And Then There Were None [1974]

Country of Origin: France / Spain / West Germany / Italy / UK
Year of Production: 1974
Running Times: 92 mins     98 mins     105 mins
Format: Eastmancolor     35mm
Ratio:
Sound:

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: COMECI / Coralta Cinematografica / Corona Filmproduktion / Filibuster Films / Gloria Film / Les Films Corona / Talia Films
Producer: Peter Welbeck (real name: Harry Alan Towers)
Associate Producers: Harry Benn, Tibor Reves, Juan Estelrich (?)

SCRIPT
Script: Erich Kröhnke, Enrique Llovet, Peter Welbeck [rn: Harry Alan Towers]
Novel: Ten Little Niggers by Agatha Christie

DIRECTION
Director: Peter Collinson

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Fernando Arribas

EDITING
Editor: Gabrielle Reinecke, John Trumper
Assistant Editor: Mike Crowley
Post Production Supervisor: Nicholas Wentworth

MUSIC
Music: Bruno Nicolai, Carlo Rustichelli

SOUND
Sound Mixer: Ivan Sharrock
Sound Assistant: Peter Offer
Sound Editor: Mike le Mare
Re-Recordist: Trevor Pyke
Post Production: Twickenham Film Studios, EMI Sound Division, London

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: José María Tapiador

MISCELLANEOUS
Continuity: Sue Merry
Production Accountant: Charles Athey

LOCATIONS
Locations: Iran; Spain

CAST
Oliver Reed [Hugh Lombard]
Elke Sommer [Vera Clyde]
Richard Attenborough [Judge Arthur Cannon]
Stéphane Audran [Ilona Morgan]
Gert Fröbe [Wilhelm Blore]
Herbert Lom [Dr Edward Armstrong]
Maria Rohm [Elsa Martino]
Adolfo Celi [General Andre Salve]
Alberto de Mendoza [Otto Martino]
Charles Aznavour [Michel Raven]
Orson Welles [voice in tape recording]
Teresa Gimpera
Rik Battaglia
Nasser Malek Moti-i
Sepedeh

The mysterious Mr Owen invites eight strangers to his luxury hotel at Isfahan in Iran who are told by a mysterious voice on a tape recording that they are all unpunished murderers and that all will die by dawn. Before long they start dying one by one and paranoia among the survivors is rife. Can they catch the killer before he / she gets them all?

A crushingly inept adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel that had already been done so much better in 1945 by Rene Clair. This infuriating and remake pointlessly moves the action to Iran [presumably so that director Peter Collinson can pad out the proceedings with endless shots of the local scenery]. Four production houses and a galaxy of European stars could do nothing to prevent this ill-advised venture from becoming a crashing bore. Collinson's inept direction bludgeons what little life is left from Christie's creaking whodunit and the cast all look as though they're about to bolt at any second. Appalling rubbish with nothing whatsoever to redeem it.

Spain
Theatrical Distributor: Productora Cinematográfica del Norte S.A.

USA
Theatrical Distributor: AVCO Embassy Pictures

Finland
Rating: K-16

Germany
Rating: 16 [w]

Sweden
Rating: 15

USA
Rating: PG

1974
September
24: West Germany - theatrical release

1975
January
27: Spain - theatrical release [Madrid]

March
10: Sweden - theatrical release

November
7: Finland - theatrical release

December
Day Unknown: UK theatrical release

1982
May
23: UK - television broadcast [on BBC1]

1984
July
4: UK - television broadcast [on BBC1]

1994
November
Day Unknown: UK - television broadcast [on Bravo]

1998
September
6: UK - television broadcast [on BBC1]

2001
December
8: UK - television broadcast [on BBC2]

...e poi non ne rimase nessuno - Italian title
Diez negritos - Spanish title
Dix petits nègres - French title
Ten Little Indians - US title
Ein Unbekannter rechnet ab - German title
Zehn kleine Negerlein - German title

SEE ALSO
And Then There Were None [1945]
Ten Little Indians [1966]
Desyat negrityat [1987]
Ten Little Indians [1989]

MAGAZINES

Radio Times 2-8 June 1984 p.16 [UK]
review

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

book into film, paranoia, serial killers

Last Updated: 6 March, 2007