Best Of...
British cinema: 1940s
The October Man (1947)
Roy Ward Baker
Jim Ackland, a research chemist, ends up in hospital with a serious brain injury after a bus crash that left the young girl in his care dead...
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Roy Ward Baker
Odd Man Out (1947)
Carol Reed
Johnny McQueen hides out in an anonymous Belfast house, having recently broken out of prison where he was serving a stretch for involvement with a terrorist organisation...
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Carol Reed
Oliver Twist (1948)
David Lean
An unknown young woman dies whilst giving birth in a provincial workhouse. Her son, Oliver Twist, grows up under the tyranny of the workhouse supervisor, Mr Bumble...
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David Lean
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942)
Michael Powell
1941. In a raid over Nazi Germany, the crew of an RAF Wellington bomber are forced to bail out when their aeroplane is damaged by enemy fire...
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Michael Powell
Painted Boats (1945)
Charles Crichton
For generations, the Smith and Stoner families have lived and worked on the canals of England, transporting valuable cargoes between the great industrial heartlands of the country...
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Charles Crichton
Passport to Pimlico (1949)
Henry Cornelius
When an unexploded German bomb is detonated in an area of central London, a lost vault of 15th Century treasure is revealed, along with a royal charter which makes Miramont Place, Pimlico, the property of the Duke of Burgundy... [More...]
Henry Cornelius
When an unexploded German bomb is detonated in an area of central London, a lost vault of 15th Century treasure is revealed, along with a royal charter which makes Miramont Place, Pimlico, the property of the Duke of Burgundy... [More...]
Pimpernel' Smith (1941)
Leslie Howard
On the eve of WWII, Horatio Smith, an eccentric Cambridge history professor, leads a party of students to Nazi Germany to look for evidence for an ancient Aryan civilisation... [More...]
Leslie Howard
On the eve of WWII, Horatio Smith, an eccentric Cambridge history professor, leads a party of students to Nazi Germany to look for evidence for an ancient Aryan civilisation... [More...]
Quartet (1948)
Ken Annakin
The writer William Somerset Maugham introduces adaptations of four of his popular short stories. In The Facts of Life, 19-year-old Nicky Garnet blithely ignores three pieces of advice given to him by his well-meaning father before he sets off for Monte Carlo to compete in a tennis tournament: never gamble, never lend money to anyone and never have anything to do with women... [More...]
Ken Annakin
The writer William Somerset Maugham introduces adaptations of four of his popular short stories. In The Facts of Life, 19-year-old Nicky Garnet blithely ignores three pieces of advice given to him by his well-meaning father before he sets off for Monte Carlo to compete in a tennis tournament: never gamble, never lend money to anyone and never have anything to do with women... [More...]
The Red Shoes (1948)
Michael Powell
Boris Lermontov, the manager of a world famous ballet company, expects nothing less than total commitment from those he employs... [More...]
Michael Powell
Boris Lermontov, the manager of a world famous ballet company, expects nothing less than total commitment from those he employs... [More...]
Sailors Three (1940)
Walter Forde
During WWII, a British destroyer, H.M.S. Ferocious, patrols the South Atlantic, her mission: to locate and destroy the German pocket battleship Ludendorf... [More...]
Walter Forde
During WWII, a British destroyer, H.M.S. Ferocious, patrols the South Atlantic, her mission: to locate and destroy the German pocket battleship Ludendorf... [More...]
San Demetrio London (1943)
Charles Frend
In the autumn of 1940, the oil tanker San Demetrio London arrives in Galveston Texas to pick up a load of petroleum that is desperately needed by a besieged Britain... [More...]
Charles Frend
In the autumn of 1940, the oil tanker San Demetrio London arrives in Galveston Texas to pick up a load of petroleum that is desperately needed by a besieged Britain... [More...]
Scott of the Antarctic (1948)
Charles Frend
In 1904, Captain Robert Falcon Scott returns to England after a survey expedition of Antarctica, frustrated that so much has yet to be discovered about the unknown continent... [More...]
Charles Frend
In 1904, Captain Robert Falcon Scott returns to England after a survey expedition of Antarctica, frustrated that so much has yet to be discovered about the unknown continent... [More...]
The Seventh Veil (1945)
Compton Bennett
After Francesca Cunningham, a world class pianist, has attempted suicide, an eminent psychiatrist, Dr Larsen, subjects her to a form of hypnotic treatment to uncover the reasons for her self-destructive tendencies... [More...]
Compton Bennett
After Francesca Cunningham, a world class pianist, has attempted suicide, an eminent psychiatrist, Dr Larsen, subjects her to a form of hypnotic treatment to uncover the reasons for her self-destructive tendencies... [More...]
The Silver Fleet (1943)
Vernon Sewell
During WWII, with Holland under German occupation, naval engineer Jaap van Leyden cooperates with the Nazis by helping to build U-boats in his shipyard... [More...]
Vernon Sewell
During WWII, with Holland under German occupation, naval engineer Jaap van Leyden cooperates with the Nazis by helping to build U-boats in his shipyard... [More...]
