E Não Sobrou Nenhum

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.

As in Agatha Christie's original, ten people converge on an isolated place only to learn that they are stuck there and will be killed one by one. During the first ten minutes, Fabian portrays a Playboy and his performance is so dreadful that you thank heaven when he sits down at a piano and begins to perform, only to quickly realize he's an even worse singer than actor! Happily, he's the first to 'go,' and from then on, things get considerably better. A focus on three old English gents played by Leo Genn, Wilfred Hyde White, and Leo Genn - each more brilliant than the next - allows a film that appeared ready to flop to truly take off. Hugh O'Brian is acceptable as the hero, but most of his mannerisms are far too reminiscent of Wyatt Earp on TV. But don't turn it off - at least not if you are among us who consider Shirley Eaton (The Goldfinger girl) the most underrated blonde beauty ever. She is dazzling, and even appears in skimpy black lingerie near the film's end. When Hugh lifts her up in his arms, it's hard not to wish you had been born Hugh O'Brian. Never in a class with the earlier version, AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, but solid enough - once Fabian's out of the picture.

And then Agatha Christie, a great writer, thought of a rich, suspenseful, and thrilling story like this. This movie version is an excellent adaption of the story with ten strangers come to a ski resort which seems haunted at first turns out to be the scene of a crime. Which of the ten committed it? Well you'll have to see the movie. This film is beautifully filmed with the acting superb definitely with the Goldfinger girl Shirley Eaton. I'll make sure I add this movie to my classic film collection.

...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.

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.