And Then There Were None (1974 film)

A group of ten people, strangers to one another, arrive at a hotel deep in the Iranian desert, located adjacent to the ruins of Persepolis, 200 miles from civilization. The guests quickly discover that their host is mysteriously absent. At dinner, they notice a display of figurines: the Ten Little Indians, as represented in the doggerel in each of their suites. They are accused via a tape recording by the host, U.N. Owen ("unknown"), someone none of them has ever met, of having escaped justice for committing murders or causing the deaths of others.

One by one, the guests start to die. The first is singer Michel Raven, whose drink is poisoned. During the night, the housekeeper/cook, Elsa Martino, makes a mad dash to escape through the ruins, only to be strangled against a pillar, an ancient Persian method of execution, as noted by Hugh Lombard. A search of the hotel is initiated by General Salve, who splits everyone into pairs. Not long after everyone separates, Salve is stabbed to death in the hotel's catacombs. Their search reveals there is no one in the hotel except the seven of them, and that the killer must be one of them.

The next morning, Elsa's husband, the butler Martino, attempts to escape into the desert and dies of heat exhaustion, his survival kit having been sabotaged. Ilona reveals her tragic past to the others, exposing the cause of her husband's suicide. Later she is found dead, bitten by a venomous snake. The power and lights in the hotel suddenly go out, leaving the five remaining guests in the dark. Judge Cannon convinces them to reveal the nature of the crimes of which they stand accused. Before Vera can offer her explanation, she leaves the others to get her coat. She screams, and the others run to find her. In the confusion, Judge Cannon is found dead in his bedroom, shot in the head.

Because Vera refuses to confess to her guilt, as the other four have, Dr. Armstrong becomes suspicions of Vera and has her locked in her room. Hugh comes to Vera's room during the night and gives her his gun. Vera reveals that she never escaped justice for a murder. Her sister committed the murder, and Vera covered for her. Her sister killed herself afterwards. Hugh reveals that he is in fact Charles Morley. The real Hugh Lombard was his best friend, and also committed suicide after the crime of which he was accused. Charles found Hugh's invitation among his belongings while clearing them after his death, and took his friend's place, hoping to learn more about what caused Hugh to take his life.

The next morning, Dr. Armstrong is nowhere to be found. A search of the ruins leads to Blore being pushed off a ledge to his death. Vera and Charles assume Dr. Armstrong is the killer, but are then shocked to find Dr. Armstrong's corpse in the ruins. He has been dead for hours. They realise they are the only two remaining. Vera shoots at Charles.

Vera returns to the hotel, where she finds all the furniture covered in sheets again, except for a chair with a noose above. She finds Judge Cannon very much alive. He reveals that he tricked Dr. Armstrong into helping him fake his "murder". He explains his desire to seek perfect justice and perform his duty as an executioner of the guilty. Judge Cannon tries to convince Vera to hang herself, to avoid spending the rest of her life in jail, since the authorities will assume she is the obvious murderer, as the only remaining guest alive. Judge Cannon drinks poison and prepares to die, only to see Charles appear, alive. Cannon chokes on the poison and realises before he dies that his scheme has been foiled. With Cannon dead, Vera and Charles are picked up by a helicopter as the tape recording is replayed by someone.

• Charles Aznavour as Michel Raven, entertainer. Accused of having run over two people in Paris while driving under the influence of alcohol.
• Stéphane Audran as Ilona Morgan, actress. Accused of having been responsible for the death of her husband "in a most cold-blooded and ruthless manner."
• Elke Sommer as Vera Clyde, secretary. Accused of having fatally poisoned her sister's fiancé.
• Gert Fröbe as Wilhelm Blore, police official. Accused of committing perjury to frame an innocent man, who subsequently died in prison.
• Herbert Lom as Edward Armstrong, doctor. Accused of having operated on a woman while drunk, causing her death.
• Oliver Reed as Hugh Lombard, businessman. Accused of murdering the young woman who was to bear his child out of wedlock. (Revealed as Charles Morley)
• Richard Attenborough as Arthur Cannon, judge. Accused of having sentenced an innocent man to death by hanging.
• Maria Rohm as Elsa Martino, servant. Accused of helping her husband cause the death of their wealthy, invalid employer.
• Alberto de Mendoza as Otto Martino, servant. Accused of causing the death of his wealthy, invalid employer after tricking her into including him and his wife in her will.
• Adolfo Celi as André Salvé, military general. Accused of having been responsible for the deaths of five men who were under his command.
• Orson Welles as "U.N. Owen" – the Voice on the Tape.
• Naser Malek Motiei as Policeman (uncredited)

• Ten Little Indians at IMDb
• And Then There Were None at AllMovie
• And Then There Were None at Variety Distribution