Ein Unbekannter rechnet ab

source: Ten Little Indians

Moviecut—Ten Little Indians

Ein Unbekannter rechnet ab

There is a pleasingly old-fashioned aura about this 1974 film: the killings are creepy but not gory; the locations and sets are majestic; the camera movements are slow and carefully thought out; the humor is subtle and not in-your-face ("After you, Judge." - "No, my dear Doctor, I insist. After you."). The diverse cast offers major cult value (two former Bond villains in the same film!), and there is also a grand, sometimes chilling score by Bruno Nicolai. After a load of red herrings, the very last scene is a bit underwhelming - perhaps if they had gone with the book's original, more logical and much darker conclusion, the ending would have been more powerful. Nevertheless, the 1974 "And Then There Were None" is considerably better than its reputation suggests. **1/2 out of 4.

This pretty mediocre remake has a very strange feel to it. The main reason for this is the setting. Filming was done in a very plush Iranian hotel and the film was set in the present day rather than the 1930's. The result is a rather kitsch 1970's thriller and it would be interesting to see what Agatha Christie thought of it. The story needs very few actors to perform in the film which explains the reason why the producers were able to afford such an impressive cast list on an obviously tight budget. Interestingly, Charles Aznavour makes an appearance and unnecessarily plugs his (then) new single during the after-dinner scene. Thankfully, we are spared from any more of his singing because he dies shortly afterwards. On a passing note, one of the most amusing death scenes in cinema history is provided by Richard Attenborough who plays the judge.

The Locale,Direction and Updating of the classic Agatha Christie tale have one by one destroyed this adaptation of the novel. The first version of the book,1945's And Then There Were None was a classic,the 1966 adaptation was of passing interest...even the 1989 version had it moments but this 1975 version is a botched job. Not only is the cast turning in "take the money and run" performances,they are in the wrong roles,this makes the killer obvious from the beginnig of the investigation. And one side note...the 1945 film retained the character of religous fanatic Emily Brent portrayed perfectly by Judith Anderson,each subsequent version has cut this wonderful role,replacing her with a rather uninteresting movie star (played dreadfully in this version by Stéphane Audran). My advice: avoid this film. Read the book,then watch the 1945 version.

Excellent acting comparing to 2015 miniseries. Love the movie. I don't know how the 2015 miniseries has much better score than this. Love Charles Aznavour piano scene.

OK, it's slow, it's typically "British" and a bit out of fashion, but this movie is really close to the novel and you cannot unlike it if you have loved the book. Besides, the performances of the actors are great and the end is one of the best I have ever seen.

I just wanted to stand up for this version of the movie. I've read the book 'Ten little indians' and while it's set on an island and this 1974 movie is set in a desert, I feel that it is the closest to the feel of the book out of the four (?) versions I've seen. The 1945 and the 1960's movies were too light-hearted, too fluffy. This is a scary situation, with people trapped somewhere they can't leave, and one of them is taking a perverse delight in murdering them one by one. There is no room for humour in a movie like this. The 1974 movie is dark, with no needless humour injected, and this makes it feel a lot like the book did. My only grievance with the movie, is that, like all the others, it doesn't finish in the same way as the book. I'd really like to see a version that does. Oh, and Elke Sommers clothing is hideous, but that's the passage of time, more than anything. :)

I don't understand some people, they think just because the film is a sequal it will be bad. Most everyone hates this version but i enjoyed it better than the original. Technically if you want the best version get the 1966 version with Hugh O'Brian. Actually none of the versions follow the story correctly. Everyone is suppose to be murdered. I've read the book. But this version, although not very strong is very entertaining, the murders are more explicit, and many of the actors are very good. Elke Sommer, Oliver Reed, Richard Auttenbourgh, Herbert Lom, Maria Rohm and many others. Don't be confused by the people who say this movie sucks, it's a good film.