British cinema, 1930-60
Key films from the sound, war, and post-war eras
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114 titles
- DirectorWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsRaymond MasseyEdward ChapmanRalph RichardsonThe story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLeslie BanksEdna BestPeter LorreAn ordinary British couple vacationing in Switzerland suddenly find themselves embroiled in a case of international intrigue when their daughter is kidnapped by spies plotting a political assassination.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRobert DonatMadeleine CarrollLucie MannheimA man in London tries to help a counter-espionage agent, but when the agent is killed and the man stands accused, he must go on the run to save himself and stop a spy ring that is trying to steal top-secret information.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsSylvia SidneyOscar HomolkaDesmond TesterA Scotland Yard undercover detective is on the trail of a saboteur who is part of a plot to set off a bomb in London. But when the detective's cover is blown, the plot begins to unravel.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMargaret LockwoodMichael RedgravePaul LukasWhile travelling in continental Europe, a rich young playgirl realizes that an elderly lady seems to have disappeared from the train.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMaureen O'HaraRobert NewtonCharles LaughtonIn Cornwall, 1819, a young woman discovers she's living near a gang of criminals who arrange shipwrecks for profit.
- DirectorAlexander KordaStarsCharles LaughtonRobert DonatFranklin DyallKing Henry VIII marries five more times after his divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon.
- DirectorWilliam K. HowardStarsLaurence OlivierFlora RobsonVivien LeighDuring the reign of Elizabeth I, a young man's fervent devotion to the crown and to his sweetheart, a lady-in-waiting, lead him to battle for England's victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588.
- DirectorHarold YoungStarsLeslie HowardMerle OberonRaymond MasseyA noblewoman discovers her husband is The Scarlet Pimpernel, a vigilante who rescues aristocrats from the blade of the guillotine.
- DirectorJacques FeyderStarsMarlene DietrichRobert DonatIrene VanbrughAfter two years as a Czarist British agent posing as a Russian Commissar, he rescues a Russian countess from her Bolshevik captors.
- DirectorAlexander KordaStarsCharles LaughtonGertrude LawrenceElsa LanchesterThe respected painter takes to drink and faces down scandal after his wife dies.
- DirectorMaurice ElveyStarsRichard DixLeslie BanksMadge EvansA team of international scientists and engineers attempts to build a tunnel under the ocean.
- DirectorVictor SavilleStarsJessie MatthewsSonnie HaleBetty BalfourHarriet Green, a beloved and radiant music hall star of the Edwardian era, has a guilty secret: She has a baby daughter, born out of wedlock. Harriet leaves her public and flees to South Africa to raise her daughter quietly. The years pass, and now her daughter, Harriet Hawkes, returns to London as a young show-biz hopeful. Tommy, a wily publicity man, knowing that young Harriet is a dead ringer for her famous mother, convinces a theater producer to star her in a new revue as none other than the original Harriet Green, miraculously untouched by old age. The ruse works too well: Now the public believes Harriet is a well-preserved 60-year-old and Tommy is her son. The deception is more than merely inconvenient, because now Harriet and Tommy have secretly fallen in love.
- DirectorVictor SavilleStarsJessie MatthewsRobert YoungSonnie HaleElaine Bradford is a young singer and dancer, looking for her big break. Peter Carlton is a gossip columnist facing a deadline and a blank page. So, Peter invents "Mrs. Smythe-Smythe", a mysterious Englishwoman who spends her days hunting tigers in India, jumping out of airplanes, and generally driving men mad with her beauty. Since no one in London has ever seen Mrs. Smythe-Smythe, Elaine decides to impersonate the lady, in hopes that the publicity will land her the big break she's been looking for.
- DirectorSonnie HaleStarsJessie MatthewsBarry MacKayNat PendletonNewspaper reporter becomes involved with gang of crooks who take her for a tough American gangster.
- DirectorSonnie HaleStarsJessie MatthewsLouis BorelRobert FlemyngJeanne, loved by radio engineer Pierre, falls instead for Marcel, an idle womanizer.
- DirectorSonnie HaleStarsJessie MatthewsBarry MacKayJack WhitingA young orphan woman and a young man were brought up together. She is a 'genius' dancer and he is a 'genius' stockbroker. They both realise their potential. After, they realise they are in love and decide to return to the sailing life.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsJessie MatthewsMichael RedgraveNoel MadisonWealthy young man Nicky (Sir Michael Redgrave) pretends to be poor to be close to model Diana (Jesse Matthews) though he's nearly engaged to aristocrat Lady Constance (Margaret Vyner).
- DirectorPaul CzinnerAlexander KordaStarsDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Elisabeth BergnerFlora RobsonStraightforward biography of the Russian Empress, up to her assumption of the throne.
- DirectorJacques FeyderStarsFrançoise RosayAndré AlermeJean MuratTells the story of the Spanish invasion of Flanders
- DirectorHerbert WilcoxStarsBetty BlytheHerbert LangleyRandle AyrtonIn Baghdad a girl escapes from a robber sheikh and thwarts a plot to rob a merchant.
- DirectorFriedrich FeherStarsHans FeherFrançoise RosayMagda SonjaA whimsical spectacle of a little boy's adventures with a gang of bandits who are terrorizing a small southern European town.
- DirectorVictor SavilleStarsClive BrookMadeleine CarrollEmlyn WilliamsThe story opens in Copenhagen in the year 1776 on the wedding night of the King and Princess Caroline Mathilde. But the marriage was a political alliance, and the Princess felt only repugnance for her dissolute husband. On the night of their marriage the King leaves Copenhagen on a pleasure trip abroad, but his fast life proves too much for his weak constitution. Summoned to attend him, an ambitious young doctor realises that here is a great opportunity. He revives the King and, tremendously impressed, the King takes him back to Copenhagen. A love affair develops between the doctor and the Princess - but it is to have terrible consequences.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsDeborah KerrDavid FarrarFlora RobsonA group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.
- DirectorSam WoodSidney FranklinStarsRobert DonatGreer GarsonTerry KilburnAn aged teacher and former headmaster of a boarding school recalls his career and his personal life over the decades.