Film Index
British cinema: 1940s
The History of Mr. Polly (1949)
Anthony Pelissier
A dreamer and bibliophile, Alfred Polly prefers to live in the world of his imagination than in the drab England of the late 1800s...
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Anthony Pelissier
Hue and Cry (1947)
Charles Crichton
Joe Kirby, a 15 year-old lad living in London's East End, has a passion for adventure stories. When he notices the similarity between a car parked in the street with one he has and seen in his favourite comic, he suspects foul play is afoot...
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Charles Crichton
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
Michael Powell
For her entire life, Joan Webster has always known where she is going. Now aged 25, she intends to make her fortune by marrying Sir Robert Bellinger, one of the richest men in England...
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Michael Powell
In Which We Serve (1942)
Noel Coward
Captain Kinros is the commander of HMS Torrin, a Royal Navy destroyer whose launch coincides with the outbreak of World War II...
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Noel Coward
It Always Rains on Sunday (1947)
Robert Hamer
England, 1947. Rose Sandigate is an ordinary working class housewife living in the East End of London. She is married to a man 15 years her senior, who has two teenage daughters from a previous marriage...
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Robert Hamer
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Robert Hamer
In the early 1900s, Louis Mazzini, tenth Duke of Chalfont, finds himself in prison, condemned for murder. On the eve of his execution, he begins to write an account of how he came to arrive at such a sorry end... [More...]
Robert Hamer
In the early 1900s, Louis Mazzini, tenth Duke of Chalfont, finds himself in prison, condemned for murder. On the eve of his execution, he begins to write an account of how he came to arrive at such a sorry end... [More...]
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
Michael Powell
London, 1943. Humiliated in a Home Guard training exercise by an impulsive young army officer, General Clive Wynne-Candy casts his mind back forty years to the time when he too was a dashing man of action... [More...]
Michael Powell
London, 1943. Humiliated in a Home Guard training exercise by an impulsive young army officer, General Clive Wynne-Candy casts his mind back forty years to the time when he too was a dashing man of action... [More...]
The Man in Black (1949)
Francis Searle
Henry Clavering is a rich and successful businessman who has become obsessed with his own mortality. During a Yoga demonstration, he manages to send his mind momentarily out of his body, but in doing so he dies, leaving his entire estate to his daughter Joan... [More...]
Francis Searle
Henry Clavering is a rich and successful businessman who has become obsessed with his own mortality. During a Yoga demonstration, he manages to send his mind momentarily out of his body, but in doing so he dies, leaving his entire estate to his daughter Joan... [More...]
The Man in Grey (1943)
Leslie Arliss
In Regency England, Hesther Shaw is welcomed by Miss Patchett to her school for young ladies in Bath. Hesther's straitened circumstances makes her resentful of the kindnesses shown to her by Miss Patchett and her pupils but she soon buries her grievances and makes friends with the universally popular Clarissa Marr... [More...]
Leslie Arliss
In Regency England, Hesther Shaw is welcomed by Miss Patchett to her school for young ladies in Bath. Hesther's straitened circumstances makes her resentful of the kindnesses shown to her by Miss Patchett and her pupils but she soon buries her grievances and makes friends with the universally popular Clarissa Marr... [More...]
Millions Like Us (1943)
Sidney Gilliat
England, during WWII. Celia Crowson is an ordinary young woman who lives at home with her sister and her old father, whilst her brother serves in the army... [More...]
Sidney Gilliat
England, during WWII. Celia Crowson is an ordinary young woman who lives at home with her sister and her old father, whilst her brother serves in the army... [More...]
Nicholas Nickleby (1947)
Alberto Cavalcanti
Ralph Nickleby, a mean-spirited usurer, is not pleased when he learns that he is expected to make provision for his sister-in-law and her two grown-up children, Nicholas and Kate, after the death of his brother... [More...]
Alberto Cavalcanti
Ralph Nickleby, a mean-spirited usurer, is not pleased when he learns that he is expected to make provision for his sister-in-law and her two grown-up children, Nicholas and Kate, after the death of his brother... [More...]
Night Train to Munich (1940)
Carol Reed
Just before his country is annexed by Nazi Germany, the Czech inventor Axel Bomasch manages to escape to England, but his daughter Anna is arrested and sent to a concentration camp... [More...]
Carol Reed
Just before his country is annexed by Nazi Germany, the Czech inventor Axel Bomasch manages to escape to England, but his daughter Anna is arrested and sent to a concentration camp... [More...]
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... [More...]
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... [More...]
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... [More...]
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... [More...]
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... [More...]
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... [More...]
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... [More...]
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... [More...]
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... [More...]
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... [More...]
The Passionate Friends (1949)
David Lean
Through her marriage to a wealthy financier, Mary Justin has the freedom and comfort she has always yearned for, but her life is one that lacks emotional fulfilment... [More...]
David Lean
Through her marriage to a wealthy financier, Mary Justin has the freedom and comfort she has always yearned for, but her life is one that lacks emotional fulfilment... [More...]
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...]
Spare a Copper (1941)
John Paddy Carstairs
In 1939, whilst the battleship HMS Hercules is being fitted out at a Merseyside shipyard, the authorities learn that Nazi saboteurs are operating in the area and may attempt to wreck the ship before its launch... [More...]
John Paddy Carstairs
In 1939, whilst the battleship HMS Hercules is being fitted out at a Merseyside shipyard, the authorities learn that Nazi saboteurs are operating in the area and may attempt to wreck the ship before its launch... [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...]