And Then There Were None [DVD]

We yanks have been waiting three decades for a quality home video release of this lost film. On our side of the ocean, it was critically lambasted on the heels of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, which was, of course, perfection. TEN LITTLE INDIANS wasn't, but the old girl has been filmed roughly once per generation, and mine grew up with this version, despite its blemishes. The novel was even reissued in paperback with the film's brilliant cover art -- which, truth to tell, promises a sense of class and fidelity to the original that the finished product doesn't begin to deliver. But here it is, in a beautiful widescreen transfer (the aspect ratio is a full 1.85:1, rather than the 1.66:1 stated on the DVD cover or the 1.33:1 listed on Amazon). The Iranian locations finally glisten in daytime and nighttime splendor after so many years of shadowy, grainy darkness on VHS. And, if nothing else, some of Agatha Christie's characters are finally cast according to type -- Richard Attenborough, Herbert Lom, Gert Froebe and Oliver Reed are virtual embodiments of Wargrave, Armstrong, Blore and Lombard as Christie wrote them. The horrendous acting and sloppy overdubbing are exposed all the more by the high quality video and audio resolution, but we'll take it! Thanks Great Britain for releasing this one, and at such a bargain of a price.

!!WARNING. MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!

Ten people are sent invitations by a mysterious Mr Owen to attend a party. The party is at an Iranian hotel in the middle of the desert, so the guests are flown in by helicopter. The guests are all perplexed as to why they have been invited, as they do not know their host. The mystery deepens when Owen doesn't join the guests for dinner that evening. Then, as they all relax after dinner, a tape recording of Owen's voice booms through the speakers. In the recording, he accuses each of his guests of terrible crimes, and of evading justice. The disparite group first think it a sick joke, but when they start to die one by one, the smiles soon dissapear from their faces, especially when they start to realise that Mr Owen is indeed in the hotel, as he is one of the ten guests present. The nursery rhyme each guest has on their bedroom wall, soon becomes a chilling reality as the 'ten little indians' become nine, then eight, seven....
This film is the third adaptation of Agatha Christie's 'Ten Little Indians'. Both the 1945 and the 1965 versions contained more humour, but I think that this straight laced adaptation works best despite being far from perfect. The location of the story is changed from the island mansion in previous versions to the isolated hotel, but this proves to be an excellent move as the surrounding desert provides a very eerie atmosphere and the hotel itself is full of dark corners and long, twisting corridors. The guests are all given legitimate reasons for being there, some to work for Owen, others to assist him in some capacity and others as guests. There are a couple of great scenes, one being when the tape of Owen's voice accuses each in turn and the camera follows the guests around the room as they listen in stunned silence. The second is a marvellous scene with Dr Armstrong(Herbert Lom) and Judge Cannon(Richard Attenborough) facing each other on either side of the billiards table as the lights flicker dangerously. There's some terrific dialogue here as the two men play mental games with eachother.
On the minus side, the very wide range of accents on display here from the multi-national cast can be distracting at times, and some of the characters are a bit underdeveloped. A couple of the murders are a bit irrational as well seeming more like accidents than planned events.
The film has a distinguished cast led by Oliver Reed, the aforementioned Lom and Attenborough, and many others including Gert Frobe, Elke Sommer and Charles Azvanour. The whole affair reeks of the 1970's with it's all star cast and glamourous locations and style. That is however, a very good thing in my opinion, as is the lack of one of Christie's 'super' sleuths to conveniently work it all out at the end.
If you're looking for gritty realism or biting satire look elsewhere, but if you're in the mood for an old fashioned whodunnit to thoroughly entertain you then look no further, as this charming film fits the bill perfectly.
The Optimum release does the film justice, as it has a lovely picture quality, and decent sound quality too. 5 out of 5

There's something intrinsically Nineteen-seventies about this adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic novel Ten Little Indians; perhaps it's the European cast, perhaps it's the fashions, or maybe the opulent hotel setting; whatever it is it makes for a supremely silly but hugely entertaining 90 minutes or so. 'Dickie' Attenborough is creepily effective as the hanging judge, whilst the film boasts not one but two ex-James Bond villains in Gert Frobe and Adolfo Celi; Oliver Reed and Elke Sommer are the unscrupulous lovers whilst Gallic pop veteran Charles Aznavour gets to display his smooth tones - albeit in a dodgily dubbed style.
Things kick-off pretty swiftly and we are soon treated to the sight of the ten ill-fated guests being unceremoniously offed - the paranoia and sense of foreboding increasing with each grisly slaying.
Overall this is a decent if straightforward telling of the Christie favourite, and is well worth a look.