RENE CLAIR

Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB.5

USA, 1945.  Rene Clair Productions.  Screenplay by Dudley Nichols, based on the novel Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie.  Cinematography by Lucien N. Andriot.  Produced by Rene Clair.  Music by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.  Production Design by Ernst Fegte.  Costume Design by Rene Hubert.  Film Editing by Harvey Manger.  

Ten individuals are invited by a mysterious guest to a remote, island mansion where they are told that they have each committed a grievous offence for which they deserve to be punished.  One by one they are murdered, and with each death the remaining guests try to figure out who it is that is carrying out these crimes and what the connection between all of them is. It’s a tightscrew adaptation of Agatha Christie’s marvelous book Ten Little Indians (also known, quite alarmingly, as a play called Ten Little Niggers), with terrific direction by Rene Clair and marvelous performances from the perfectly cast ensemble of actors. There’s enough suspense, horror, comedy and drama to go around for all audiences.