''Desyat Negrityat'' (russian: Десять негритят, 'Ten Little Negroes') is a 1987 Soviet film adaptation of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's 1939 novel of the same name, now known as ''

And Then There Were None ''And Then There Were None'' is a mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, described by her as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939, as ...

''. It was directed by

Stanislav Govorukhin Stanislav Sergeyevich Govorukhin (russian: Станислав Сергеевич Говорухин; 29 March 1936 – 14 June 2018) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russians, Russian film director, actor, screenwriter, producer and politician. He w ...

, who also penned the script. This version was, upon its release, unique in that virtually no part of the novel is altered (although a sexual relationship between Vera and Lombard is introduced, and the latter's revolver is changed into a small automatic pistol). Unlike the previous Hollywood/

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

adaptations of the story, none of the characters or their respective crimes are altered in any way and the film concludes with the grim finale from

's original novel, rather than the upbeat ending from the 1943 stage version that most other adaptations chose to follow. The Soviet adaptation is a bit more fanciful in that the murderer expounds at some length, in solitude, about their methodology and the critical twist (aloud instead of on paper as in the novel).

Plot

On a hot, early August day sometime in the late 1930s, eight people arrive on a small, isolated island off the

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

coast of England. Each appears to have an invitation tailored to his or her personal circumstances, such as an offer of employment or an unexpected late summer holiday. They are met by Thomas and Ethel Rogers, the butler and cook/housekeeper, who state that their hosts, Mr Ulick Norman Owen and his wife Mrs Una Nancy Owen, whom they have not yet met in person, have not arrived, but left instructions, which strikes all the guests as odd.

Cast

Vladimir Zeldin Vladimir Mikhailovich Zeldin (russian: Владимир Михайлович Зельдин; 10 February 1915 – 31 October 2016) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. A centenarian, he was among the longest-serving stage performers a ...

as Judge Lawrence Wargrave *

Tatyana Drubich Tatyana Drubich (born 7 June 1959) is a Russian film actress. She has appeared in 20 films since 1972. She starred in the 1974 film ''Sto dney posle detstva'', which was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the S ...

as Vera Claythorne *

Alexander Kaidanovsky Alexander Leonidovich Kaidanovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Леони́дович Кайдано́вский; 23 July 1946 — 3 December 1995) was a Soviet and Russian actor and film director. His best known roles are in films such as ''At H ...

as Philip Lombard *

Aleksei Zharkov Aleksei Dmitrievich Zharkov (russian: Алексей Дмитриевич Жарков; 27 March 1948 – 5 June 2016) was a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor. He was a People's Artist of Russia (1994). Biography Aleksei Dmitrievich Zharko ...

as Detective William Blore *

Anatoli Romashin Anatoli Vladimirovich Romashin (russian: Анато́лий Влади́мирович Рома́шин; 1931–2000) was a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor, director. He won the USSR State Prize (1977) and was a People's Artist of t ...

as Doctor Armstrong *

Lyudmila Maksakova Lyudmila Vasilyevna Maksakova (russian: Людмила Васильевна Максакова; born 26 September 1940) is a Soviet Russian stage and film actress who appeared in 24 films between 1965 and 1998. Honoured with the People's Artist ...

as Emily Brent *

Mikhail Gluzsky Mikhail Andreyevich Gluzsky (russian: Михаи́л Андре́евич Глу́зский; 20 November 1918 – 15 June 2001) was a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor. He starred in the 1972 film, ''Monologue'', which was entered ...

as General MacArthur * Aleksei Zolotnitsky as Mr. Rogers * Irina Tereshchenko as Mrs. Rogers *

Aleksandr Abdulov Aleksandr Gavrilovich AbdulovАбдулов Г. Д.
Ферганский г� ...

as Anthony Marston *

Igor Yasulovich Igor Nikolayevich Yasulovich (russian: Игорь Николаевич Ясулович; born 24 September 1941) is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor, film director and pedagogue. Biography Yasulovich was born in the village of Reinsfe ...

as Accuser's voice on a phonograph record

Locations

The film was shot in

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

, utilizing the peninsula's two famous mansions, the

Swallow's Nest The Swallow's Nest ( uk, Ластівчине гніздо, , russian: Ласточкино гнездо, ), ) in Ukrainian, ''Schwalbennest'' in German, and (''Qarılğaç yuvası'') in Crimean Tatar., group="nb" is a decorative castle locat ...

and the Vorontsov Palace. However, when the house is seen on a cliff in the exterior scenes, it is actually a scale model, shot with actors using forced perspective. The stone staircase leading up to the house was filmed at Diva Rock.Десять негритят. Тайны нашего кино
a Russian documentary about the making of the film.

References

External links

*
Desyat Negrityat. Secrets of cinema (2014)
Documentary film. ''In Russian'' {{And Then There Were None 1987 films 1980s crime films Films based on And Then There Were None Films shot in Crimea 1980s Russian-language films Films directed by Stanislav Govorukhin Soviet crime films Odessa Film Studio films