Ten Little Indians (1974 film)

Ten Little Indians (a.k.a. And Then There Were None) is a 1974 remake of Agatha Christie's classic novel. Two previous theatrical adaptations were released in 1945 and 1965, and a made-for-television version was broadcast in 1959. In the opening credits the screenplay is credited only to "Peter Welbeck" (a pseudonym of producer Harry Alan Towers), but the IMDB attributes the script to Welbeck, Erich Krohnke, and Enrique Lovet. The film was directed by Peter Collinson. Tagline: Agatha Christie, the greatest mystery-writer. "Ten Little Indians" her greatest mystery.

Cast

• Oliver Reed as Hugh Lombard
• Elke Sommer as Vera Clyde
• Richard Attenborough as Judge Cannon
• Herbert Lom as Dr. Armstrong
• Gert Frobe as Wilhelm Blore
• Stephane Audran as Ilona Morgan
• Adolfo Celi as Gen. Salve
• Alberto de Mendoza as Otto Martino
• Maria Rohm as Elsa Martino
• Charles Aznavour as Michel Raven
• Orson Welles as voice of "Mr. Owen"

Plot

The plot remains essentially the same as the novel, though some of the characterizations are based more closely on the script of the 1965 film. Another departure from Christie's text is that this time the action takes place not on a deserted island, but in a hotel deep within the Iranian desert. A group of 10 people, strangers to one another, have all traveled to a hotel located deep in the deserts of Iran. Upon arrival they discover that their host is mysteriously absent. Though some find this odd, they decide to make the best of the situation and settle into the isolated-but-luxurious hotel. But soon they are accused by a tape recording of having committed various crimes in the past which went unpunished by the law. Then one victim dies of poisoning. Suicide? Maybe, maybe not. When someone else is found strangled to death, the remaining guests deduce that their unseen "host" is determined to murder them one at a time for their past misdeeds. And since a search of the hotel proves that there is no one hiding among them, they realize that the murderer is, in fact, one of their own.

Trivia

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• This was the second of three versions of Christie's novel to be adapted to the screen by producer Harry Alan Towers. The first was released in 1965, this version in 1974, and yet another in 1989.
• Herbert Lom, who here plays the role of Dr. Armstrong, also starred in the 1989 remake as the General.
• Celi and Frobe had both already played villains in the James Bond film series.

External links

• Ten Little Indians at the Internet Movie Database
• Ten Little Indians at All Movie Guide