AS SEEN ON TV: JUDGE WARGRAVE

JUSTICE SIR LAWRENCE WARGRAVE

AS SEEN IN:

"Ten Little Indians"

CREATED BY:

Dame Agatha Christie

PORTRAYED BY:

Barry Jones

TV STATUS:

Recastaway

TV DIMENSION:

"Evil Mirror Universe"

(Due to alteration of the ending)

From a wiki*:

Lawrence John Wargrave is a judge, whom since he was a small child, was fascinated with death. He is known as a hanging judge; however, his sentences are portrayed throughout the story as accurate. He is accused of murder due to the judicial hanging of criminal Edward Seton, even though there were some doubts about his guilt at the time of the trial.

[Ten people were invited to Indian Island, by a mysterious host named] U.N. Owen. (a pun of the word "Unknown"). Sure enough, each person arrives on the boat to the island [where] each guest has the nursury rhyme [about the ten little Indians] hanging on the wall in their room. At a large dinner, they notice ten china Indian figures on the table. Later, during dinner, a gramophone record plays, accusing each guest there (including Wargrave) of murder.

From the IMDb.com:

Live television presentation of Agatha Christie's famous work "Ten Little Indians". A group of amoral people are invited to an isolated island mansion. Upon arriving, a recorded phonograph message accuses them of certain crimes in which they could not be touched by the law. After one dies from poison, another from an overdose of sleeping pills, a third from being struck/falling into a fire, and a fourth from stabbing, (all according to the ten little Indians nursery rhyme) the remaining number realize the killer is among those present. In the desperate game to survive, the remaining number try to figure out who the killer is, before they are murdered. Who will be next?

- John Tristan

The plotline for Justice Wargrave was altered from that established in the original story, making it feel more like an American crime story rather than a "veddy proper" British one. In my opinion it was a bad move because of what would happen after the story ended.

This production was the third to be broadcast, following the second one (from Great Britain) by five days in January of 1959. The first was in 1949. Both of those had the title "Ten Little Niggers", unfortunately.

Paul Bogart, who would go on to acclaim as a director of 'All In The Family' was one of two directors for this live broadcast. He passed away just about a month or so ago.

BCnU!

* Saying which wiki is something of a spoiler.  Saying that probably is as well....