And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None (released in the US as Ten Little Indians) is a 1974 mystery film and an adaptation of Agatha Christie's best-selling 1939 mystery novel of the same name. The film was directed by Peter Collinson and produced by Harry Alan Towers. This was the second of three versions of Christie's novel to be adapted to the screen by producer Harry Alan Towers. Two film adaptations were previously released (a 1945 version by René Clair and the 1965 adaptation Ten Little Indians). An American made-for-television version was broadcast in 1959. Towers produced a third version in 1989. Plot A group of ten people, strangers to one another, arrive at a hotel deep in the Iranian desert, located adjacent to the ruins of Persepolis, 200 miles from civilization. The guests quickly discover that their host is mysteriously absent. At dinner, they notice a display of figurines: the Ten Little Indians, as represented in the doggerel in each of their suites. They are accused via a tape recording by the host, U.N. Owen ("unknown"), someone none of them has ever met, of having escaped justice for committing murders or causing the deaths of others. One by one, the guests start to die. The first is singer Michel Raven, whose drink is poisoned. During the night, the housekeeper/cook, Elsa Martino, makes a mad dash to escape through the ruins, only to be strangled against a pillar, an ancient Persian method of execution, as noted by Hugh Lombard. A search of the hotel is initiated by General Salve, who splits everyone into pairs. Not long after everyone separates, Salve is stabbed to death in the hotel's catacombs. Their search reveals there is no one in the hotel except the seven of them, and that the killer must be one of them. The next morning, Elsa's husband, the butler Martino, attempts to escape into the desert and dies of heat exhaustion, his survival kit having been sabotaged. Ilona reveals her tragic past to the others, exposing the cause of her husband's suicide. Later she is found dead, bitten by a venomous snake. The power and lights in the hotel suddenly go out, leaving the five remaining guests in the dark. Judge Cannon convinces them to reveal the nature of the crimes of which they stand accused. Before Vera can offer her explanation, she leaves the others to get her coat. She screams, and the others run to find her. In the confusion, Judge Cannon is found dead in his bedroom, shot in the head.