Ten Little Indians (1974 film)
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| Ten Little Indians | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Peter Collinson |
| Produced by | Harry Alan Towers |
| Written by | Novel: Agatha Christie Screenplay: Peter Welbeck Uncredited: Erich Krohnke Enrique Lovet |
| Starring | Oliver Reed Elke Sommer Richard Attenborough Charles Aznavour Herbert Lom |
| Music by | Carlo Rustichelli Bruno Nicolai |
| Release date(s) | 1974 |
| Running time | 98 min. |
| Country | France / Spain / Germany / Italy |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
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. This was the second of three versions of Christie's novel to be adapted to the screen by producer Harry Alan Towers; the aforementioned 1965 version, this one is 1974, and yet another in 1989.
Herbert Lom, who plays Dr. Armstrong here, also starred in the 1989 version as the General.
Both Celi and Froebe had already played villains in the James Bond series.
In the opening credits the screenplay is credited only to "Peter Welbeck" (a pseudonym of producer 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.
[edit] 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"
[edit] 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.
