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And Then There Were None
1945 Crime / Mystery / Comedy
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Credits
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Director: René Clair
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Script: Dudley Nichols, based on the novel "Ten Little Niggers" by Agatha Christie
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Photo: Lucien N. Andriot
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Music: Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
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Cast: Barry Fitzgerald (Judge Quinncannon),
Walter Huston (Dr Armstrong),
Louis Hayward (Philip Lombard),
Roland Young (Detective Blore),
June Duprez (Vera Claythorne),
Mischa Auer (Prince Nikita),
C. Aubrey Smith (Sir John Mandrake),
Judith Anderson (Emily Brent),
Richard Haydn (Thomas Rogers),
Queenie Leonard (Ethel Rogers),
Harry Thurston (Narracott)
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Country: USA
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Language: English
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Runtime: 97 min
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Aka: Dix petits Indiens
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Summary
Eight men and women, all unknown to each other, accept a mysterious invitation to an island
estate. They are welcomed by two domestic servants, Mr and Mrs Rogers, who appear
to be as ignorant of the reason for the meeting as the guests are. When they
are all assembled together, they hear a strange message from their unknown host on a gramophone
record. Each one of them is accused of a murder, and each one of them is destined
to be punished. The first victim is Prince Nikita, poisoned. The next morning,
it is found that Mrs Rogers has died in her sleep. The murders appear to be following
the pattern of a children’s nursery rhyme, The Ten Little Indians. One by one, the
guests will be eliminated – until there are none…
Review
French filmmaker René Clair rounded off his productive and generally successful
period in Hollywood with this inspired, and very popular, adaptation of an Agatha Christie
novel. The delicious combination of black comedy and suspense thriller calls to
mind Alfred Hitchcock’s early black and white thrillers, and the film feels far more like
Hitchcock than Clair.
The plot may have undergone innumerable re-workings since this film was made, but
somehow the film (arguably the best adaptation of an Agatha Christie whodunnit) still
manages to feel fresh and enjoyable. It’s far from obvious who the killer is - the
audience is kept guessing right up until the denouement. (A propos, the ending is
not that of Christie's original novel but rather that of her more upbeat 1943 stage
stage adaptation.)
Whilst the film is not typical of René Clair, the director’s
distinctive style is noticeable in the ingenious camera work, which sustains an unrelenting
sense of lurking menace (and is actually rather redolent of film noir). Clair also
makes good use of his fiendish sense of comic irony, injecting some very effective shots
of humour just when the narrative needs it, without in the slightest diminishing the web
of suspense and intrigue that he manages to weave so perfectly.
© James Travers 2007
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Ten little Indian boys went out to dine;
One chocked his
self and then there were nine.
Nine Indian boys sat up very late;
One overslept
himself then there were eight.
Eight Indian boys traveling in Devon;
One said
he'd stay there then there were seven.
Seven Indian boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves then there were six.
Six Indian boys playing with
a hive;
A bumble-bee stung one then there were five.
Five Indian boys going
in for law;
One got in Chancery then there were four.
Four Indian boys going
out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one then there were three.
Three Indian
boys walking in the zoo;
A big bear hugged one then there were two.
Two Indian
boys sitting in the sun;
One got all frizzled up then there was one.
One Indian
boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were none.
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