And Then There Were None [VHS] [1945]

When ten strangers all go to the secluded, island mansion of a mysterious Mr. U.N. Owen, they suddenly find that Owen wants them all dead. One by one, each is murdered in the same way as the ten little Indians in the nursery rhyme. Can the survivors find the murderer before it's too late? Watch and find out! [Black-and-white, released in 1945, with a running time of 1:37.]

This is a great movie, filled with excitement and suspense. The characters are quite interesting, and the storyline is wonderful (the movie being based on Agatha Christie's novel of the same name). I must say that, for me, Barry Fitzgerald simply stole the show, and the black-and-white film adds to the brooding tone of the movie.

So, if you are a fan of old time movies, or simply love a good mystery, then I highly recommend this movie to you. You will not be disappointed!

Eight strangers arrive by boat at an isolated island where they were invited for the weekend to the mansion of Mr. U. N. Owen. They are greeted by the two servants, the butler and his wife, the cook. They are shown their rooms and told that at dinner they will meet their host. So starts a great Forties' movie, And Then There Were None, based on the Agatha Christie mystery, Ten Little Indians.

After dinner when Mr. Owen fails to appear, the butler puts a record on the gramophone and Mr. Owen speaks. He accuses everyone he invited, including the butler and the cook, of murder. There's the judge who sent an innocent man to be hanged. The doctor who drunkenly and fatally botched an operation. The general who sent his wife's lover to his death in battle. The detective whose perjured testimony sent a man to the gallows. There's consternation and denial. Drinks are served. The first to die is a Russian prince who strangles on cyanide in the middle of a song. And the plaster sculpture of ten little Indians, the centerpiece of the dining room table, has one little Indian smashed. As the hours pass, more die, each in the manner of the nursery rhyme

This is a wonderful movie, and very much a product of it's time. Everything about it speaks of professionalism and craftsmanship. There's not a slow moment. The suspense steadily builds. The mystery gets more and more mysterious. And while there is suspense and dread, there also is much wit and black humor. The mansion's rooms are unsettling even when they're empty. The rocky coast of the island, the grey clouds and the smashing surf make somber and unnerving backgrounds. The conclusion of the movie, when all is made clear, is amusing, satisfying and clever.

Two things stand out. First, the mystery is genuinely clever. Not too many people, seeing this for the first time, are going to figure things out. Second, the acting is great and the characters are portrayed by a whole boatload of terrific character actors: Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Roland Young, Mischa Auer, Judith Anderson, C. Aubrey Smith, Richard Hayden (perfect as the adenoidal butler), Queenie Leonard. And there's also June Duprez and Louis Hayward. They work together extremely well. This is ensemble acting before ensemble acting was talked about so much.

The movie is in the public domain, so you have to be careful about the version you might buy.

8 people are invited to a remote island "Indian Island" mansion by their host Mr. U. N. Owen; two people are already there as the butler and cook, a husband and wife team. Once there they find that their mysterious host has accused each of murder and commences to dispatch the guests in the order of a song of Ten Little Indians. Finding that they are cut off from the outside world they must find Mr. Owen and neutralize him before they are all dispatched. If it gets down to the last two you have a pretty good idea who it is.

All the clues are present; can you detect whodunit and why?

Pretty well acted version of an Agatha Christie classic. Everyone remembers this standard movie version "And Then There Were None" (1945) with Barry Fitzgerald. Several other attempts were made such as "And Then There Were None" (1974) with Elke Sommer and even one movie with the original book title "Ten Little Niggers" (1949) with John Bentley. A fun adaptation using a remote mountain dwelling is "Ten Little Indians" (1965) with Hugh O'Brian plays Hugh Lombard.

In this screen play version by Dudley Nichols, Hugh Lombard even keeps much of the dialog of the novel and is worth adding to you Agatha Christy collection. Many of the actors are popular of the time such as Walter Huston who plays Dr. Edward G. Armstrong. He is popular for the Walter Huston dance in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948) and as Mr. Scratch in The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941).