"And Then There Were None" by René Clair (1945)

Ah, vacation and finally time to go back to what I always loved, my collection of old black & white classics. "Ten Little Indians" was the very first Agatha Christie novel that I ever read (during one sleepless night during my adolescence, I was already insomniac back than), except that my copy was titled differently, but never mind, it kept me awake until the dawn and started lifelong love for anything written by Christie.

The novel is quite ingenious classic now, with typical drawing room hodgepodge of characters who find them invited to a house on very isolated island and than they started dropping dead left and right just as in a nursery rhyme that gave title to the novel. Just like many other Christie novels, it invites a perfect large cast screen adaptation, so I expected that this 1945. version filmed by French René Clair would be right up my alley, because I love Christie and I love old black & white movies.

Wrong! And how! There are still some starry-eyed viewers who love this version because it has the right old patina, but in fact it clashes with almost everything the novel was about. My main objection is the way Clair turns this quite sinister story into a light comedy, when there is absolutely no need for it - most of the characters are clowning around and it puts a movie into completely another place, where original novel was deeply engaging thriller. Apparently this version was based not so much on the novel, as much on stage play version, so even the end was changed, which completely changes everything, I actually passionately disliked what became of my favourite Christie novel and even the presence of wonderful Judith Anderson (Mrs. Danvers in "Rebecca") didn't help - she was largely underused anyway. Since characters were either making faces, stumbling around drunkenly or yelling at each other, I didn't care for any of them and really wanted them dead so the film will finish sooner. There was also a uninvited and largely routine gimmick of suggested love affair between Louis Hayward and June Duprez that has nothing to do with novel, I simply think this was waste of time and effort, because I hate to see great novel getting such irreverent treatment. I detest this movie as much as I loved Clair's "I Married a Witch" and he should just stick to macabre comedies. It almost puts me off watching old black & white movies.