Summary

Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None is a classic whodunit story set in a creepy house, where characters are picked off one by one. The story offers actors the opportunity to chew the scenery and showcase their talent in portraying crazy, suspicious characters. The film adaptation of And Then There Were None would benefit from a diverse cast, including seasoned Shakespearean actors and talented young actors like Saoirse Ronan and Dave Franco.

Agatha Christie is no doubt one of the top murder mystery writers of her generation. Her work has been implemented in all types of media and continues to stay relevant even without modern updates. However, in recent years, her Poirot stories are getting all the love. This is fine but ignores some of her other fantastic projects with no ties to the great detective.

One of her best-known has to be And Then There Were None. This book has been adapted but has not yet been made into a modern film. With only one TV adaptation in 2015, the story deserves a bigger stage. So what is it about, and why does it deserve attention?

And Then There Were None
20th Century Studios

And Then There Were None is a familiar story, with the cast of characters in a creepy house where they proceed to get picked off one by one. The killer is a mystery, and the paranoia factor keeps creeping up. If this sounds like you’ve seen it before, you’ve either read And Then There Were None or seen any number of movies or TV shows that have followed its lead.

The story follows a group of people who receive anonymous invitations to a stately mansion on a remote island. After arriving, they realize that none of them know the owners, neither of whom ever arrived but came because they were urged to do so. The house even has two servants, a husband and wife, who welcome the guests and show them to their prepared rooms.

Related: Why the Next Agatha Christie Movie Adaptation Shouldn’t Feature Hercule Poirot

And Then There Were None is an immediate whodunit. After starting drinks in the sitting room, a recording explains to the guests that they are each guilty of a crime. Soon after, one of their number dies in front of them, having been poisoned. As the night and following day progress, they begin dying in different fashions, with each person being found in some macabre layout structured in the manner of a specific minstrel poem written in 1868 called “Ten Little Indians.”

Ten little Indians went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Indians sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Indians traveling in Devon; One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.[13]
Seven little Indians chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little Indians playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Indians going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Indians going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Indians walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two little Indians sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little Indian left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.

This rhyme has undergone quite a few changes since its creation, with the word ‘Indians’ having replaced the N-word (still not the best change). In fact, the original book title itself was changed for American audiences due to the racist nature of the word. Early copies of the British version can still be found with the offensive title.

That being said, the story may be considered boilerplate to some. It’s one of those stories you’ve heard a million times before. But the fact is that it provides something that actors love: The ability to chew scenery.

Why And Then There Were None Works

As we’ve seen with the Kenneth Branagh Christie adaptations, it is all about casting. When you have a group of people stuck in a house and dying, often off-camera, it comes as no surprise that you need to cast actors who can ham it up. That is why these films require a veritable cornucopia of crazy characters. Each one must be able to give the arched eyebrow look of “Me? What about you!” and not have it be so over the top that we laugh but just enough that we’re convinced they did it, then that they didn’t, then that they did again.

Related: 10 Movie Criminals Who Got Away With Murder

This story suffers and excels because of one thing: It is the blank slate first. Because it doesn’t have the enormity of all the movies that have come after it (Knives Out), it hangs on the actors and director to take the bare bones and make it work. It has a simple plot, twist after twist, and a locked house. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Who Should Star?

For this type of film to work, you must cast a wide net for actors. You need a few seasoned Shakespearean actors who have trod the boards and know how to use broad gestures. This is when you have people like Colin Firth or Emma Thompson in crucial roles.

There must also be the wide-eyed young woman and the upper-crust but off-putting young man. They are not a couple, but they arrive at roughly the same time, and he is often seen making rude comments about the “lower classes” or something else that makes you want to punch him. She is timid, perhaps hiding some dark secret.

In these roles, you may want someone like Saoirse Ronan and, in what may be a strange but interesting role, Dave Franco. Ronan is a chameleon whose every role seems to bring out a new side to her, and Franco can sometimes pull off some interesting characters. In addition, he can be quite smug.

If Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha Christie adaptations fail to continue, And Then There Were None would be an excellent direction to follow.