And Then There Were None

Popular and prolific author Agatha Christie is remembered for her signature creations, detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, but her bestselling 1939 novel And Then There Were None is a mystery without a detective. Ten people, mostly strangers to one another, are invited for a weekend gathering at a manor home on an isolated island and are systematically murdered one by one, some quite gruesomely, in a manner suggested by the child's nursery rhyme "Ten Little Indians." Christie penned a stage version with a more hopeful ending, which was appropriated for almost every screen adaptation since. This 2015 TV British TV miniseries makes some minor changes to the crimes (and re-titles the rhyme "Ten Little Soldiers," which is much better than the British rhyme “Ten Little Niggers,” which was also the original title of Christie's novel), but is the first English language adaptation to preserve the grim ending of the book. This evenly paced production slowly builds tension between the characters, who become more panicked and suspicious of one another after each killing, and director Craig Viveiros successfully brings out the hard edges of these mostly reprehensible characters, who are hiding their guilt under a façade of respectability. Produced as part of a celebration of the 125th anniversary of the birth of Christie, this is a handsome 1930s period piece with a fine cast of British and Australian actors (including Charles Dance, Anna Maxwell Martin, Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson, Toby Stephens, and Aidan Turner). Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette, a segment on Christie, an interview with writer Sarah Phelps, and a photo gallery. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)