This classic Agatha Christie whodunit takes place on a desolate island off the English coast where ten strangers--all with criminal pasts--meet. All have been invited to spend an evening in a sprawling, eerie mansion as guests of maniacal Judge Quincannon (Fitzgerald). Among the colorful
characters are the sinister Dr. Armstrong (Huston), the dictatorial General Mandrake (Smith), phony Prince Starloff (Auer), and lovers Philip (Hayward) and Vera (Duprez). It gradually dawns on the terrified guests that they have been marooned on the island for only one purpose--to be murdered one
by one in retribution for their transgressions, as per the nursery rhyme "Ten Little Indians."
French director Clair took his time with this production, using his cameras to play cat-and-mouse with each victim and adopting the perfect pace for the story as originally conceived by Christie and tightly adapted by Nichols. The ending of this adaptation differs from Christie's original; the
1965 remake, TEN LITTLE INDIANS, restored the original finale, while the 1974 version, again titled TEN LITTLE INDIANS, used the Clair/Nichols ending. leave a comment
