And Then There Were None (The 40's Version)

And Then There Were None (1945)

Runtime: 97 minutes

Directed by: Rene Clair

Starring: Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Louis Hayward, Roland Young, June Duprez

From: 20^th Century Fox

Would people be more horrorstruck that I haven’t read the original Agatha Christie novel (which has a rather unfortunate original title that will be explained at the end of the review), haven’t seen any film adaptation of the story, or that this is my first Rene Clair movie? The future will hold Clair’s films in his native France; this was selected due to my desire to view a mystery picture, it was public domain-I found a 4K version-and the time where I start watching plenty of horror movies until Halloween is starting real soon—who knows how many films from the 30’s and 40’s will be tackled between now and then.

Even I knew-from cultural osmosis-the plot outline: ten strangers are invited to a mansion on a remote island, the host is not present but a phonograph record is played where the host proclaims murder accusations against each guest, then each guest is murdered. I don’t know if the other adaptations or even the original story had a light, humorous tune throughout-some reviewers weren’t a fan of this tone which is understandable but I was amused by this tale, the bickering, the lack of trust, the spying, etc.

The stormy island setting was an appropriate one, the cast sometimes delivering bold performances but IMO playing it broad seemed fitting for the tone, and it was a cast I enjoyed, famous to me and not as famous. From others I understand that Clair’s other films could be more unconventional--however, None was nicely-filmed as something more orthodox. The opening contains not a word of dialogue for several minutes yet the behavior of the characters interacting w/ each other on a boat ride to the island told a visual story. ATTWN was a delightful mystery that was well-made.

I was happy to finally see a version of a popular fictional story; other adaptations may eventually be tackled. That’s whether it be titled And Then There Were None or Ten Little Indians, which is a nursery rhyme sung in the film and it played a key role. What is uncomfortable to mention yet true: there was a related song sung in minstrel shows, using the most offensive word out there. As that word always had different meaning in terms of its offensiveness in the UK, that’s why Christie’s original title for the novel was one I’m unable to say uncensored. What a surprise people will have if they read the book’s Wiki page and see the title!