Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

moonspinner55 Third film version of Agatha Christie's mystery whodunit (following 1945's "And Then There Were None" and 1965's "Ten Little Indians") has a seemingly disparate group of people flown out to an ornate but empty hotel in the Iranian desert by an unknown benefactor. Once settled in, the group learns they do have something in common: at one time in their lives, each was responsible for the death of another person--and none of them paid the price for their crimes. Not badly made or cast, just deadly dull; even the curious new location isn't used to any advantage. Peter Collinson directs without invention or energy. Script by Erich Kröhnke, Enrique Llovet and Peter Welbeck (a pseudonym for Harry Alan Towers, who also produced) is awfully similar to the screenplay for the 1965 version, coincidentally also co-written and produced by Towers. NO STARS from ****

Richard Bailey I find it hard to understand why there is such a universal dislike for this film. It's not a version I've paid a huge deal of interest to, but after recently rewatching it I found myself really enjoying it. The 40's version was very good, the 60's version a fairly flat copy of it, but this one was more then a little different. I have to say there are some fine actors in this film, Reed, Attenborough and Lom. I think it's the very suave Oliver Reed that steals it, he's so British and stiff upper lipped. Some may see Elke Sommer as a little dodgy in parts, but I like her, I think she's good. The previous versions had a touch of humour, there is literally no humour here it's quite a dark version. The Iranian setting is a clever one the filming is excellent, the colours look so bright and vivid, especially those inside the hotel. I also really like the music. Some time ago I saw an extended version of this film which featured an alternative beginning, I wonder whatever happened to that. Only real criticisms I have are, firstly I wish they'd been brave enough to stick to the original ending from the book, and secondly some of the dialogue is a little questionable from all members. All in all though it's a very good adaptation, superior to the 60's remake and the awful Safari version, but to me The Rene Clair production from 1945 will always be the best.

Coventry Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" is one story that always struck me as intriguing but hopelessly implausible and grotesque. Just think about it: if YOU were to receive an invitation from a complete stranger, requesting you to come to an unknown location (in this case in a hotel in the middle of the godforsaken Iranian desert, of all places) and spend a vacation with nine other people you've never seen or heard about before in your life … would YOU go? I certainly wouldn't… But hey, that's just the story and already proved itself to be hugely successful since it was first published in 1939. "And then there were none" could have been a great black comedy thriller, especially if you take a look at the talented director and the literally amazing cast, but somehow they messed up badly here. The atmosphere of mystery completely falls flat and, for a movie that constantly features murders and accusations, there's very little excitement to be found. The ensemble cast of wonderful actors and actresses (including Oliver Reed, Herbert Lom and Gert Fröbe) manifests very few interests in the concept and the production in general, illustrated through some of the most unsavory performances ever seen. It literally hurts to see great names like this give away such lousy and lifeless performances. A wide variety of people, ten in total and all from different backgrounds, assembles in a luxurious but abandoned Iranian hotel after they all received an invitation from a mysterious individual named U.N. Owen (read = unknown). After diner and the inevitable chant of supportive French star Charles Aznavour, they are forced to listen to a tape (apparently voiced by Orson Welles, but I wouldn't know as I saw a German dubbed version) which accuses each and every one of them of having committed murder(s) in the past. Immediately after they start dying one by one, exactly like in the nursery rhyme of "Ten little … um … colored people". As stated before, the plot is already quite preposterous, so it definitely doesn't help to bring the whole formula in the most unconvincing fashion imaginably. People are dying left and right, yet none of the remaining survivors seems to be very nervous or in a hurry to out of there. Heck, even when half of the guest list is already dead, the remaining ones still carelessly smoke cigars in the lounge, play games of pool or even engage in romantic liaisons with each other! The killings are dull, commonplace and a vast number of them even occur off-screen; God forbid! The twist in the end is reasonably unpredictable, I guess, but nonetheless another very abrupt and random event in an overall uninteresting movie. Apparently this is the only film ever shot in the Iranian deserts, but I hardly consider that a motivation to watch it.

Jonathon Dabell Director Peter Collinson was on the receiving end of frequent critical maulings for his films. Many of these maulings were quite undeserved, but his version of the famous Agatha Christie story And Then There Were None is an absolute stinker, and totally warrants the scathing reviews that have been written about it. It is the third cinematic stab at the story and easily the weakest of the lot, a flatly directed mess in which fine actors give uncharacteristically poor performances. On those rare occasions that a moment of tension does threaten to burst through, it is ruined either by Collinson's heavy-handed touches of gimmickry or the woefully unsuitable music (scored by Bruno Nicolai).Ten complete strangers are summoned to an isolated hotel in the middle of the Persian desert. They do not know each other at all, and they do not know their host. It gradually becomes apparent that each person has been lured to the hotel because they have a dark secret in their past. Someone has threatened to expose their dirty laundry unless they put in an appearance at the hotel. The number includes Hugh Lombard (Oliver Reed), Judge Cannon (Richard Attenborough), Wilhelm Blore (Gert Frobe), Vera Clyde (Elke Sommer) and Dr Armstrong (Herbert Lom), among others. Upon their arrival, an eerie tape recorded voice (supplied by Orson Welles) greets them to what is, in effect, a remote prison. Too late they realise they have been assembled as part of a cunning revenge plot as, one by one, the guests are murdered by an unknown killer. Trapped hundreds of miles from civilisation at the mercy of an unseen assailant, the survivors must figure out why they are being slain, how to escape, and which member of their number is responsible….The 1945 version of the story, directed by Rene Clair, is by far the best, with its creepy atmosphere and effective island locale. The 1966 remake from George Pollock relocates events to the Austrian Alps and, while competently made, is little more than passable. This 1974 addition again switches the locale (the decision to use a grand hotel in the middle of the Persian desert is pointless) but it is considerably poorer than the earlier versions in every department. On paper, the cast looks like the strongest ever assembled for this particular story but they fail unanimously to enliven their underwritten roles. The pacing is leaden; the supposedly tense predicament of the characters never engrosses; the general air throughout is one of indifference. There is a strong case to argue that this might be the worst ever adaptation of any Agatha Christie novel.On a note of trivia, a fourth version emerged in 1989, with a jungle setting – it is a pretty bad film, but not as bad as this one.