Ten Little Indians (1965 film)
Encyclopedia
The 1965 version of Ten Little Indians is the second film version of Agatha Christie
's detective novel
And Then There Were None
(originally titled "Ten Little Niggers"). Although its background story is the same as the 1945 version
(ten people invited to a stranded area by a mysterious stranger), this one takes place on an isolated snowy mountain. The house used in the film was Kenure House in Rush
, North County Dublin
, Ireland
.
This version is also the first adaptation of the novel to show the murders on screen. An uncredited Christopher Lee
provides the pre-recorded voice of "Mr. Owen".
The ending was changed to a less pessimistic one, heavily borrowing from the upbeat finale Christie wrote for the stage version of the story, which was and remains completely at odds with the very downbeat ending of her original mystery thriller.
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's detective novel
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939 under the title Ten Little Niggers which was changed by Dodd, Mead and Company in January 1940 because of the presence of a racial...
(originally titled "Ten Little Niggers"). Although its background story is the same as the 1945 version
And Then There Were None (1945 film)
And Then There Were None is a 1945 film adaption of Agatha Christie's best-selling mystery novel And Then There Were None directed by René Clair....
(ten people invited to a stranded area by a mysterious stranger), this one takes place on an isolated snowy mountain. The house used in the film was Kenure House in Rush
Rush, Dublin
Rush is a small seaside town, with a population of 8,280, situated between the communities of Skerries and Lusk in Fingal, Ireland. There has been a large population increase since the previous census in 2002, comprising mostly people from north Dublin....
, North County Dublin
North County Dublin
North County Dublin is an unofficial geographical description for an area north of Dublin City in Ireland. The title North County Dublin has been in use by Dubliners, typically from the northside of the city, since the early 20th Century...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
This version is also the first adaptation of the novel to show the murders on screen. An uncredited Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
provides the pre-recorded voice of "Mr. Owen".
Alterations
This adaptation has been retooled to fit the attitude of the "swinging sixties," such as changing the character of the repressed spinster into a glamorous movie star, adding a lot more action to complement the mystery, a fight scene and even a sex scene. The film is 91 minutes long and is in black and white. Other changes include William Blore not faking his identity as Mr. Davis and essentially changing the backstory of most of the characters.The ending was changed to a less pessimistic one, heavily borrowing from the upbeat finale Christie wrote for the stage version of the story, which was and remains completely at odds with the very downbeat ending of her original mystery thriller.
Credits
- George PollockGeorge Pollock (director)George Pollock was a British film director, best known for bringing Agatha Christie's famous detective Miss Marple to the big screen for the first time, starring Margaret Rutherford.-Life and work :...
- Agatha ChristieAgatha ChristieDame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
(novel) - Enrique Llovet, Dudley NicholsDudley NicholsDudley Nichols was an American screenwriter who first came to prominence after winning and refusing the screenwriting Oscar for The Informer in 1936....
(1945 screenplay) - Henry Towers, Peter Yedlam: Screenplay
- Malcolm LockyerMalcolm LockyerMalcolm Lockyer was a film composer and conductor.In his early years he developed an interest in dance and from here gathered an interest in music. At the age of nineteen he became a musician in the Royal Air Force and in 1944 joined the Buddy Featherstonhaugh Sextet...
: Music/Conductor - Ernest StewardErnest StewardErnest Steward BSC was a British cinematographer.Born in London, England he began his career - as with most cinematographers of his era - as a camera operator; his early credits in this field included Great Expectations and London Belongs to Me .As Director of Photography, he filmed mostly...
: Cinematography - Peter Boita: Editing
- John McCorry: Costume Design
- Michael Browne: Gaffer
Cast
This film version stars:- Hugh O'BrianHugh O'BrianHugh O'Brian is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...
.... Hugh Lombard - Shirley EatonShirley EatonShirley Eaton is an English actress.Eaton appeared regularly in British films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and achieved notability for her performance as Bond Girl Jill Masterson in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger...
.... Ann Clyde - FabianFabian (entertainer)Fabiano Anthony Forte , known as Fabian, is an American teen idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He rose to national prominence after performing several times on American Bandstand. Eleven of his songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 listing.-Early life:Fabian was the son of Josephine and Domenic...
.... Mike Raven - Leo GennLeo Genn- Early life :He was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, England to a Jewish family. His father, Woolfe Genn, was a jewellery salesman and the maiden name of his mother, Rachel, was Asserson....
.... General Sir John Mandrake V.C. - Stanley HollowayStanley HollowayStanley Augustus Holloway, OBE was an English stage and film actor, comedian, singer, poet and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady...
.... Det. William Henry Blore - Wilfrid Hyde-WhiteWilfrid Hyde-WhiteWilfrid Hyde-White was an English character actor.-Early life and career:Wilfrid Hyde White was born at the rectory in Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire, the son of William Edward White, canon of Gloucester Cathedral, and his wife, Ethel Adelaide Drought...
.... Judge Arthur Cannon - Daliah LaviDaliah LaviDaliah Lavi is an Israeli actress, singer and model.Born in Shavei Zion, British Mandate of Palestine, she studied ballet in Stockholm, Sweden, where she appeared in her first film Hemsöborna...
.... Ilona Bergen - Dennis PriceDennis PriceDennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
.... Dr. Edward Armstrong - Marianne HoppeMarianne HoppeMarianne Hoppe was a most distinguished German theatre and film actress.-Life and work:Born in Rostock, Marianne Hoppe became a leading lady of stage and films in Germany. She was born into a wealthy land owning family and was initially privately educated on her father's private estate...
.... Elsa Grohmann - Mario AdorfMario AdorfMario Adorf is a German film and stage actor, best known for his lead role in the 1978 film The Tin Drum.-Biography:...
.... Joseph Grohmann - Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
.... Voice of 'Mr. Owen' (uncredited)
Later film versions
- Ten Little Indians (1974 film)
- Desyat NegrityatDesyat NegrityatDesyat Negrityat is a 1987 Soviet film adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None . It was directed by Stanislav Govorukhin, who also penned the script...
(1987 Soviet adaptation) - Ten Little Indians (1989 film)Ten Little Indians (1989 film)Ten Little Indians is a 1989 mystery film, and the fifth screen adaptation of Agatha Christie's famous novel. It was the third version to be produced by Harry Alan Towers, following his 1965 and 1974 adaptations...
- Ten Little Niggers (1981 Cuban mini-series)