Gumnaam (1965)

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Star Power: Helen, Pran, Mehmood

Overall Rating: 5.5 out of 7 chilies

Music: 6.5 out of 7 chilies

Choreography: 4 out of 7 chilies

Synopsis:

While at a nightclub, a group of strangers discover that they have won a drawing for free vacation. On the way to their destination, the plane develops engine trouble and they land on a seemingly deserted island for repairs. The group disembarks, along with one of the crew members, only for the plane to take off again, leaving them stranded. Eventually they find their way to a mansion in the forest, where they find they are expected. As they settle in and learn more about each other, they discover their pasts are linked and when people start turning up dead, old secrets might be fatal...

Comments:

A campy thriller from the 1960s, this film might not be for everyone, but if you're looking for something offbeat and fun, Gumnaam is for you. The film is based on Agatha Christie's mystery novel And Then There Were None, (albeit loosely) and the story can be a little hard to follow in places, as not everyone's motives seem to be fully explained and quite a lot of the exposition comes all at once at the end. Perhaps the most incongruous part of the whole thing is how nonchalant and unfazed everyone seems about the prospect of being trapped in a mansion with a murderer. The choreography is more than a little shaky, but the music really makes up for it with catchy numbers like "Jan Pehechan Ho" and the haunting "Gumnaam Hai Koi" (to the tune of Henry Mancini's "Charade").