Ten Little Indians

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George Pollock directs. Ernest Steward behind the camera. Malcolm Lockyer scores. Peter Boita cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 161 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
• 3Directed by George Pollock, shot by Ernest Steward. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Malcolm Lockyer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Peter Boita shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Hugh O'Brian and Shirley Eaton and Fabian carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "Ten people trapped in a house of death... And the murderer determined to kill them all— One By One By One!".
• 8IMDB entry: tt0061075 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Ernest Steward

Original score

Malcolm Lockyer

Editing

Peter Boita

Makeup / hair

Gerry Fletcher

Runtime

92 min · 1h 32m

Status

Released

Original language

EN

IMDB

Ten Little Indians (1965) ↗

Also by

George Pollock

• 
  Sally's Irish Rogue

  1960 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Murder She Said

  1961 · ★ 7.3
• 
  Interpol Calling

  1959 · ★ 7.2
• 
  Murder at the Gallop

  1963 · ★ 7.1
• 
  Murder Most Foul

  1964 · ★ 7.1
• 
  Murder Ahoy

  1964 · ★ 7.1

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Ten Little Indians (1965) - Trailer

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• John Chard2014-05-17
  ★ 7.5/10

  The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Murder. Much like the filmic adaptations of Agatha Christie's stunning source novel, a literary work that added the killer to serial, the Ten Little Indians rhyme has quite a few versions. I mention this because the core essence of the source, both in written rhyme and filmic celluloid, is always what shines through. The films vary in quality, though each one does bring its own ideas to the adaptation, George Pollock's 1965 version is a dandy, though not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. The story is relocated to a remote snowy mountainside. Ten people have gathered there, either as servants or guests invited by the mysterious U.N. Owen. Once all gathered under one roof, a tape recording reveals that all the guests are guilty of despicable crimes, and thus must pay the price. Cue the now standard formula of each member of the ten getting bumped off as suspicions and panic begins to arise. With each death comes the removal of a model Indian from a circular display laid out on the lounge table. Thus we have a serial killer whodunit (whosedoingit?) in full effect. The deaths are inventive, with some carrying genuine suspense and chills into the bargain, and although the final reveal lacks credibility, it has the requisite surprise factor to not disappoint genre fans. The beauty here is in the cast list, where for fans of British classic cinema it's a roll call of greats. Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Dennis Price (whose visual reactions here are ahem, priceless) and Leo Genn lead the male British front, while Shirley Eaton fights the British girl's corner with sauce and sizzle. Supplementing the Brits for an overseas audience, is pop star Fabian, Hugh O'Brian and Daliah Lavi. The latter of which also raises the temperatures considerably. Where the pic falls down badly, apart from Fabian's poor acting that is, is with the visual ascetic served up by Pollock and his cinematographer Ernest Steward. The mansion where the plot unfolds is ripe for much shadow play and creaky corridors, the story kind of demands that the old dark house staples are adhered to. Sadly this area is rarely born out, making it a very wasted opportunity to lift the film to better heights. Still, as stated previously, the source material is timeless and for fans of such fare it's hard not to feel tingly as the conclusion draws in. If the divisive "one minute audience break to discuss who we think dunit" that stops the film before the reveal seems a bit William Castle lite, then so be it, but it's still fun and shows a willingness by the makers to involve the audience fully in the murderous malarkey. I wonder what Agatha made of it? All together now, "Ten little Indian boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were Nine…" 7.5/10

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• Dr Nostromo2026-02-10
  ★ 8/10

  75/100 Ten strangers are invited to attend a dinner party hosted by a Mr. U.N. Owen. Then they start dying. The Mrs and I love Agatha Christie movies and shows and this is my personal favorite. Saw it first as a teenager, I was blown away at how it fooled me. Even today, with knowing what's going to happen, the movie is a treat to watch. The writing is great, the tension is constant and the 'Whodunit?' break is classic. Watch for versions of the film where the break is cut out. The copy on Amazon does not have it ...severely disappointed with them on that. Why remove it? -- DrNostromo.com

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• TE

  Tenlit Films

• TO

  Towers of London Productions

  GB

Key crew

• NovelAgatha Christie
• ProducerHarry Alan Towers
• ProducerHarry M. Popkin
• Executive ProducerOliver A. Unger
• EditorPeter Boita
• Art DirectionFrank White
• Makeup ArtistGerry Fletcher
• Sound EditorPeter Keen

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• isolation
• mountain
• house
• austria
• murder
• isolated house
• murder mystery

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1966-02-09· New York City, New York

Also known as

International titles

• Geheimnis im blauen SchloßDE
• Agatha Christie's 'Ten Little Indians'US
• 10 petits indiensFR
• Десять негритятRU
• E Não Sobrou NenhumBR
• Da waren’s nur noch neunDE
• 姿なき殺人者JP