Ten Little Indians (1989 film)
Encyclopedia
Ten Little Indians is a 1989 mystery film, and the fifth screen adaptation (including the 1987 Russian version Desyat Negrityat
) of Agatha Christie
's famous novel
. It was the third version to be produced by Harry Alan Towers
, following his 1965
and 1974
adaptations. In the opening credits it is stated that the film is based on Christie's stage adaptation and makes no mention of her novel, perhaps because the film's climax is taken almost verbatim from the stage script. (Other western adaptations, while all still using an upbeat finale, have significantly toned down the action-packed climax Christie used in the play.)
Harry Alan Towers
commissioned the original script that used the novel's original ending (in which Lombard gets shot and Vera hangs herself) and setting the action on an island, however, both of these were changed at the last minute. This version also introduced a lesbian affair. Herbert Lom, who plays the General here, starred in the 1974 version as Dr. Armstrong. The film has been released on VHS
, but not yet on DVD
, for reasons unknown.
A group of 10 disparate people, strangers to each other, have all traveled to Africa believing they have won a fabulous vacation safari. Things turn ominous from the beginning, however. First their native guides abandon them, more natives cut a bridge line across a deep canyon (their only way in and out of camp), and their host is strangely absent. Then events go from being unsettling to deadly when the guests start dying one at a time, and those who remain realize that they are being slaughtered one by one — but who is responsible?
Desyat Negrityat
Desyat Negrityat is a 1987 Soviet film adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None . It was directed by Stanislav Govorukhin, who also penned the script...
) of Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's famous novel
And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939 under the title Ten Little Niggers which was changed by Dodd, Mead and Company in January 1940 because of the presence of a racial...
. It was the third version to be produced by Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers was a British-born radio and film producer and screenwriter, regularly using the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over a hundred feature films and continued to write and produce well into his eighties...
, following his 1965
Ten Little Indians (1965 film)
The 1965 version of Ten Little Indians is the second film version of Agatha Christie's detective novel And Then There Were None . Although its background story is the same as the 1945 version , this one takes place on an isolated snowy mountain...
and 1974
And Then There Were None (1974 film)
And Then There Were None is a 1974 film version of the Agatha Christie mystery novel of the same name. Two previous theatrical adaptations were released in 1945 and 1965, and a videotaped made-for-television version was broadcast in 1959...
adaptations. In the opening credits it is stated that the film is based on Christie's stage adaptation and makes no mention of her novel, perhaps because the film's climax is taken almost verbatim from the stage script. (Other western adaptations, while all still using an upbeat finale, have significantly toned down the action-packed climax Christie used in the play.)
Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers was a British-born radio and film producer and screenwriter, regularly using the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over a hundred feature films and continued to write and produce well into his eighties...
commissioned the original script that used the novel's original ending (in which Lombard gets shot and Vera hangs herself) and setting the action on an island, however, both of these were changed at the last minute. This version also introduced a lesbian affair. Herbert Lom, who plays the General here, starred in the 1974 version as Dr. Armstrong. The film has been released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
, but not yet on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, for reasons unknown.
Plot
The plot remains the same as in all previous adaptations. As he did in his other versions, producer Towers has yet again changed the locale of the action, this time to the African savanna.A group of 10 disparate people, strangers to each other, have all traveled to Africa believing they have won a fabulous vacation safari. Things turn ominous from the beginning, however. First their native guides abandon them, more natives cut a bridge line across a deep canyon (their only way in and out of camp), and their host is strangely absent. Then events go from being unsettling to deadly when the guests start dying one at a time, and those who remain realize that they are being slaughtered one by one — but who is responsible?
Cast
- Donald PleasenceDonald PleasenceSir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
— Justice Wargrave - Frank StalloneFrank StalloneFrank P. Stallone, Jr. is an American actor, singer/guitarist and Golden Globe and Grammy Award-nominated songwriter. He has appeared in many Hollywood films and television. He is the younger brother of Sylvester Stallone.-Early life:...
— Phillip Lombard - Sarah Maur Thorp — Vera Claythorne
- Brenda VaccaroBrenda VaccaroBrenda Buell Vaccaro is an American stage, television and film actress.-Early life:Vaccaro was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian American parents Christine M. and Mario A. Vaccaro , both of whom were pioneers in Italian cuisine...
— Marion Marshall - Herbert LomHerbert LomHerbert Lom is a Czech film actor, best known for his role as former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movie series.-Life and career:...
— General Romensky - Warren BerlingerWarren BerlingerWarren Berlinger is an American character actor, with both Broadway runs and over a thousand television appearances to his credit.-Personal life:...
— Henry Blore - Yehuda Efroni;— Dr. Werner
- Paul L. SmithPaul L. SmithPaul L. Smith is an American character actor. Burly, bearded, and imposing, he has appeared in films and occasionally on TV since the 1970s, generally playing "heavies" and bad guys...
— Elmo Rodgers - Moira ListerMoira ListerMoira Lister de Gachassin-Lafite, Vicomtesse d’Orthez was an Anglo-South African film, stage and television actress, and writer.-Early life:...
— Ethel Mae Rodgers - Neil McCarthy — Anthony Marston