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Ten Little Indians (1965)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
6/06, 1/08, 11/20
6/06:
Originally titled Ten Little Niggers for the 1939 paperback version, the 1965 film remake Ten Little Indians
is a superb murder mystery thriller.
Lovely is the black-and-white photography. As soon as Fabian starts choking, the roller-coaster ride takes off.
It's all nuts from there on with dumb characters failing to follow one simple cardinal rule: always stay together, no matter what.
If two leave the group with either coming back alone, then s/he is the killer; otherwise, both are not.
The feel, the suspense, the mystery, the atmosphere, the setting, and the cast are perfect. I like the ending because
it's how such a movie should go out. While I haven't yet seen
And Then There Were None, I'll give
it a high rating for the time being, and if I happen to be bowled over by the other picture, it still won't diminish my perspective.
Having liked Murder on the Orient Express because of the super all-star cast,
I found it to be a preposterous
picture because of the impossibility of solving the murder. On the other hand, Ten Little Indians makes it
easy to figure out who the murderer might be.
All in all, despite the cast of nobodies, Ten Little Indians is a highly underrated whodunnit murder mystery picture.
1/08:
I'm dropping my rating of '8' to '6' for Ten Little Indians.
The primary reason is poor acting. Also, the novelty is worn out. As much as I like mystery stories that include haunted
houses under a bewildering set of circumstances, Ten Little Indians is tired and clichéd with the feel of having
been-there, done-that.
I don't like any of the characters and think they're stupid. A couple are annoying as well: Mike Raven and Ilona
Bergen; but thankfully, they die early. It can be soap operatic at times. However, the ending is still a kick-ass.
All in all, perhaps I'm being harsh on Ten Little Indians, so I'll see it again later.
11/20:
Changing back my previous rating to '8', Ten Little Indians is a fun murder mystery picture, and I love the
black-and-white photography.
Yeah, sure...the film claims to have an all-star treatment when, in fact, it's full of nobodies. Who can remember Fabian the
fraudulent pop musician with no real singing voice? Or Shirley Eaton the former Bond girl who retired from acting in 1969?
Or Hugh O'Brian, the founder of the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Foundation? No matter what, they're all perfectly cast.
Having seen Ten Little Indians plenty of times, it still feels new with an unpredictable ending, and I sometimes
forget who died when in what manner. Yet the true culprit is easy to figure out because of early detection in his smoothness.
Funnily, Mr. U.N. Owen is a word play for "Mister Unknown," but the voice behind the recording is none other than Christopher Lee.
All in all, I will gladly take Ten Little Indians over Clue any time of the day.