And Then There Were None, the Agatha Christie novel that is an am-dram and radio drama staple, is to be made into a movie.
The story, about 10 people gathered on a remote island by a mysterious host, has already been the subject of multiple big- and small-screen versions, and the BBC are currently in production on a miniseries. But the last English-language film adaptation was in 1989, under the title Ten Little Indians – though M Night Shyamalan’s co-opted the conceit for an elevator setting in his 2010 movie Devil.
Christie’s novel was first published in 1939 and – despite not featuring either Hercule Poirot or her other much-loved sleuth, Miss Marple – remains her bestselling book, having sold more than 100m copies. The novel attracted some controversy for its original English title, Ten Little Niggers, a reference to a nursery rhyme that plays a key part in the plot. In the US, the book was always known as And Then There Were None, but in the UK it wasn’t published under that title until 1985.
The film is being made by Fox, who are also behind an adaptation of another of Christie’s classics, Murder on the Orient Express, which will be directed by Kenneth Branagh.
