Best Of...
British cinema: 1950s
A Kid for Two Farthings (1955)
Carol Reed
Joe is an 8-year old boy who lives with his mother, Joanna, in the East End of London. His father is away trying to make his fortune in Africa, and Joanna is anxiously awaiting news so that she and Joe can go and join him...
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Carol Reed
A King in New York (1957)
Charles Chaplin
Igor Shahdov, the King of Estrovia, leaves his country just as it is plunged into revolution. He arrives in New York City, hoping to make his fortune by selling his blueprints for an atomic power station...
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Charles Chaplin
A Night to Remember (1958)
Roy Ward Baker
On 10th April 1912, RMS Titanic leaves the port of Southampton, England on her maiden voyage. At 883 feet in length, she is the largest ship ever to have been built, and is reputed to be unsinkable...
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Roy Ward Baker
A Tale of Two Cities (1958)
Ralph Thomas
In 1775, the banker Jarvis Lorry travels to Paris to be reunited with his old friend, Dr Alexandre Manette, who has been held prisoner in the Bastille for the last eighteen years...
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Ralph Thomas
A Town Like Alice (1956)
Jack Lee
In 1942, Jean Paget is working in Malaya when the Japanese army begins to attack the country. In no time, she ends up with a party of women and children who are instructed to walk fifty miles to Kuala Lumpur, where they will be allowed to leave the country for Singapore...
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Jack Lee
The Abominable Snowman (1957)
Val Guest
Dr John Rollason leads a botanical expedition to the Himalayas, accompanied by his wife Helen and colleague Peter Fox. Staying at a Tibetan monastery, Rollason becomes excited when he learns that another expedition, led by the American Tom Friend, will soon arrive, on a mission to find the Yeti, a prehistoric near-relation of modern man that has so far eluded discovery... [More...]
Val Guest
Dr John Rollason leads a botanical expedition to the Himalayas, accompanied by his wife Helen and colleague Peter Fox. Staying at a Tibetan monastery, Rollason becomes excited when he learns that another expedition, led by the American Tom Friend, will soon arrive, on a mission to find the Yeti, a prehistoric near-relation of modern man that has so far eluded discovery... [More...]
The Admirable Crichton (1957)
Lewis Gilbert
England, 1905. The Earl of Loam and his three eligible young daughters owe the smooth functioning of their household to their hyper-efficient butler, Crichton... [More...]
Lewis Gilbert
England, 1905. The Earl of Loam and his three eligible young daughters owe the smooth functioning of their household to their hyper-efficient butler, Crichton... [More...]
The African Queen (1951)
John Huston
In 1914, Rose Sayer assists her brother, the Reverend Samuel Sayer, in leading a missionary village in German East Africa... [More...]
John Huston
In 1914, Rose Sayer assists her brother, the Reverend Samuel Sayer, in leading a missionary village in German East Africa... [More...]
An Inspector Calls (1954)
Guy Hamilton
England, 1912. At his North Midlands home, Arthur Birling, a rich mill owner, is hosting a dinner party to mark the engagement of his daughter Sheila to Gerald Croft... [More...]
Guy Hamilton
England, 1912. At his North Midlands home, Arthur Birling, a rich mill owner, is hosting a dinner party to mark the engagement of his daughter Sheila to Gerald Croft... [More...]
The Battle of the River Plate (1956)
Michael Powell
November 1939. When his freighter, The Africa Shell, is sunk by the German pocket battleship Graf Spee, Captain Dove finds himself a prisoner of Captain Langsdorff... [More...]
Michael Powell
November 1939. When his freighter, The Africa Shell, is sunk by the German pocket battleship Graf Spee, Captain Dove finds himself a prisoner of Captain Langsdorff... [More...]
Beat the Devil (1953)
John Huston
Billy Dannreuther and his wife Maria are on their way to make their fortune in Africa, but are held up in an Italian port whilst their steamboat undergoes some repair work... [More...]
John Huston
Billy Dannreuther and his wife Maria are on their way to make their fortune in Africa, but are held up in an Italian port whilst their steamboat undergoes some repair work... [More...]
