Ein unbekannter rechnet ab (1974)

Director:

Peter Collinson

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel) and
Erich Kröhnke (writer)

Release Date:

24 September 1974 (West Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Drama

Tagline:

The who's next whodunnit

Plot:

Agatha Christie tale of 10 people invited to an isolated place only to find that an unseen person is killing them one by one. One of them?

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Beautiful Woman | Murder Mystery | Paranoia | Based On Novel

Cast

Charles Aznavour	...	Michel Raven
Maria Rohm	...	Elsa Martino
Adolfo Celi	...	Gen. André Salvé
Stéphane Audran	...	Ilona Morgan
Alberto de Mendoza	...	Otto Martino
Richard Attenborough	...	Judge Arthur Cannon
Gert Fröbe	...	Wilhelm Blore
Herbert Lom	...	Dr. Edward Armstrong
Elke Sommer	...	Vera Clyde
Oliver Reed	...	Hugh Lombard
Orson Welles	...	Voice of Tape (voice)
Teresa Gimpera	...	Maria
Rik Battaglia
Nasser Malekmotei	...	Inspector (as Nasser Malek Moti-i)
Sepedeh

Also Known As:

...e poi non ne rimase nessuno (Italy)
And Then There Were None (UK)
Diez negritos (Spain)
Dix petits nègres (France)
Ten Little Indians (USA)
Zehn kleine Negerlein (West Germany) (TV title)

Runtime:

Germany:92 min | Spain:105 min | USA:98 min | Belgium:95 min (video version) | Italy:95 min (home cinema version)

Country:

France | Spain | West Germany | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16 (w) | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Shah Abbas Hotel, Isfahan, Iran

Company:

Corona Filmproduktion

Trivia:

Despite a few small changes made to fit the different cast, the dialogue for this film is word for word identical to the 1965 version.

Goofs:

Continuity: The distance between Martino, Lombard, and Vera Clyde when Martino follows after his wife, and when Lombard and Vera follow after her.

Quotes:

Vera Clyde: You are a bastard, aren't you?
Hugh Lombard: Yes. But I'm not a killer.

Movie Connections:

Version of Ten Little Indians (1989)

Odd update of Christie's classic

This pretty mediocre remake has a very strange feel to it. The main reason for this is the setting. Filming was done in a very plush Iranian hotel and the film was set in the present day rather than the 1930's. The result is a rather kitsch 1970's thriller and it would be interesting to see what Agatha Christie thought of it. The story needs very few actors to perform in the film which explains the reason why the producers were able to afford such an impressive cast list on an obviously tight budget. Interestingly, Charles Aznavour makes an appearance and unnecessarily plugs his (then) new single during the after-dinner scene. Thankfully, we are spared from any more of his singing because he dies shortly afterwards. On a passing note, one of the most amusing death scenes in cinema history is provided by Richard Attenborough who plays the judge.