marco b
The third adaptation of Agatha Christie's best seller "And Then There Were None" and probably one of the worst. Though the location and filming are beautiful, and the acting superb, the writing is dull, the plot drags, and the characters are not interesting.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
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Audience Member
A group of ten people, strangers to one another, have all travelled to a hotel located deep in the deserts of Iran. Upon arrival they discover that their host is mysteriously absent. At dinner, they notice a display of figurines; the Ten Little Indians, as represented in the doggerel in each of their suites. They are accused via a tape recording by the host, U.N. Owen (Orson Welles), someone none of them has ever met, of having committed various crimes in the past which went unpunished by the law. One by one, the guests start to die; first Michel Raven (Charles Aznavour) whose drink was poisoned. During the night, the housekeeper/cook, Elsa Martino (Maria Rohm), makes a mad dash to escape, only to be strangled against a pillar; a method of Ancient Persian execution, as noted by Hugh Lombard (Oliver Reed). A search of the hotel is intimated by General Salve (Adolfo Celi) who splits everyone into pairs. Not long after everyone separates from each other, Salve is stabbed to death in the hotel's catacombs. Their search reveals there is no one in the desert, except their seven selves, and that there is a killer in their midst who is one of them. The next morning, Elsa's husband, the butler Otto Martino (Alberto de Mendoza), attempts to escape into the desert, only to expire from heat and exhaustion; his survival kit having been sabotaged. Ilona Morgan (Stéphane Audran) reveals her tragic past to the others, exposing the cause of her husband's suicide. Later, she is found dead, bitten by a venomous snake. The lights soon short out, leaving the five remaining guests in the dark, where at dinner, they reveal the nature of the crimes they stand accused of. Before Vera Clyde (Elke Sommer), can offer her explanation, she leaves the others to return to her room. She screams, and the others rush to her. In the confusion, Judge Cannon (Richard Attenborough) is found dead in his bedroom, shot in the head. Dr. Edward Armstrong (Herbert Lom) poses his suspicions of Vera, and has her locked in her room. Hugh comes to Vera during the night to give her his gun, and reveals that he is in fact Charles Morley; the real Lombard had committed suicide and he took his place instead. In return, Vera herself confesses that she never committed murder and instead was secretly covering up for her mentally ill sister. In the morning, Dr. Armstrong is nowhere to be found. A search of the ruins leads to Wilhelm Blore (Gert Fröbe) being pushed to his death off a ledge. Vera and Morley find the body of Dr. Armstrong in the ruins and realise they are the only two remaining...
Agatha Christie´s ensemble murder mysteries are uneven in my book. This was the second of three versions of Christie's novel to be adapted to the screen. I loved "Murder On The Orientexpress" which had a great story and conclusion while "Ten Little Indians" or "And Then There Were None" doesn´t really connect the dots in the end in a satisfying way if you ask me. The direction is wobbly and the editing likewise. Ok and intriguing ensemble cast, but the acting is wobbly. However, there´s plot holes a plenty. This film adaptation was simply not that exciting.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
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Audience Member
Producer Harry Allan Towers' Second Production Of The Classic Novel, "And There Were None". This All-Star Version, Takes The Action To A Deserted Hotel In The Iranian Desert. Just As Enjoyable As Towers' Previous Production, The Guests Are Accused Of Certain Crimes Which The Law Could Not Touch And Are Trapped Being Killed Of One By One. Sadly Just Like The Other English Speaking Adaptions, This Film Opts For The Ending Used In The Original Play & Not The Darker Ending Of The Original Novel. The Location Is Beautiful & The Cinematography Is Excellent, With A Slightly Cheesy Performance From The Great Richard Attenborough, And The Rest Of The Cast. Great Filmmaking It's Not , But Great Fun And Highly Entertaining It Is, A Classic Mystery, Turned Into An Entertaining Film. Released As, "And Then There Were None" In The UK.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Given this is an Agatha Christie adaptation the story is interesting enough to stick with it, but it's a good example of why you can't just stick half-a-dozen well-known actors together and hope for the best. this certainly needs to be and could have been better produced.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
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Audience Member
One of the better remakes of the three Harry Allan Towers Productions of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (All of them titled Ten little Indians). This time, the story is set in a vacant Iranian hotel, the whole hotel had been rented out by Mr.
Owen. Mr. Towers' main objective was to create an international film, so there is an international cast. Some of the acting is stiff, which is a shame because it was an all-star cast (for the seventies, at least). I think this version stands out is because it is the first movie to take the book seriously. All humor has been cut out (except for an occasional sarcastic snippet from Oliver Reed) and we have the chilling atmosphere of an empty hotel, in the middle of an emptier Iran, not to mention the shadowed ruins surrounding the hotel. A good movie, and if you go in not expecting much, it'll be a pleasant surprise.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/10/23
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Audience Member
Ingen av de starkaste Christie-filmatiseringarna, men Collinson lyckas ändå mejsla något eget av boken.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/20/23
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