The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)
Frank Launder
The Sultan of Makyad has decided that his daughter Fatima should be brought up as a respectable English lady and so sends her to St Trinian's, a boarding school for girls in Barchester... [More...]
Frank Launder
The Sultan of Makyad has decided that his daughter Fatima should be brought up as a respectable English lady and so sends her to St Trinian's, a boarding school for girls in Barchester... [More...]
The Blue Lamp (1950)
Basil Dearden
With only a few weeks to go before he is due to retire from the Metropolitan Police, P.C. George Dixon wonders whether he should stay on for a few more years... [More...]
Basil Dearden
With only a few weeks to go before he is due to retire from the Metropolitan Police, P.C. George Dixon wonders whether he should stay on for a few more years... [More...]
Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1957)
Frank Launder
With headmistress Miss Fritton taking leave at her Majesty's pleasure, St Trinian's has descended into a state of total anarchy... [More...]
Frank Launder
With headmistress Miss Fritton taking leave at her Majesty's pleasure, St Trinian's has descended into a state of total anarchy... [More...]
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
David Lean
During WWII, a contingent of British prisoners march into a Japanese camp run by the ruthless Colonel Saito, who intends using them to construct a railway bridge across the River Kwai... [More...]
David Lean
During WWII, a contingent of British prisoners march into a Japanese camp run by the ruthless Colonel Saito, who intends using them to construct a railway bridge across the River Kwai... [More...]
Brothers in Law (1957)
Roy Boulting
Roger Thursby is a recently graduated barrister who is desperately keen to make his mark on the legal profession. Alas, it isn't long before his initial optimism begins to wane as it becomes apparent that winning his first briefs is no east matter... [More...]
Roy Boulting
Roger Thursby is a recently graduated barrister who is desperately keen to make his mark on the legal profession. Alas, it isn't long before his initial optimism begins to wane as it becomes apparent that winning his first briefs is no east matter... [More...]
The Browning Version (1951)
Anthony Asquith
For almost twenty years, Andrew Crocker-Harris has worked diligently as a classics master at an English boys' public school... [More...]
Anthony Asquith
For almost twenty years, Andrew Crocker-Harris has worked diligently as a classics master at an English boys' public school... [More...]
The Card (1952)
Ronald Neame
Bursley is one of the Five Towns in Staffordshire, the heartland of Britain's ceramics industry. Despite his humble origins as the son of a poor washerwoman, Edward Henry Machin would rise to become Bursely's most famous figure in the 1890s, a man who can quite rightly be called a Card... [More...]
Ronald Neame
Bursley is one of the Five Towns in Staffordshire, the heartland of Britain's ceramics industry. Despite his humble origins as the son of a poor washerwoman, Edward Henry Machin would rise to become Bursely's most famous figure in the 1890s, a man who can quite rightly be called a Card... [More...]
Carry on Nurse (1959)
Gerald Thomas
Ted York and Bernie Bishop are the latest admissions to a men's ward in a busy London hospital, the former a reporter with appendicitis, the latter a boxer with a fractured hand... [More...]
Gerald Thomas
Ted York and Bernie Bishop are the latest admissions to a men's ward in a busy London hospital, the former a reporter with appendicitis, the latter a boxer with a fractured hand... [More...]
Carry on Sergeant (1958)
Gerald Thomas
For the past six years, Sergeant Grimshaw has dreamed of turning out a champion platoon at his army training camp. So far the dream had eluded him, but this time, his last opportunity before he retires, he is certain he will succeed... [More...]
Gerald Thomas
For the past six years, Sergeant Grimshaw has dreamed of turning out a champion platoon at his army training camp. So far the dream had eluded him, but this time, his last opportunity before he retires, he is certain he will succeed... [More...]
Carve Her Name with Pride (1958)
Lewis Gilbert
London, 1940. On the pretext of celebrating Bastille Day with a Frenchman, Violet Bushell accosts Etienne Szabo, an officer in the French Foreign Legion, and invites him back to her home for dinner... [More...]
Lewis Gilbert
London, 1940. On the pretext of celebrating Bastille Day with a Frenchman, Violet Bushell accosts Etienne Szabo, an officer in the French Foreign Legion, and invites him back to her home for dinner... [More...]
