“And so we’re a committed bunch of people who love being together,” says Davis. “But so the reality was that we couldn’t [include Dot]. She was already committed, so there was no way we could have her.”
The Crypt of Tears story “changed many, many times,” says Davis, and presumably some of those ideas included more Hugh and Dottie, as well as Cec, Bert, and Mr. Butler, but, in the end, Aunt Prudence (Miriam Margolyes) was the only supporting character from the TV series to appear in multiple Crypt of Tears scenes.
“Even Miriam’s involvement, I wish it was larger,” says Davis, “but, you know, this is a film completely independent of the series and, if you want to tell a story in an hour and a half, that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the however many hours of storytelling that have gone on before, then you can’t just bring in lots of characters that have a huge history that no one knows about.”
In other words, Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears is intended as an entry point for new viewers in addition to being a continuation of the story for fans of the show.
Davis points out that the decision to leave most of the supporting cast behind not only makes sense on a logistical level, but on a narrative one, given that most of the film’s plot takes place away from Melbourne, in British-controlled Palestine and London.
