Perfect cast and a good story

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Third film version of Agatha Christie's mystery whodunit (following 1945's "And Then There Were None" and 1965's "Ten Little Indians") has a seemingly disparate group of people flown out to an ornate but empty hotel in the Iranian desert by an unknown benefactor. Once settled in, the group learns they do have something in common: at one time in their lives, each was responsible for the death of another person--and none of them paid the price for their crimes. Not badly made or cast, just deadly dull; even the curious new location isn't used to any advantage. Peter Collinson directs without invention or energy. Script by Erich Kröhnke, Enrique Llovet and Peter Welbeck (a pseudonym for Harry Alan Towers, who also produced) is awfully similar to the screenplay for the 1965 version, coincidentally also co-written and produced by Towers. NO STARS from ****

Ten Little Indians (AKA: And Then There Were None) is directed by Peter Collinson and adapted to screenplay by Peter Wellbeck (AKA: Harry Alan Towers) from the Agatha Christie novel. It stars Charles Aznavour, Stephane Audran, Elke Sommer, Gert Frobe, Herbert Lom, Oliver Reed and Richard Attenborough. Music is by Bruno Nicolai and cinematography by Fernando Arribas.Agatha Christie's famous novel gets another make-over, this time the action is located at a near empty hotel in the Iranian desert. Premise is exactly the same as the 1965 version, 10 people gather at the location on the request of the mysterious U.N. Owen (here voiced by Orson Welles), who via a tape recorded message calls them out for dastardly deeds committed in their respective lives. When they start being killed off one by one it becomes apparent that the price they have to pay for said crimes is death. But who is doing the killing?Well it's the first version in colour and it has what can only be described as a pretty formidable cast, yet it's as bland as bland can be. Especially if you have seen the superior 45 and 65 versions. The murders lack vitality, the cast go through the motions, seemingly just happy to be on location in Iran, while suspense is in very short supply. The only mystery is who is doing the killings? And once revealed at pic's finale it just isn't enough to warrant having sat through over an hour and half of mundane scripting and zero chills. 4/10

Mind you, I don't think it is the best version. That is the 1945 Rene Clair film, apart from the ending it does have a very creepy atmosphere, a witty script and a fine cast(the standouts being Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston and Judith Anderson). In short, it is one of the better Agatha Christie film adaptations there is. The book And Then There Were None is a masterpiece, if there is a contender for Christie's best book(and this is coming from a fan of Agatha Christie and most of the adaptations of her work), And Then There Were None would almost certainly be in the running.This version is not perfect. The ending is not very logical and misses the point of the very ominous poem the story is revolved around, and the final death scene is unintentionally comical. In all fairness though the ending can be seen as unfilmable, and I think can be only done properly on stage. I personally thought that the acting was not bad at all, but there was one truly bad performance and that was Charles Aznavour. Thankfully he isn't in the film for long, but he is annoying and his song felt very out of place. The Ten Little Indians rendition with him performing it is immediately devoid of its ominous impact. People complain about the pacing, on the most part it was deliberately done and did match Christie's style but there are also lots of pauses for sometimes up to around 20-seconds that makes the film rather turgid sometimes.However, I loved the locations, they were splendid. And the photography while conventional is good. The music is very haunting and fits the atmosphere well, especially in the famous accusatory gramophone scene. The script is not as thoughtful or as witty as in the book or the Rene Clair film, but there is still enough of both of those to make it a decent enough script, with a couple of exceptions such as the ending. The story is compelling enough with the deaths more than serviceable, though Martino's was poorly scripted and illogical(a few hours instead of days for someone to die of dehydration in a desert, really?). Ilona's death is nowhere near as creepy as the death of her novelistic counterpart Emily Brent, which is one of the creepiest deaths I've seen described in any book, but Blore's is not as convenient and perhaps a little more plausible and the General's was also very well done being the most suspenseful.What I also liked about the story here was how suspenseful and atmospheric it was on the most part it was, and while few of the deaths match the re-occurring rhyme, I think only three of them matched, at least the basic structure and the spirit of the book remained, which to me in adaptations is more important than the details. Most of the acting was quite good, with Aznavour being the only exception for me. The best for me were a quietly commanding Richard Attenborough(like the Judge from the book come to think of it), an eerily shifty Herbert Lom(you're convinced he's the guilty party), and an understated yet heroic Oliver Reed. Gert Frobe and Elke Sommer are credible also and fairly true to their characters, Stephane Audran likewise as her charming on the outside but tormented on the inside(though Emily Brent in the book is much more interesting). Everybody else doesn't stand out as much, but it's a matter of not having much to do rather than being bad.A contribution that I found to be outstanding was that of Orson Welles as the recorded Grammphone voice. His voice is not perhaps as inhuman as it is described in the book. What it is though is dignified and menacing, which is in my mind also what the voice should be like. Coupled with the haunting music, Welles' voice-over helped make a scene that was intensely gripping. All in all, a decent if not great film that is better than it is given credit for. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This is the third adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel "And Then There Were None" and first in colour, but sadly continues to tumble further downhill with each version, the original two were very decent, but this one falls short in so many ways and is a bit flat.This time the setting is at a deserted hotel in the middle of a desert, which seems a bit strange as why would anyone want to stay at a hotel in the middle of a desert but somehow it does work in this. This version seems to be more of a remake of the previous remake that came out in 1965 as the dialogue is almost identical and some of the names are the same.Okay some of the aspects that I did like about this movie are the gorgeous setting and the spooky hotel surrounded by ancient ruins which does add a touch a class to this movie and crafts a little tension around a movie that has very little surprises. But I think that what this movie could have done with is a more violence which could have really lifted this, but sadly without it, this version just quickly becomes boring and off paced.The cast this time round mostly just lacks chemistry with only a few exceptions. Charles Aznavour quickly became annoying and thankfully doesn't last long, Maria Rohm who plays a younger than previous versions maids, but breathtakingly beautiful and should have been used more another aspect of this movie that I didn't like is that the maid seemed more like one of the more interesting characters but is dispatched way too soon. Alberto De Mendoz who played the butler and the maids husband gave an okay performance but not memorable. Richard Attenborough also gave a decent performance as the judge and definitely a highlight of this movie, Stephanie Audran who plays the Hollywood starlet just seemed mostly bored but had a gorgeous accent, Adolfo Celi as the General was another forgettable cast member Herbert Lom and Gert Forbe both gave competent performances in their respective roles, Elke Sommer was okay as the female lead but her and Oliver Reed lacked the chemistry that could have lifted this and plus he just didn't seem interested just there for the money.All in all a pretty lazy and boring version of a great book, that lacks conviction and sadly it just seems to get worse after this.