Cloudburst (1951)
Francis Searle
London, 1946. A former resistance operative during the war, John Graham now runs a code-breaking department that deciphers coded messages which may result in the prosecution of war criminals... [More...]
Francis Searle
London, 1946. A former resistance operative during the war, John Graham now runs a code-breaking department that deciphers coded messages which may result in the prosecution of war criminals... [More...]
The Cockleshell Heroes (1955)
José Ferrer
During WWII, Major Stringer, an American officer recently assigned to the Royal Marines, devises a daring plan that will help to break Germany's blockade of Britain's sea lanes... [More...]
José Ferrer
During WWII, Major Stringer, an American officer recently assigned to the Royal Marines, devises a daring plan that will help to break Germany's blockade of Britain's sea lanes... [More...]
The Colditz Story (1955)
Guy Hamilton
1942, Saxony. After an unsuccessful escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp, captured British army officers Pat Reid and Mac McGill are sent to Oflag IV-C, a castle prison that is reputedly escape-proof... [More...]
Guy Hamilton
1942, Saxony. After an unsuccessful escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp, captured British army officers Pat Reid and Mac McGill are sent to Oflag IV-C, a castle prison that is reputedly escape-proof... [More...]
The Cruel Sea (1953)
Charles Frend
At the beginning of WWII, Captain Ericson takes charge of a recently commissioned Royal Navy corvette, the Compass Rose, and immediately begins a series of trials with his inexperienced crew of raw recruits... [More...]
Charles Frend
At the beginning of WWII, Captain Ericson takes charge of a recently commissioned Royal Navy corvette, the Compass Rose, and immediately begins a series of trials with his inexperienced crew of raw recruits... [More...]
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Terence Fisher
Whilst in prison, awaiting his execution for murder, Baron Victor Frankenstein relates his tragic life story to a priest... [More...]
Terence Fisher
Whilst in prison, awaiting his execution for murder, Baron Victor Frankenstein relates his tragic life story to a priest... [More...]
The Dam Busters (1955)
Michael Anderson
In 1942, at the height of WWII, aircraft engineer Barnes Wallis has become obsessed with the idea of flooding the Ruhr valley by a single bombing raid on its dams... [More...]
Michael Anderson
In 1942, at the height of WWII, aircraft engineer Barnes Wallis has become obsessed with the idea of flooding the Ruhr valley by a single bombing raid on its dams... [More...]
Dracula (1958)
Terence Fisher
Jonathan Harker makes the journey to Klausenberg to take up the post of librarian at Castle Dracula. The real motive for his expedition is to kill his employer, Count Dracula, but before he can do this he is attacked by a mysterious woman in white... [More...]
Terence Fisher
Jonathan Harker makes the journey to Klausenberg to take up the post of librarian at Castle Dracula. The real motive for his expedition is to kill his employer, Count Dracula, but before he can do this he is attacked by a mysterious woman in white... [More...]
Father Brown (1954)
Robert Hamer
Undeterred by a tip-off from the police that a French master-criminal, Gustave Flambeau, intends stealing a cross belonging to Saint Augustine, Father Ignatius Brown decides to carry the holy relic to Rome on his person... [More...]
Robert Hamer
Undeterred by a tip-off from the police that a French master-criminal, Gustave Flambeau, intends stealing a cross belonging to Saint Augustine, Father Ignatius Brown decides to carry the holy relic to Rome on his person... [More...]
Follow a Star (1959)
Robert Asher
Norman Truscott is a humble dry cleaner's assistant who dreams of becoming a famous singer like his idol, Vernon Carew. One day, he gets an opportunity to demonstrate his vocal talents, ironically at one of Carew's shows, breaking into song when some members of the audience ridicule the star's dated musical numbers... [More...]
Robert Asher
Norman Truscott is a humble dry cleaner's assistant who dreams of becoming a famous singer like his idol, Vernon Carew. One day, he gets an opportunity to demonstrate his vocal talents, ironically at one of Carew's shows, breaking into song when some members of the audience ridicule the star's dated musical numbers... [More...]