MovieChat Forums > And Then There Were None (1945) Discussion > A Brand New Theory!!!!!

A Brand New Theory!!!!!

posted 18 years ago by Yxklyx
3 replies | jump to latest

Hmmm......

I had kind of a Eureka moment while watching this that might have been knocked down (or maybe not!) by the twist at the end.

I considered that everyone was killing everyone else - it wasn't the Judge killing everyone though he did kill the Doctor.

The Prince is killed by the housemaid Ethel.
Ethel is killed by the General.
The General is killed by the butler.
The butler is killed by Emily Brent.
Emily Brent is killed by The Doctor.
The Doctor is killed by the Judge BUT the Judge makes it appear that the detective killed him, so...
The detective is killed by Mr Lombard.
Mr. Lombard was supposed to be killed by Vera (she had the gun) but Lombard broke the chain and faked it.
Finally, the Judge was going to kill himself and leave Vera to die at the hand of the authorities because she'd be the only one left or have Vera kill himself.

Basically, the killer is in turn killed by a person who suspects him (and has a motive) - and in order to keep the idea that there's someone else in the house (to avert suspicion) they each in turn break an Indian statue.

It does appear (though I'd have to rewatch it) that each killer had in turn a motive for killing the killer of the previous victim. For instance, I can see the General killing Ethel (the wife) because of his past history (the story of his wife and lover). The butler would have killed the General to avenge his wife's death. Emily's been watching everyone at this time - she knows for instance that Vera did not kill the General because she had an opportunity and didn't use it. Emily suspects (knows) that the butler killed the General and so kills him, and so on...

The Judge knew that this would happen because he knows that they have all killed in the past so he just sits back and watches everyone kill everyone.

[–] silvergirlsails 18 years ago

Hmmm..... is right. Interesting, but all these 10 people have been brought to the island by one person. Now all of a sudden, everyone gets it into their heads to kill someone else there? The people who killed someone with poison just happened to bring poison along with them? No one is even supposed to know anyone else there. They're are all strangers. Why would they even want to kill each other? All their previous dirty deeds had motives and reasoning behind their killings (survival, love, money, justice, etc.). I can't get past that part right there. One guy knows all their sordid pasts, so one guy has the motive to kill everyone. No one else knows all the details. One guy makes it all happen.

Chicago Bears: 7-1 Bring on the Giants!

[–] morrison-dylan-fan 17 years ago

Now,if only the true story was that each character was convinced that another one was destroying those wonderful,wonderful Indian statuettes,and killed the person they thought was responsible.Meanwhile,mini-earthtremors are toppling the figures one by one.The recoreded message is just a practical joke.The whole thing sends the judge gaga.He's unbalanced,of course,being a judge.

[–] dove22309 17 years ago

It works from Emily being killed on down:

1.)The doctor HATED Ms Brent, so it is no stretch of imagination saying he killed her.
2.)The judge kills the Doctor for his own personal safety, perhaps. He Suffers a heart attack from the stress and anxiety, being built up from the pass few weeks (he is an old man, remember).
3.)The Judge looks like he could have been murdered, and it still would have fit the rhyme (he was still a judge from legal courts), so Lombard (not expecting Vera to have killed anyone) Shoots the Detective.
4.)Vera is scared, finds a way to steal the gun, and shoots him.
5.)Vera hangs herself, she has been suicidal since Cyruses death, anyway.

But I find no reason why Brent (the religious maniac) would ever sin, unless she had found out the butler committed the worst sin. And it would still seem unlikely that a butler that chops up the wood, with an old fashioned axe, at 6 a.m., in bitter cold, could easily fall to the frail Ms Brent.

The butler might have found out of the Generals killing of the Missus, and killed out of anger.

The General would not be envious of the wife, but the husand who still had the loyal wife. He knew what it would be like to have a beloved wife dead, and wouldnt want to share it with Rogers. Just not his charactor.

And I will never be able to think of a reason for Mrs. Rogers killing Marston. Ever.

And, in the end, the idea seems a little too bizzarre, and the audience would knida feel cheated that there was no one murderer. They've been asking which one person had done it the whole time, and never would think all of them simultaneousely killing each other. It seems like a B or C rate movie in the end, after all of the thought.

Last movie Seen:
Catch Me if you Can (8/10)