"10 Little Indians," the second cinematic version of Agatha Christie's timeless murder mystery "And Then There Were None," alters the setting from the 1933 film, but preserves its premise in that everything in this version occurs atop a mountain with no way of escape. Just as in Rene Clair's original version, ten people are invited to spend a weekend in the Austria Alps rather than on an island. After each of them inspects their separate but respective rooms, they observe that framed copies of "Ten Little Indians," the children's nursery rhyme, have been hung up on the walls of each bedroom. No sooner have they sat down to dine than a reel-to-reel recording plays and informs them that they all have murderous backgrounds. The enigmatic fellow who invited them has the odd name U.N. Owen, but he never shows up for the cat and mouse shenanigans that ensue. Indeed, there is a beautiful, short-haired cat cruising through the house. Interestingly enough, an uncredited Christopher Lee provided the voice for that recording. The murders commence with a chart-topping pop singer (Fabian of "Fireball 500") gulping cyanide and dying. Inevitably or predictably, depending on your knowledge of the source material, characters expire by one of the ten or nine or eight, etc. British director George Pollock, who helmed the four Margaret Rutherford mysteries "Murder Ahoy," "Murder Most Foul," "Murder at the Gallop," and "Murder She Said," keeps things deliberately murky. Occasionally, we see the murderer's gloved hand stabbing a victim or shooting another. The actual deaths are not depicted, with the exception of Hugh Lombard (Hugh O'Brien of "The Brass Legend") getting plugged at point blank range by Ann Clyde (lovely Shirley Eaton of "Goldfinger") out in the snow after they find two more guests sprawled dead in the snow. This isn't the most exciting murder mystery, but Pollock spices it up with a knock-down, drag-out fistfight between the barrel-chested butler Herr Grohmann (Mario Adorf of "Caliber 9") and O'Brien. Shirley Eaton looks very fetching and shows off skin but nothing private. At one point, before she shoots him, Ann and Hugh have a roll in the hay. As far as I can tell, Pollock opened up the action so the murders could be seen, unlike the Clair version. Although Peter Yeldham of "The Liquidator" and Harry Alan Towers who went on to script the 1974 version of "Indians" using the pen name Peter Wellbeck shell out the clues piecemeal, you must figure that the more attractive of the cast will come out standing on their own two feet. Well, maybe . . . The setting is splendid and reminded me of the World War II epic "Where Eagles Dare."

Just caught this film on TLC. Oh my goodness, what a honker. Let's mention the good stuff first, however, namely a handful of English actors, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Stanley Holloway, Dennis Price and the lovely Shirley Eaton. They are fun. Watching Hugh O'Brian struggle to convey emotion -- any emotion -- is painful. the rest of the cast is almost as bad, either overacting or sounding stilted. Worse is the musical soundtrack, which sounds as if written for a comedy; it is hilariously inappropriate for the action on screen, tripping along merrily while characters are getting bumped off. There are plenty of goofs, including Shirley Eaton;s surprising change of underwear (which other reviewers have noted) and the quirky shifting from daylight to night in the plot. The earlier film version of Agatha Christie's book, "And Then Were None," is much better. Can't think of any reason to re-watch this, unless the appeal of Miss Eaton is just too hard to resist.

This classic story has been retold many times which is hardly surprising as it is a great murder mystery story. In this version a group are invited to a house high in the Alps by a Mr. U. N. Owen; none of them know him but in each case the reason for the invitation is plausible for either personal or professional reasons. There are seven 'guests', Mr. Owen's secretary Ann Clyde and two house keepers. The ten introduce themselves and await Mr. Owen's arrival at dinner; he is not there but he has left a message explaining why he gathered them together. He believes they are all responsible for the death of another person and he intends to punish them. At first it is just a bit creepy but when one of the group dies it gets far more sinister. As the story progresses more die; each according to the nursery rhyme 'Ten Little Indians'. At first it is assumed there must be an eleventh person in the house but soon another possibility arises; one of the ten could be the killer; this immediately causes the tension to rise further as they grow suspicious of everything anybody does.This is an entertaining version of the story; I can't say how it compares with others as it is so long since I've seen them and I've not read the book. The isolated alpine location is plausible way of ensuring the guests don't just leave and the fact that we are told that each of them has caused a death before makes them all plausible killers. The cast, which does a decent job, surprisingly features no big name actors; although Shirley Eaton may have been in the public eye at the time as this was made a year after her iconic appearance in 'Goldfinger' and Wilfred Hyde White is one of those actors who has 'been in a lot'. It is unlikely that first time viewers will guess who did it; in fact the creators are so convinced of this that there is a one minute recap before the final reveal where we are challenged to guess who did it! For the most part the film has a theatrical feel although two of the deaths, which I won't describe, are definitely cinematic. Overall this is worth watching especially if you've yet to see any version of the story.

The 1965 film version of "Ten Little Indians" is incredibly entertaining. Despite not sticking to Agatha Christie's original novel, it is a product of its time: the characters, style, setting, script, and general feel of the whole movie is very 1960s. Like the 1945 film, it takes a more light-hearted approach to the story, which despite stretching the credibility of the story, makes for highly entertaining watching.The moving of the action from Indian Island to a beautiful mansion in the Swiss Alps is not such a silly idea as some people make it out to be; the Alps are incredibly attractive and appealing, and the characters actually fit into the setting. The casting is strong, and there is a good blend of youth and experience. Hugh O'Brian's Lombard is dashing but can appear aggressive, and he gives the impression of being a 'special guest star'. Shirley Eaton plays Ann Clyde with poise and level-headedness, but in this respect she is playing a very different character to the one Christie created! Fabian is very funny as Mike Raven, a spoilt, arrogant playboy. British screen veterans Leo Genn, Stanley Holloway, Dennis Price, and Wilfrid Hyde-White give the film a very British feel, however, Genn and Holloway seem a little restricted in their characters. Price is believable as an arrogant surgeon who believes himself to be cleverer than anyone else there. Hyde-White shines as Judge Cannon, with a retiring 'old and wise one' characteristic. Daliah Lavi overacts a bit as Ilona Bergen, the film's biggest step away from its source material, but she is very beautiful and well cast as a femme fatale movie star. As the servant couple, Mario Adorf and Marianne Hoppe are quite humorous in their stereotypical husband-and-wife arguments in the kitchen.To fit the attitude of the 60s, quite a few changes were made: the omission of sinister old woman Miss Emily Brent and the replacement of her with glamorous Ilona Bergen; and the alterations to some of the murders, including a cable car calamity, a rather spooky stabbing scene, and someone being pushed down the mountainside. The chemistry between the actors is fantastic - Dennis Price and Wilfrid Hyde-White work well together as the judge and the doctor, as do Leo Genn and Daliah Lavi, two characters who have an unexplained history together. However, the strongest pairing is that of Hugh O'Brian and Shirley Eaton, who seem perfectly matched and it is simple to imagine them running off and getting married once the story finishes.Overall, this film is very different to Christie's original novel, but it is entertaining and intriguing as a film in its own right. It certainly betters the subsequent 1974 and 1989 films.