Written by a record 21 credited screenwriters and made to shore up WWII morale and benefit British War Relief, this drama about the history of a London mansion and its inhabitants now facing the Blitz raised the bar for multipart films, spanning over a century with an extraordinary star constellation: Hardwicke, Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, Merle Oberon, Buster Keaton, Donald Crisp, Ida Lupino (situated in 1897, directed by Clair), and dozens more.