Movie Review: Ten Little Indians (1965)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Good adaptation of the play

Cons: Not quite puzzling enough; DVD picture

The Bottom Line: 

Murder mystery

With a devilish puzzle

Good adaptation

Classic Mystery Turned into Early Slasher

Earlier this year, I realized that Agatha Christie's stand alone book published now as And Then There Were None was actually a precursor to the slasher films that became popular in the late 70's and 80's.  I haven't seen any movie versions of the story until now, when I watched the 1965 version that goes by a previous title, Ten Little Indians.

This version of the story takes place at a remote castle high up a snowy mountain.  8 strangers and a married pair of servants arrive and quickly compare notes to learn they have all been invited there by Mr. Owen.  That night, their unseen host's voice starts to come over a recording and accuses each of them of committing a previous murder.  And then, one by one, they begin to drop dead.  Is there someone else in the house, or is one of them the killer?  Will anyone survive?

Before I get into the movie itself, I want to spend a little more time explaining my premise comparing this to a slasher film.  Very true, any blood is kept to a minimum, and there really aren't any stalking scenes.  One or two give you a little suspense before the person dies, but that's all.  Those who hate horror films will still enjoy this since the emphasis is on the puzzle of who is killing these people.

However, we do see the killer's hands appear a few times and there are some killer point of view shots.  The power goes out for the final evening of the film, so everything is happening in candle light.  Some of the conventions of a slasher are in place here, while other are avoided.  (I'm being vague here not to spoil anything).  Heck, we see a woman in her underwear a couple of times, rather shocking for the 1960's.  Finally, there's a cat around to provide those classic misdirection sounds.  (I can't figure out why else a cat would be at this location.)

Am I stretching things?  Most likely.  But my mind couldn't help but make the comparisons as I was watching it.

Okay, now that we have that behind us, how does this work as a mystery movie?  First of all, this follows the ending of the play, not the ending of the book.  I have mixed emotions on both endings, so I'm not sure which I like better.  There are other changes, like character names and manners of death, but for the most part it works.

This is probably one of Christie's most devilish puzzles.  Now maybe it's because I know who the killer is, but I felt this one actually emphasized the clues a bit too much.  My roommate figured it out after watching about 10 minutes.  When I listened to the book on tape, I never would have figured it out without being told at the end.  Of course, the plot does have to cheat since it requires the killer to confess instead of anyone figuring it out, but that's a complaint I have with the story in general.

The movie was filmed in black and white, but I think it works well.  The scenes are still vibrant and it adds a mysterious and threatening air to the proceedings.

Aside from the women screaming and getting hysterical at various times, I found most of the acting to be believable.  Fabian is the biggest ham of the cast, but he isn't a big part of things, so it's easy to forgive the movie that.  Others in the cast include Hugh O'Brian, Shirley Eaton, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, and Dennis Price.

The DVD was released a few years back, and I've got to take a star off for it.  There is dust and grain almost the entire way through the film.  It's very noticeable.  The film is widescreen and it claims to be full surround, although I never noticed anything coming from my back speakers.  The only extra is the "Whodunit Minute."  Apparently, this was part of the film in the theaters where the movie paused right before the climax and asked you who you thought it was.  It then gave you "clues," when in reality, it just showed you all the murders to date again.  I'm glad it's not part of the film here since I thought it was rather stupid, but those who remember it and like it will be glad to have it, I'm sure.

Whether you know the story or not, this version of Ten Little Indians is certainly an enjoyable way to get acquainted with the basic concept.  It's too bad the DVD doesn't live up to the film's potential.