| “ | Now look here, my dear girl, you just listen— | „ |
| ~ Philip Lombard's final words, before getting shot. |
Philip Lombard is the deuteragonist in Agatha Christie's 1939 novel, And Then There Were None, and its adaptations.
He is one of ten people summoned to Indian Island by Lawrence Wargrave, who have committed murder in a way that the law cannot prove or punish them for. He is described as a soldier of fortune who has gone through various jobs, some legal and some others.
He was portrayed by the late Louis Hayward in the 1945 film, by the late Oliver Reed in 1974 film adaptation, and by Aidan Turner in the 2015 television adaptation.
Biography[]
Though he is reputed to be a good man in a tight spot, Lombard is accused of causing the deaths of 21 East African natives who were helping him on an expedition. When he was lost, he took the food and supplies and abandoned the natives in the jungle, thus causing their starvation and death. He feels no remorse for this and confesses freely, even with amusement. He dismisses the other guests' horror with the excuse that "Natives don't mind dying."
Literally down to his last square meal, Lombard comes to the island with a loaded revolver, on the pretext of being hired as a bodyguard. The real reason for his being asked to bring a revolver was for Wargrave to steal it and use it in his killings, and also to increase the guests' suspicion of each other. Wargrave selects Lombard as one of the three killers whose guilt is greatest, and saves him to be the second to last to die for this.
When he and Vera Claythorne find the body of Dr. Edward George Armstrong and realize they are the only two people left living, they both believe each other to be the murderer. Claythorne enlists his help carrying Armstrong's body, and uses this ruse to pick his pocket and take his revolver. Lombard tries to take it back by force, and is shot through the heart by Claythorne, corresponding roughly with the 'Ten Little Indians' rhyme, "One got all frizzled up and then there was one."
In Adaptations[]
In the stage play and many of the filmed adaptations, the plot is changed slightly. Lombard reveals that he is not really Lombard, but a man posing as him to discover more about his past. The real Lombard killed himself. When he suspects someone else is the murderer, he fakes his death by Claythorne to discover the Judge is the true killer.
In the 2015 BBC adaptation, Lombard was played by Aidan Turner. He comes across as more economically well-off and more perverted than his book counterpart, and unlike his book counterpart this version of Lombard is heavily implied to have personally shot the 21 natives to death partly out of enjoyment, and partly for the diamonds they possessed. This version of Lombard also revealed to Vera in the second episode that he had killed many more people than just those in Africa.
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 Villains(Non-Poirot & Non-Marple) | |
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Tommy and Tuppence Beresford And Then There Were None Other Mystery Stories Adaptational, Homage & Non-Canonical | |