Who did you think it was?
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nancy-161 — 16 years ago(September 06, 2009 02:13 PM)
I thought it was emily Brent because she kept saying how un-guilty she was. Then when she died I tried to think of some really insane plot twist, like there being a secret room in the house where the murderer lived, or like perhaps they were all in a suicide club together I try to over think things and be clever
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pmiano100 — 16 years ago(September 14, 2009 05:20 PM)
I knew it was the judge all along, but I cheated. I read the story first. The ending is really brutal. They had to change it to make it more palatable to movie audiences. Every remake has had the same "happy" ending. In the story, Emily was a nanny who deliberately let a little boy drown in the hope that her lover, the child's uncle, who would inherit his money, would marry her. But the uncle realized what he'd done and kicked her out, unable to prove it. In the end, she killed the "hero," who really had deserted the native bearers to die, and hanged herself.
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pmiano100 — 16 years ago(January 12, 2010 02:28 PM)
Right you are. Emily was the nasty old lady who was actually a bit more sympathetic than Vera in the book.
But here's a question for all of you. The original, as in the book, takes place on an island. The 1965 remake took place on top of a snowy mountain. The second remake in the middle of a desert. If they remake it, where should it take place? My vote is either for the original island or in the middle of a jungle. -
Altho73 — 16 years ago(January 13, 2010 05:04 AM)
The mystery for me is this -
Why on earth did all those people actually go there in the first place?????
A vague invitation from a Mr U N Owen to attend a function in a remote forsaken place would surely have put some people off whilst others would have simply ignored it???? -
Rontrigger — 16 years ago(January 13, 2010 03:14 PM)
I believe the third remake, in 1989, was set in an "African safari camp." As it seems to be universally regarded as a lousy film, I've not seen it, so I don't know if the safari camp was in a jungle or not.
I've not seen the 1975 remake set in the Iranian desert, either, but the 1966 version in the Alps has always been a pleasant way to kill time for me. (Love the "Whodunit Break.")
I think it may be time for another all-star period remake, set on the island as it was certainly meant to be.
"You can't have Ennis without Jack."Annie Proulx -
pmiano100 — 16 years ago(January 14, 2010 07:26 PM)
I have never heard of the 1989 version, but if it's that bad, who cares? The 1975 version with Oliver Reed is worth seeing and includes some other fine European actors. I agree the next remake should be on an island, with a better explanation of why they all come.
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LaDiDaaaa — 16 years ago(February 05, 2010 07:08 AM)
As far as I remember, in the book all characters seemed to have some plausible explanation as to why they accepted the invitation to the island in the first place.
Some, like Emily and the General, thought the invitation was from some sort of old acquaintance and were also short on money so they welcomed the prospect of free holidays, Vera, I think, had been hired as a secretary, Lombart or Blure had been given money to come as well,etc.
I guess also that back in the 30s people were less suspicious in general. -
QueenBeez — 11 years ago(October 03, 2014 01:26 PM)
A million years ago when I first saw this, I think I was 12, I thought it was either Blore or Dr. Armstrong. This is one of my favorite Agatha Christie movies {this version only}. Miss Brent would've been my first victim, she was very egotistical and unfeeling! {However, the actress Judith Anderson was so well in those kind of parts, her Miss Danvers was superb in
Rebecca
!!}
I own it on DVD and it has become one of my October Favorite movies to watch. Fun thread!
"Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night!"
~Bette Davis in
"All About Eve" -
Jimmy-128 — 11 years ago(October 06, 2014 01:44 PM)
Miss Brent would've been my first victim, she was very egotistical and unfeeling!
Which is why she's killed in the middle, not at the start. Mr. Owen kills the first three for specific reasons:
Marston / Starloff: Not really responsible. You don't get it from the movie, but in the book it's made clear that Marston doesn't actively choose to do wrong; he simply does and thinks about it afterwards, if at all.
Mrs. Rogers: Dominated by and pushed into the murder by her husband.
General: Almost, but not quite, justifiablethe "victim" was sleeping with his wife, after all.
The reason Miss Brent is killed before the final five is because, as a middle-aged spinster, she isn't being held to the same standard they are: two professional men (a judge and a doctor), and three working class people in positions of great responsibility (a then-police officer, a governess, and a leader of men). Their crimes are worse, so they get to suffer longer. -
justcallmepip — 10 years ago(November 12, 2015 06:53 AM)
Unfortunately for me, before watching the film i pushed the INFO button on the remote and the brief description said something like "an unknown host (Barry Fitzgerald) invites 10 sinners.". And since i recognized that name as the actor from Going My Way and The Quiet Man, i subsequently knew who the killer was once i started watching the movie.
Incidentally, that's the first time i can recall where INFO somewhat spoiled a movie for me. But even so i still enjoyed it.
I really didn't think i could come up with a good signature, but happily i thought of this one. -
romadiva — 10 years ago(December 11, 2015 07:46 AM)
I thought it was one of the following:
1)Emily Brent: I thought maybe she had taken a heavy sedative a la House on Haunted Hill 1999 and faked her 'death'. Some of her dialogue and actions were suspicious, such as liking being alone and going out to the beach. Felt implied she was religious, maybe her motivation could have been about venial sins. But I dismissed the notion because murder would be a mortal sin and if she was uber religious, didn't think she'd orchestrate the murders. Also, how and why would she have pulled info on random strangers. I really dismissed her at the end when Owen had a male silhouette. I just wanted the killer to be female, but creators wouldn't have been so imaginative or progressive back then.
2)William H. Blore: I mostly thought he was an idiot, but was hoping it was an act. It was not. Since he claims to have run a detective agency, I thought it would be easy to get info on everybody. Plus,I thought maybe he thought some people were guilty and should have been punished. Since the killer accused everyone of killing others, I felt Owen had a connection to law and order somehow.
3)Philip Lombard: He flat out said he was Owen. I thought it was pretty overt, the best way is to hide in plain sight sort of thing. He was also very charming. Couldn't figure out why or how he would have done it. Just had a weird feeling about him throughout the movie.
4)Vera: She was the least obvious which made her highly suspicious. Since she was one of the last too, I found it questionable. But there was no smoking gun, to elevate the suspicion beyond these minor points. Wasn't truly confident it wasn't her until the end when she is on the beach and Owen is in the house. I just really wanted her to live. She was hella cute. -
Jimmy-128 — 10 years ago(December 19, 2015 10:31 AM)
I just wanted the killer to be female, but creators wouldn't have been so imaginative or progressive back then.
Don't be so sure. Christie wrote at least 60 novels and short stories involving murder before she wrote And Then There Were None (there are a couple of short story collections I haven't read yet), and almost half of them involve female murderers.
