Ten Little Indians movie storyline. A group is invited, under false pretenses, to an isolated hotel in the Iranian desert. After dinner, a cassette tape accuses them all of crimes that they have gotten away with. One by one they begin to die, in accordance to the Ten Little Indians nursery rhyme. After a search is made of the hotel, they realize that the murderer is one of them. A few members of the group attempt to trust each other, but the question still remains, who can one trust? And who will leave the hotel alive?
Ten Little Indians (also known as And Then There Were None) is a 1974 film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s best-selling 1939 mystery novel of the same name. The film was directed by Peter Collinson and produced by Harry Alan Towers. This was the second of three versions of Christie’s novel to be adapted to the screen by producer Harry Alan Towers. Two film adaptations were previously released (a 1945 version by René Clair and the 1965 adaptation Ten Little Indians). An American made-for-television version was broadcast in 1959. Towers produced a third version in 1989.
The 1974 film reuses the script of the 1965 version, even calling Oliver Reed’s character “Hugh” instead of “Phillip,” which was the character’s name in the novel and play. It is set in an abandoned hotel in the Iranian desert.
Herbert Lom, who plays Dr. Armstrong in this film, also starred in the 1989 version, as the General (played by Adolfo Celi in this version). Much of the film was shot on location in pre-revolution Iran. These included the Shah Abbas Hotel in Isfahan (now known as the Abbasi Hotel), Persepolis, and the Bam Citadel. Other locations used are the Temple of Debod in Madrid, and Almería in Andalucía, Spain. The European cut of the film featured a pre-credit sequence that showed the guests arriving by plane before boarding a helicopter to be transported to the hotel. However, this prologue was cut from the US release.
About the Story
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 (“unknown”), someone none of them has ever met, of having committed various crimes in the past, each of which went unpunished by the law.
One by one, the guests start to die: first is Michel Raven, whose drink was poisoned. During the night, the housekeeper/cook, Elsa Martino, makes a mad dash to escape, only to be strangled against a pillar, an ancient Persian method of execution, as noted by Hugh Lombard. A search of the hotel is initiated by General Salve, 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 the seven of them, and that the killer is one of them.
The next morning, Elsa’s husband, the butler, attempts to escape into the desert and expires from heat exhaustion, his survival kit having been sabotaged. Ilona 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 go out, leaving the five remaining guests in the dark. At dinner, they reveal the nature of the crimes of which they stand accused. Before Vera can offer her explanation, she leaves the others to return to her room. She screams, and the others run to her room. In the confusion, Judge Cannon is found dead in his bedroom, shot in the head.
Dr. Armstrong 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 confesses that she never committed murder, and was taking the blame for her mentally ill sister.
Ten Little Indians (1975)
Directed by: Peter Collinson
Starring: Richard Attenborough, Maria Rohm, Oliver Reed, Charles Aznavour, Stéphane Audran, Elke Sommer, Gert Fröbe, Orson Welles, Alberto de Mendoza, Herbert Lom, Teresa Gimpera
Screenplay by: Harry Alan Towers, Enrique Llovet
Production Design by: José María Tapiador
Cinematography by: Fernando Arribas
Film Editing by: Gabrielle Reinecke, John Trumper
Music by: Bruno Nicolai
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: AVCO Embassy Pictures
Release Date: April 23, 1975 (Hew York City)
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