And Then There Were None (1945)

Ten people, all strangers to each other, are invited to an isolated estate on an island. When they arrive, they are greeted by a butler (Richard Haydn) and his cook wife (Queenie Leonard). But that night, all twelve of them are accused of murder and then they start dying, one by one. Based on the classic novel by Agatha Christie and directed by Rene Clair (I MARRIED A WITCH). The Christie novel has been adapted for both film and television many times over the years but this remains the definitive version. It adheres closely to the Christie novel except for the ending. The novel's ending is much more grim but this being Hollywood, a happier ending was deemed more commercial. The cast is first rate though the Dudley Nichols screenplay and Clair's direction provide more humor than is in Christie's book which seems to encourage a bit of overacting from some of the actors (like Walter Huston). The rest of the murder suspects include Louis Hayward, Judith Anderson, Barry Fitzgerald, Roland Young, Mischa Auer, C. Aubrey Smith and June Duprez.