Ten little soldier boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little soldier boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little soldier boys traveling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little soldier boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little soldier boys going in for law,
One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little soldier boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little soldier boys walking in the Zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun;
On got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little soldier boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were none.
Set in the 1930s, ten strangers are drawn away from their normal lives to an isolated rock called Soldier Island, off the Devon coast. As the mismatched group wait for the arrival of the hosts, Mr & Mrs U.N. Owen, the weather sours and they find themselves cut off from civilisation, a murderer in their midst...
---
Anyone else excited for this? This is universally regarded as Agatha Christie's best murder mystery (which is very high praise), and it looks as if this adaptation is shaping up to be one of the finest and best directed adaptations of her work.
The 1939 novel was last adapted to film in English in 1974, but notably, this is the first ever time it has been adapted to include the original (and far, far superior) ending. It airs in three hour-long parts, once a day through the 26-28 December, 2015.
Interestingly it served as inspiration for Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, which is also released over Christmas.
I'd be interested to see those who don't know the solution to this mystery watch and posit their theories!
---
Trailer: click
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Characters:
Anthony Marston (played by Douglas Booth)
Playboy and petrolhead, Marston is a breathtaking picture of young manhood.
Beautiful as a sun god, he blasts through life without an iota of self-consciousness – leaving the rest of humanity blinking away the exhaust fumes.
Dr Armstrong (played by Toby Stephens)
With his Harley Street practice, substantial wealth and enduring good looks, the confident and precise Dr Armstrong, who specialises in women’s ailments, is by most measures a tremendous success.
But it takes little to expose his terrible temper, which sours life for all who cross his path.
Det. Sgt. William Blore (played by Burn Gorman)
Operating on Soldier Island under a pseudonym, the boorish William Blore is a police detective moonlighting as ‘security’ for the enigmatic Mr and Mrs U.N. Owen. He is ill-at-ease with the complex social web in which he finds himself trapped.
Emily Brent (played by Miranda Richardson)
A prudish Teddington spinster and passionate Anglican who has devoted her life to improving the lot of young women. Emily’s commitment to Christ knows no limits and those who fail to meet her strict moral standards inevitably suffer the blunt end of her intractable beliefs.
General MacArthur (played by Sam Neill)
A decorated war hero, General MacArthur is decent, upstanding and thoroughly romantic. A patriot, no doubt about it, yet there is much about the war that haunts him – much that he finds unspeakable.
Justice Lawrence Wargrave (played by Charles Dance)
Once possessed of a brilliant legal mind, Justice Wargrave became notorious as a merciless ‘hanging judge’ – but is now a diminished figure: profoundly frail and battling against a crumbling memory. However, there is one sentence he has never forgotten...
Philip Lombard (played by Aidan Turner)
A natural predator in any circumstance, and he knows it. Lombard has made a life in Africa as a soldier of fortune, not through greed or political conviction but because it’s how he feels most thoroughly himself. Whether what he does makes him a good or a bad man is immaterial.
Vera Claythorne (played by Maeve Dermody)
A games mistress, now beginning a secretarial career after witnessing a terrible tragedy, Vera is decent and polite and plays down her compelling beauty to evade the attention of men. But she is hostage to her darker self...
Thomas Rogers (played by Noah Taylor)
Hounded from prior employments by cruel gossip, the new butler on Soldier Island has nothing left in the world besides his wife, Ethel. Under the backing of Mr and Mrs U.N. Owen, they are the very model of efficiency and deference – though behind closed doors their partnership is increasingly bitter.
Ethel Rogers (played by Anna Maxwell Martin)
Meek and biddable, Soldier Island’s housekeeper is the wife of Thomas Rogers, on whom she is utterly dependant. A life of service and the stain of rumour have weakened her soul; Ethel’s one retreat is in the kitchen, where she truly excels.
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little soldier boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little soldier boys traveling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little soldier boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little soldier boys going in for law,
One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little soldier boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little soldier boys walking in the Zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun;
On got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little soldier boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were none.
Set in the 1930s, ten strangers are drawn away from their normal lives to an isolated rock called Soldier Island, off the Devon coast. As the mismatched group wait for the arrival of the hosts, Mr & Mrs U.N. Owen, the weather sours and they find themselves cut off from civilisation, a murderer in their midst...
---
Anyone else excited for this? This is universally regarded as Agatha Christie's best murder mystery (which is very high praise), and it looks as if this adaptation is shaping up to be one of the finest and best directed adaptations of her work.
The 1939 novel was last adapted to film in English in 1974, but notably, this is the first ever time it has been adapted to include the original (and far, far superior) ending. It airs in three hour-long parts, once a day through the 26-28 December, 2015.
Interestingly it served as inspiration for Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, which is also released over Christmas.
I'd be interested to see those who don't know the solution to this mystery watch and posit their theories!
---
Trailer: click
---
Characters:
Anthony Marston (played by Douglas Booth)
Playboy and petrolhead, Marston is a breathtaking picture of young manhood.
Beautiful as a sun god, he blasts through life without an iota of self-consciousness – leaving the rest of humanity blinking away the exhaust fumes.
Dr Armstrong (played by Toby Stephens)
With his Harley Street practice, substantial wealth and enduring good looks, the confident and precise Dr Armstrong, who specialises in women’s ailments, is by most measures a tremendous success.
But it takes little to expose his terrible temper, which sours life for all who cross his path.
Det. Sgt. William Blore (played by Burn Gorman)
Operating on Soldier Island under a pseudonym, the boorish William Blore is a police detective moonlighting as ‘security’ for the enigmatic Mr and Mrs U.N. Owen. He is ill-at-ease with the complex social web in which he finds himself trapped.
Emily Brent (played by Miranda Richardson)
A prudish Teddington spinster and passionate Anglican who has devoted her life to improving the lot of young women. Emily’s commitment to Christ knows no limits and those who fail to meet her strict moral standards inevitably suffer the blunt end of her intractable beliefs.
General MacArthur (played by Sam Neill)
A decorated war hero, General MacArthur is decent, upstanding and thoroughly romantic. A patriot, no doubt about it, yet there is much about the war that haunts him – much that he finds unspeakable.
Justice Lawrence Wargrave (played by Charles Dance)
Once possessed of a brilliant legal mind, Justice Wargrave became notorious as a merciless ‘hanging judge’ – but is now a diminished figure: profoundly frail and battling against a crumbling memory. However, there is one sentence he has never forgotten...
Philip Lombard (played by Aidan Turner)
A natural predator in any circumstance, and he knows it. Lombard has made a life in Africa as a soldier of fortune, not through greed or political conviction but because it’s how he feels most thoroughly himself. Whether what he does makes him a good or a bad man is immaterial.
Vera Claythorne (played by Maeve Dermody)
A games mistress, now beginning a secretarial career after witnessing a terrible tragedy, Vera is decent and polite and plays down her compelling beauty to evade the attention of men. But she is hostage to her darker self...
Thomas Rogers (played by Noah Taylor)
Hounded from prior employments by cruel gossip, the new butler on Soldier Island has nothing left in the world besides his wife, Ethel. Under the backing of Mr and Mrs U.N. Owen, they are the very model of efficiency and deference – though behind closed doors their partnership is increasingly bitter.
Ethel Rogers (played by Anna Maxwell Martin)
Meek and biddable, Soldier Island’s housekeeper is the wife of Thomas Rogers, on whom she is utterly dependant. A life of service and the stain of rumour have weakened her soul; Ethel’s one retreat is in the kitchen, where she truly excels.
