And Then There Were None (1945)- Movie Review
I watched the U.S. version the other night with my daughter since we just finished reading the book by Agatha Christie with the same title.
In case you are not aware- the gist is that 10 people are enticed to a private island for various reasons where they begin to get killed in accordance with a poem. It is concluded that the killer is disguised as an invited guest. It’s a who’s next, who’s the killer, will anyone make it off the island alive, kind of book and movie. The movie “Clue” with Tim Curry, is similar but not- if that help you get an idea.
What I didn’t like about the movie:
It wasn’t true to the book. Some say that the movie was not based on the book but on a play. But nevertheless, I know more often than not, a movie never stays completely true to the written version, but, what purpose was there to change two or three main character names but not the others? A main theme of the book and movie was that the guests get killed off in the same manner as the rhyme, but yet at one point in the movie it deviates from that main point.
It had a sappy, Hollywood ending. The book was written without romance and a dark ending, so why was it necessary to end the movie with characters kissing and living happily ever after? The book had a much darker ending and that would have been a big plus if the movie had followed suit.
What I liked about the movie:
The actors did a fantastic job. They delivered their humorous lines well and had great facial expression. As a small criticism, some of the actors had heavy accents and at times were hard to understand and one in particular, the judge, was almost shrill to the point of being annoying
I liked the simplicity of the movie which is due to the time period that it was made. There was no gore or cursing or nudity or sex and also no crude humor. The movie actually only showed two bodies without the face being shown or any wounds exposed.
There was no political correctness. At one point one of the characters told another that he was too dumb to be the killer and it wasn’t said to be humorous, but just a fact in which the others agreed.
It was in black and white.
All in all, I liked the movie ok. I could think of worst ways to spend 1.5 hours. And speaking of that, it did not seem like that long of a movie.
Pondering Psyche 