And Then There Were None (1945)
A few weeks ago I wanted to see a very specific kind of movie, a movie where a group of people are in a house together and begin to die… ONE BY ONE.
If you type “Whodunit” into imdb and sort by rating this comes up pretty high up the list and for good reason. It is exactly what I wanted! Eight people are invited to a secluded island where there are two servants waiting for them at a mansion. They are addressed via gramophone that they are all responsible for the death of someone and that they will all die before the boat (that brought them there) returns for them in three days time.
And they do die. One by one. It is quite bleak even by todays standards.
Leave it to Agatha Christie to really swing for the fences when it comes to classic mystery storylines. This is about as classic as it comes, it has been ripped off, readapted and rehashed (by many including Mario Bava)… and for good reason. The story is tight as a drum and super entertaining today and while there are moments of humor and light-it remains a fairly grim tale.
In the public domain, so a quick googling will get to somewhere you can watch this fantastic film right now. http://www.archive.org/details/AndThenThereWereNone
I also watched Bavas version “Five Dolls For an August Moon” it is a lesser work, but a bonkers one with a fantastic soundtrack..
