Ten Little Indians (1965)

Ten people are invited to a luxury mountaintop mansion, only to find that an unseen person is killing them one by one. Could one of them be the killer?

Director:

George Pollock

Writers:

Peter Yeldham (screenplay), Harry Alan Towers (screenplay) (as Peter Welbeck)

Stars:

Hugh O'Brian, Shirley Eaton, Fabian

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Hugh O'Brian	...	Hugh Lombard
Shirley Eaton	...	Ann Clyde
Fabian	...	Mike Raven
Leo Genn	...	General Mandrake
Stanley Holloway	...	William Blore
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Judge Cannon (as Wilfrid Hyde White)
Daliah Lavi	...	Ilona Bergen
Dennis Price	...	Dr. Armstrong
Marianne Hoppe	...	Frau Grohmann
Mario Adorf	...	Herr Grohmann
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bill Mitchell	...	Narrator (voice)

Storyline

Up to a house high on a mountain top have been invited ten people who are strangers to each other. When they are all gathered, they hear from their host that each one of them has in someway caused the death of an innocent person and that justice had not be served in their cases. There are eight guests and two servants there for the weekend, but one by one, they are being knocked off according to the poem of "Ten Little Indians". As the number of survivors decreases, they begin to believe that the killer is one of the group, but are unable to decide on which one he or she may be.

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Plot Keywords:

indian | house | guest | death | judge | 

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Taglines:

10 Trapped in a House of Terror!

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 May 1966 (France)

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians

Filming Locations:

Kenure House Rush Co, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tenlit Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The mysterious voice that accuses the invited guests of their specific crimes is an uncredited Sir Christopher Lee.

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Goofs

when Shirley Eaton dresses for dinner her underwear is white (as noted in another goof). She then puts on a dress before opening the door for Hugh O'Brien. Later in the movie, when she is locked in her room, she is seen undressing and wearing black underwear. This is not a goof or continuity error. This is the next day and she has obviously changed clothes. She is no longer wearing a dress, but a skirt and sweater.

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Quotes

Mike Raven: [At the dinner table] Now how does that old song go?
General Mandrake: My dear sir, what old song?
Mike Raven: Well, you know sir, uh, the old nursery rhyme "The ten little Indians. There's a copy of the rhyme hanging on the wall in my room upstairs.
Hugh Lombard: That's funny. There's a copy in my room, too.
Ann Clyde: And mine.
Mike Raven: Well then, who's with it? Who's got the first line?
Ann Clyde: Ten little Indians went out to dine, / One choked his little self, and then there were nine.
Mike Raven: That's it. Strictly nurseryville. Then what happened?
Ilona Bergen: Nine little Indians, ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The film was originally released with a "Whodunit Break" gimmick. Right before Ann is seen firing the gun at Hugh, the action pauses and an off screen voice tells the audience that the film will pause for one minute to give them a chance to solve the crime. The previous murders are shown under a large clock ticking the minute away. After the narrator tells the audience they can figure the mystery out if they have "paid close attention" he finishes by intoning "DO NOT BE SURPRISED BY WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE!" At that point the action resumes. Some video and TV prints do not contain this fun "murder minute", but others (including the version shown on TV in the UK) still do.

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Connections

Version of And Then There Were None (2015)

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Soundtracks

Ten Little Indians
Adaption of traditional nursery rhyme
Performed by Fabian

User Reviews

Decent Remake

The first remake of the 1945 classic "And Then There Were None" is a fairly decent effort. While all of the wonderfully sly wit is gone this time, and the locale has been shifted from an island to a mountain resort (resulting in some characters having different nationalities this time) the results are still quite credible. The cast is good, with golden girl Shirley Eaton of "Goldfinger" fame looking quite lovely as the female lead. It's also amusing to see "My Fair Lady" almuni Stanley Holloway and Wilfrid Hyde-White together again in a completely different kind of film and setting. Just like the original, the identity of the killer (and I won't say who!) comes as a surprise because the performer gives a brilliant performance that makes it hard to link that performer with the one who committs all the murders beforehand. All subsequent remakes of this story have been awful. The original is still the best, but this one is okay to look at.