Read the novel. That's the main point I'm trying to make here, as the film just doesn't do it justice. Agatha Christie's expertly-written, suspenseful, and, at times, downright frightening novel is a great read that I highly recommend. But too many things are messed with in the movie. Two main examples are: names of characters are randomly changed for apparently no reason, and the ending isn't even the same as the novel. I don't know why they bothered to keep the same name for the movie, as their contrived ending is no longer in keeping with the title. One positive thing I can say is that it has a good cast, and Walter Huston really stands out, but it's just not enough to save the movie, in my opinion.

Would I recommend? No. Just read the novel.

This is a superbly directed (by René Clair) adaptation of one of Agatha Christie's more intriguing murder mysteries that I don't think has been surpassed in the 75-odd years since it first hit the screen. A great ensemble cast are invited to weekend on a remote island by a couple they have never met. Once on the island, their host - by way of a record - accuses each of them of committing heinous crimes; then slowly - but surely - they start to drop like flies. I suppose I have to warn that in the vernacular of the 2020s, this film contains language and terminology that we might find offensive nowadays, but suspend the correctness for 100 minutes and you'll get a great murder mystery featuring a super cast - especially Barry Fitzgerald ("Judge Quincannon"); Louis Hayward ("Lombard") and June Duprez ("Vera") ; as well as some classy contributions from Judith Anderson and Sir C. Aubrey Smith and some clever staging/dialogue with a genuinely good "whodunit" ending with a twist. As with a few Christie stories, it's quite plausible that anyone did it and on stage it wasn't always the same character behind the plotting - so don't assume you will know who is the cunning brain behind it all if you've seen any other iterations.