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• Great Version of Story

  • Scott Palmer
  • 7/1/12

  This version of the famous Agatha Christie story is packed with suspense, and follows that novel closely. The actors selected were just right in age for the book's characters (with the exception that elderly Miss Brent has been replaced by a 25-year-old film actress character). Excellent performances are given by veterans Wilfrid Hyde-White, Dennis Price, Leo Genn and Stanley Holloway, and the location filming in Ireland is another asset to the film. The ski lift shots were filmed in Austria at the same locations used in The Double Man, Assignment K, and Where Eagles Dare. The editing and cinematography by Peter Boita and Ernie Steward are crisp. Interiors were shot at Kenure House near Dublin, and provide just the right atmosphere of mystery and creepiness. Unlike previous versions of the film (notably in 1945), the ending has TWO surprises. If you are going to see one of the versions of this story, this is the one to start with. Note: Listen closely to the voice of "Mr. Owen" on the tape recording-it's none other than the great Christopher Lee.

• Billing gives away the ending

  • Jarrod McDonald
  • 11/7/10

  I think the actors should've been billed alphabetically. You can tell that whomever is listed first would be the star, have the most screen time and not be killed off till the end and would likely be the murderer. You also know that it's a sexist plot and that one little Indian boy, means the final person is male, not female. And you know that Agatha Christie would not have the domestic servants be the killers. It's also implausible that when a person starts talking about his or her past, they are the next to be offed. This really is a predictable film. But the on-location cinematography is great; the interior of the house is very mood-inducing; and the story itself lends to action. Still, I think it could've been done in a way that made more sense to viewers, made the characters seem less dumb and made the drama unfolding between the players more riveting.

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