The Small Back Room (1949)
Michael Powell
In the spring of 1943, Great Britain is losing the war against Nazi Germany. Sammy Rice, a leading bomb disposal expert, is called in to investigate a new kind of bomb that the Germans have begun dropping over England... [More...]
Michael Powell
In the spring of 1943, Great Britain is losing the war against Nazi Germany. Sammy Rice, a leading bomb disposal expert, is called in to investigate a new kind of bomb that the Germans have begun dropping over England... [More...]
The Stars Look Down (1940)
Carol Reed
Miners at Neptune Colliery in Sleescale, a small town in the northeast of England, refuse to work on a seam which threatens to flood the mine... [More...]
Carol Reed
Miners at Neptune Colliery in Sleescale, a small town in the northeast of England, refuse to work on a seam which threatens to flood the mine... [More...]
The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
Ludwig Berger
Anxious to find out how his subjects live, Ahmad, the rightful King of Bagdad, explores the city disguised as a poor man, allowing his Grand Vizier, Jaffar, to usurp his position... [More...]
Ludwig Berger
Anxious to find out how his subjects live, Ahmad, the rightful King of Bagdad, explores the city disguised as a poor man, allowing his Grand Vizier, Jaffar, to usurp his position... [More...]
The Third Man (1949)
Carol Reed
An unemployed American writer, Holly Martins, arrives in Vienna after World War II at the invitation of a college friend, Harry Lime... [More...]
Carol Reed
An unemployed American writer, Holly Martins, arrives in Vienna after World War II at the invitation of a college friend, Harry Lime... [More...]
This Happy Breed (1944)
David Lean
1919. In the aftermath of WWI, Number 17 Sycamore Road, Clapham, London acquires a new set of residents. The recently demobbed Frank Gibbons moves in with his wife Ethel, his three children, his sister Sylvia and his mother-in-law Mrs Flint... [More...]
David Lean
1919. In the aftermath of WWI, Number 17 Sycamore Road, Clapham, London acquires a new set of residents. The recently demobbed Frank Gibbons moves in with his wife Ethel, his three children, his sister Sylvia and his mother-in-law Mrs Flint... [More...]
Under Capricorn (1949)
Alfred Hitchcock
In 1831, aristocratic Irishman Charles Adare travels to Sydney, Australia where he hopes to make his fortune, with a little help from his uncle, the present governor of the colony... [More...]
Alfred Hitchcock
In 1831, aristocratic Irishman Charles Adare travels to Sydney, Australia where he hopes to make his fortune, with a little help from his uncle, the present governor of the colony... [More...]
The Upturned Glass (1947)
Lawrence Huntington
A criminologist presents the case history of a supposedly sane criminal, a man who executed a well-planned murder for entirely rational reasons... [More...]
Lawrence Huntington
A criminologist presents the case history of a supposedly sane criminal, a man who executed a well-planned murder for entirely rational reasons... [More...]
Waterloo Road (1945)
Sidney Gilliat
In 1940, towards the start of the Second World War, Jim Colter is away doing his bit in the fight against Hitler whilst his wife Tillie stays at home in London with his mother and sisters, Ruby and Vera... [More...]
Sidney Gilliat
In 1940, towards the start of the Second World War, Jim Colter is away doing his bit in the fight against Hitler whilst his wife Tillie stays at home in London with his mother and sisters, Ruby and Vera... [More...]
The Way Ahead (1944)
Carol Reed
England, 1941. A disparate group of conscripts, new recruits into the Duke of Glendon's Light Infantry, grudgingly begin their training at Hacklefield army camp... [More...]
Carol Reed
England, 1941. A disparate group of conscripts, new recruits into the Duke of Glendon's Light Infantry, grudgingly begin their training at Hacklefield army camp... [More...]
We Dive at Dawn (1943)
Anthony Asquith
When the Royal Navy submarine Sea Tiger returns to base after a long period at sea, her crew, led by Lieutenant Taylor, is looking forward to some well-earned leave... [More...]
Anthony Asquith
When the Royal Navy submarine Sea Tiger returns to base after a long period at sea, her crew, led by Lieutenant Taylor, is looking forward to some well-earned leave... [More...]
Went the Day Well? (1942)
Alberto Cavalcanti
One day in May 1942 a British Army convoy rolls into the sleepy English village of Bramley End. The commander, Major Hammond, explains to the startled villagers that his platoon is making a review of local defences in readiness for a possible Nazi invasion... [More...]
Alberto Cavalcanti
One day in May 1942 a British Army convoy rolls into the sleepy English village of Bramley End. The commander, Major Hammond, explains to the startled villagers that his platoon is making a review of local defences in readiness for a possible Nazi invasion... [More...]
Whisky Galore! (1949)
Alexander Mackendrick
In 1943, calamity befalls the small Scottish island of Todday. The last reserves of whisky - the water of life to the locals - run dry... [More...]
Alexander Mackendrick
In 1943, calamity befalls the small Scottish island of Todday. The last reserves of whisky - the water of life to the locals - run dry... [More...]