Fantastic!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

This is one of Agatha Christie's most clever intrigues, and it has been filmed any number of times in very different versions. René Clair's version, however, is certainly one of the most outstanding.A party of prominent guests are invited out to an island to pass the weekend in a lush and peaceful environment, but none of them has ever met their host, whose identity grows constantly more suspect and mysterious as the intrigue develops and one after the other gets killed including the kitchen personnel. Roland Young is one of the party and an astute detective, but gradually he appears as the dumbest of them all, as they all keep spying on each other and suspecting each other. There is some diabolical humour in all this, René Clair never denies his wit and innovative qualities, but it isn't exactly funny like "The Ghost Goes West". Nevertheleess, it keeps you fettered to the last surprising moment, and no matter how impossible and improbable the intrigue may seem, it's all logical and ultimately makes sense . Of course, someone had to survive to be able to tell the tale.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE is truly refreshing mystery drama with elements of a thriller. The film version of the novel by Agatha Christie is pretty censored. This is expected. Deviations with respect to the novel, are obvious, but do not make a lot of damage.Ten foreigners, people who seemingly have nothing to do with each other, but are in fact all the blame for a murder for which have not been convicted or rather prosecuted. Verses songs "Ten little Indians" following the death of one by one of the protagonists. Serial killer or even better killer among us is the essence of the story.Complications are excellent. A complete stranger, an unknown host, bonding, suspicion, secrecy and deception. It's exciting, uncertain and worrying to know that all the protagonists destined for murder. I was wondering what order, although I must admit that I knew who was the protagonist of the key for the culmination of the story.With all the murders that are impressively performed in a very good atmosphere, I must admit that I enjoyed the occasional morbid humor. The protagonists are apparently accepted their fate.The characterization is excellent. The killers or victims. Judge for yourself.

Agatha Christie ranked at the top of the heap when it came to writing whodunits. "And Then There Were None," the most famous of all her novels dealt with a group of unsavory people ushered out to an island where they enjoy all the amenities of food, drink, comfort, and living arrangements. None of these colorful characters have a clue about what they have gotten themselves into until the butler plays a vinyl recording as part of his instructions and all but one of the participants has their shady past revealed. One by one, each of them is knocked off by a mysterious assailant, and their deaths occur according to the 'Ten Little Indians' nursery rhyme and nothing they can do seems to prevent their inevitable demise. Of course, filmmakers plant clues throughout the 97-minute narrative that serve to exonerate certain individuals, but if you aren't paying close attention, you might miss those pointers. Nobody dies the same way, and director René Clair and "Stagecoach" scenarist Dudley Nichols don't depict the manner of death in graphic detail. Typically, we see what was used to kill them, but these unfortunate victims are never shown actually dying. Primarily, the film shows these vastly different individuals either confessing their crimes and perishing or revealing that they aren't who they seem to be and surviving. At least two cinematic remakes ensued and later a television mini-series. Suspense is the card that Clair and Nichols play to keep us glued to the action. Age seems that the only way to distinguish who dies. The most youthful cast members survive the ultimate cut. Although the remakes follow the formula, they often change the settings. The only problem is that some of the characters seem rather dull and the chief criticism is why these suspicious types allowed themselves to be led so easily into this predicament. Of course, it is classic now for such an undertaking that these characters are isolated from the rest of humanity and have no way to turn until the last murder is enacted.Judge Francis J. Quincannon (Barry Fitzgerald), Dr. Edward G. Armstrong (Walter Huston), Philip Lombard (Lewis Hayward), Vera Claythorne (June Duprez), General Sir John Mandrake (Sir C. Aubrey Smith), Emily Brent (Judith Anderson), William H. Blore (Roland Young) and Prince Nikita Starloff (Mischa Auer) endure a choppy boat ride to the island, and the filmmakers use these few moments to introduce each. Modern filmgoers may criticize the obvious use of back projection to simulate the presence of rough seas. Happily, Clair doesn't deploy such obvious photography trickery in the remainder of the story. Afterward, the action is confined to remote mansion with the characters either perishing in the house itself or in the surrounding countryside. The characters in the boat, except for the older seafaring gent who munches on a sandwich throughout the voyage, aren't only ones. When they arrive at the mansion, they are greeted by the housekeepers, Rogers (Richard Haydn) and his wife (Queenie Leonard), who also have skeletons in their respective closets. Clair stages one amusing scene when several participants are caught eavesdropping on each other. One favorite technique that these curious individuals use to conceal themselves is to run the faucets in their adjoining bathrooms and then crouch down to peer through key holes. Naturally, inclement weather follows to build atmosphere into the proceedings. One of the drawbacks of this otherwise superior saga is the death of one of the individuals is faked in such a way as could never happen. Meaning, under the Production Code, violent death could never been portrayed, so we are lead to believe that a death has occurred when the person who is supposed to be death could never have survived some a death. None of the suspects are frightfully nasty types. Indeed, Judith Anderson's Emily seems haughty, but she doesn't behave like a murderer. Sir C. Aubrey Smith's elderly soldier seems more tragic than the others because his crime was sending his wife's illicit lover to his death in combat. Prince Nikita Starloff qualifies as the most obnoxious one of the bunch. At the same time, he seems to be more idiotic than deliberately homicidal. He ran over two people in a hit and run and wasn't prosecuted for his crime. The bumbler of the bunch is the retired detective William Blore. The only obvious plant occurs early in the action when one of the characters explains why the initials on his luggage doesn't correspond to his own name. The murderer keeps track of the deaths by breaking the figures in a ceramic sculpture of the aforementioned ten little Indians and this keeps the characters on edge about who is destined to die next.Clever, suspenseful, but ultimately shallow, "And Then There Were None" is still fun not only as a cinematic artifact but also as a whodunit.

On a cold and windy afternoon, eight strangers arrive on isolated "Indian Island" off the southern coast of England. They join two newly hired servants for a dinner hosted by the mysterious couple known only as "Mr. and Mrs. U.N. Owen". The ten people settle into Owen's mansion and prepare for dinner. Strangely, they seem to be the only ones on Indian Island. Their host and hostess are discovered to be absent, but Owen leaves a recording which accuses each guest of murder in various degrees. Understandably, most want to leave the island quickly – but there is no boat. Then, the "Ten Little Indian" islanders begin to drop dead, one-by-one. Like the nursery rhyme, a figurine on the dining room table features "Ten Little Indians". Every time a guest dies, one of the small Indians is broken...The ensemble must discover what is happening before they are all gone, thus ending the rhyme, "and then there were none"...This is a marvelous adaptation of Agatha Christie's stage play, itself based on her novel. Trying to solve the mystery is nearly impossible, especially if you've read the book. The differences, originally approved by Ms. Christie and brought to a witty screenplay by Dudley Nichols, make the plot perfect for the big screen. One character difference works especially well in the movies – in fact, this version delivers the story with a keen awareness of the medium (used as the singular of media; in this case, the movies). Giving character actors Barry Fitzgerald and Walter Huston top-billing, while casting lower case stars Louis Hayward and June Duprez in the romantic roles Director Rene Clair guides the cast and cameras around with elevating intrigue. This is the best of his short "Hollywood" career.********* And Then There Were None (10/31/45) Rene Clair ~ Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Louis Hayward, June Duprez