screen. Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears will lens this October in Melbourne and Morocco.

Based on the books by Kerry Greenwood, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries ran for three seasons on the ABC and saw Essie Davis (Game of Thrones) as the eponymous sleuth, Phryne Fisher, a female private detective operating in 1920s Melbourne.

Crypt of Tears is scripted by series co-creator Deb Cox and directed by regular series helmer Tony Tilse, who has also called the shots on episodes of Wolf Creek and Ash vs Evil Dead. Series co-stars Nathan Page as Detective Inspector Jack Robinson, Miriam Margolyes as Aunt Prudence and Ashleigh Cummings as her loyal assistant and maid Dorothy ‘Dot’ Collins are also back in the fold.

Writer Deb Cox promises that “…both new fans and old are in for a ride full of twists and turns as Phryne’s Middle Eastern adventures find her hunting for missing treasure, racing the clock on an apocalyptic ancient curse – and still finding time for romantic dalliance – in the sweeping deserts and sumptuous mansions of this exotic big screen production.”

According to the official release, “…the film opens with the Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher rescuing Shirin Abbas, a young Bedouin woman, who has been thrown into jail in British Mandated Palestine, for making trouble at a time of colonial unrest. After a perilous escape from Jerusalem, she rejoins Shirin as a fellow guest in the home of Lord and Lady Lofthouse, for the London ‘season’ and she pledges to help her right a wrong and discover the truth about the Crypt of Tears – an ancient crypt rumoured to lie somewhere beneath the rolling sands of the Negev Desert.”

Producer Fiona Eagger says, “Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears will have the witty intrigue of Indiana Jones, the opulent style of a Merchant Ivory Production, and the feminist fun of Thelma and Louise. The legions of Miss Fisher fans from around the world have been eagerly waiting for news of Phryne’s next grand adventure. We are thrilled that she will be taking the leap to the big screen and with this fabulous new international murder mystery story.”

The film is an Every Cloud Production. Principal investor is Screen Australia, in association with Film Victoria. Roadshow Films is the Australian/NZ distributor and Keshet will handle international sales.