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While the ending of the novel is changed in this 1965 remake of Agatha Christie's novel AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, it's still an OK murder mystery, a kind of modern version of an old dark house chiller, with an excellent cast of UK veterans and US imports Hugh O'Brian and Fabian. A mysterious "Mr. Owen" invites ten strangers, all of whom seem to be guilty of some crime, to spend a weekend in an isolated mountain home. They gradually get killed one by one. My wife felt that the only interesting character in the film was the one who is killed first (you'll have to watch it to see who that is), but I found the whole thing to be entertaining and the ending to be surprising (although the clues ARE planted, when you watch it a second time). Like any Harry Alan Towers production, this is low budget but well cast, and once again Towers wrote the script himself under his Peter Welbeck pseudonym. The recent DVD reissue of this includes the infamous "Whodunit Break" (which appeared at the film's climax in its theatrical run but was cut from all TV prints) as an "extra" but does not edit it back into the film, which is good because it would make second and third viewings of the film painful. Watch that scene once, marvel that anyone would ever attempt anything so cheesy, and then watch the uninterrupted movie again. Nice to see Shirley Eaton as always (The Girl From Rio and Su-Muru), Hugh O'Brian is a charming and masculine lead, Fabian is entertaining, and the British veterans are as colorful as you'd expect, although some Americans may have trouble telling them apart initially, except for Dennis Price. Worth renting, but I can't say it's worth fifteen dollars. Maybe $8.99 or so.

It's only fair to mention that I saw the 1945 adaptation of this same story before seeing this film, so obviously the plot and characters were very familiar to me before watching. There were some changes between the two versions, however, which helps to keep things fresh...although most of the changes were for the worst. Rather than being set on island, this version sets the story on top of a snow covered mountain; while several of the characters have either had their professions changed or have been made younger than in the earlier version. The film does at least stick more rigidly to the nursery rhyme at the centre of the story. The basis of the story is the same as in previous versions, however, and we focus on ten people that have been invited to stay at a house owned by a Mr U. N. Owns. Shortly after their arrival they are played a tape made by the mysterious host; accusing them all of murder. One by one they are picked off and it's not long before the remaining guests realise that their host is amongst them.

The film feels very upper class and all the guests are well dressed and polite. The script is very similar to the earlier adaptation and so I would imagine that both versions stick very closely to the original literature. The cast is rather good and each actor fits into their role well. Standouts for me include Daliah Lavi, who plays an actress and is very sexy - and Mario Adorf who plays the butler. Eurocrime fans may recognise him as the pimp from the masterpiece The Italian Connection. The deaths are rather well handled and we see a bit more than we did in the earlier version; although 'less is more' is still very much the order of the day. Deaths include stabbing, falling off a cliff and someone has a stuffed bear dropped on their head. I was hoping that the film may have changed the ending, but unfortunately it sticks to the original story on this point so it wasn't much of a surprise for me. Still, this is a rather decent adaptation of the classic story; although I'd certainly recommend 1945's And Then There Were None over this version.

...the 1945 classic "And Then There Were None". This one also follows the script of the earlier film rather than the Agatha Christie book. It has two cast members who recently were in box office smashes-Shirley Eaton was the golden girl in the James Bond blockbuster "Goldfinger" and Stanley Holloway had been Oscar nominated in the multi award winner "My Fair Lady". Fabian was brought in to attract the younger crowd, and he plays an obnoxious pop singer who gets dispatched early. There is some great eye candy with gorgeous blond Eaton and exotic beauty Daliah Lavi. TV star Hugh O'Brien plays the rugged macho male lead. One of the best things in this film was a well done scene where Eaton holds a gun on O'Brien, the only improvement on the original film.

If you enjoy crime mystery movies this is one to see. Based on a novel by Agatha Christie, it tells the story of ten people, all unknown to each other, that get trapped and isolated in a sort of castle on top a mountain where they have been invited by a mysterious host they don't know either. They soon realize the idea for their presence there is none other than to be executed one by one as a punishment for unclear circumstances that hurt and killed people in each one's past. They also realize that the avenging murderer is one of them, but who? Deaths start and it comes to the point in which no one -sill alive of course- trusts no one and everyone suspects everyone. The mystery's disclosure at the very end of the film doesn't lack surprise and goes along with the previous entertaining situations.

A rather unpretentious remake of "And There here were None" released in the 40's, this 1965 version turns out really good and stands far better than others that followed (in 1974 with Oliver Reed and Elke Sommer and in 1989 with Donald Pleasence and Brenda Vaccaro).

The dark atmosphere -the shooting was made in black and white- is good enough and interest doesn't fall along the whole picture, perhaps because the events move fast and the film's running time is perfect.

No doubt the very good performances of such experienced actors as Leo Genn (the General), Wilfrid Hyde White (the Judge) and Sterling Holloway (the detective) help a lot too. Hugh O'Brian and Shirley Eaton (a former Bond girl) are correct in their not much demanding roles).

If you didn't read Christie's novel you will enjoy the film and its mysterious plot, and if did read it you will enjoy the murderer's handling of facts in order to accomplish his sinister plan.

Some too casual and forced situations -necessary to sustain the plot and usual in Miss Christie's novels- do not affect the picture in all which is a real good one in its genre.

The first remake of the 1945 classic "And Then There Were None" is a fairly decent effort. While all of the wonderfully sly wit is gone this time, and the locale has been shifted from an island to a mountain resort (resulting in some characters having different nationalities this time) the results are still quite credible. The cast is good, with golden girl Shirley Eaton of "Goldfinger" fame looking quite lovely as the female lead. It's also amusing to see "My Fair Lady" almuni Stanley Holloway and Wilfrid Hyde-White together again in a completely different kind of film and setting. Just like the original, the identity of the killer (and I won't say who!) comes as a surprise because the performer gives a brilliant performance that makes it hard to link that performer with the one who committs all the murders beforehand. All subsequent remakes of this story have been awful. The original is still the best, but this one is okay to look at.