More British Films from the 1940s
Five Classic Movies Recognized by the British Film Institute
Aug 15, 2008
Does your taste in films run toward crime thrillers and film noir? Comedies? Romantic fantasies? Literary adaptations? Shakespeare? Straight drama? Then look no further. There is something for everyone in the following list of five British classics, arranged by BFI ranking.
Brighton Rock (1947)
- Director: John Boulting
- Cast: Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley, Carol Marsh, Harcourt Williams
- BFI Ranking: #15
A psychopathic small town gangster (Attenborough) kills an investigative reporter and then marries a naïve waitress (Marsh) who could testify against him should the time arise. Instead, it is up to a suspicious bar singer (Baddeley) to bring the hoodlum down.
This British film noir is equal to any Hollywood film noir. The script, and the novel that it is based on, were written by Graham Greene and represents a dark contrast to many British films of that time.
Henry V (1944)
- Director: Laurence Olivier
- Cast: Laurence Olivier, Robert Newton, Leslie Banks, Esmond Knight, Renee Asherson
- BFI Ranking: #18
Shakespeare’s play of Henry Plantagenet who defeated the French at Agincourt against great odds, was intended as a propaganda piece to rally the British during World War II. The result is a movie rich in passion and spectacle that starts at the Globe Theater in Shakespearian London before moving into a broader setting.
It was Olivier’s directorial debut and he was Oscar-nominated for best actor. The film was also nominated for best picture, best music and best art direction. It did not win in any of these categories, but Olivier did receive an honorary award from the Academy.
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
- Director: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- Cast: David Niven, Roger Livesey, Kim Hunter, Marius Goring, Raymond Massey, Abraham Sofaer
- BFI Ranking: #20
A RAF pilot (Niven) falls for an American radio operator (Hunter) shortly before he survives a plane crash during the closing days of World War II. Informed by an angel that he should not have survived, the aviator goes before a heavenly court to argue that he should be allowed to live. Helping to defend him is his new love.
The movie is an impressive effort from the directing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and was Powell’s favorite film. It was made in part as a means to boost sagging post-war relations between America and Britain.
Whisky Galore! (1949)
- Director: Alexander Mackendrick
- Cast: Basil Radford, Joan Greenwood, Jean Cadell, Gordon Jackson, James Robertson Justice
- BFI Ranking: #24
The World War II residents of a Scottish island are in a state of depression because they have run out of whisky. Then a “miracle” happens when an American ship carrying 50,000 cases of Scotch goes aground. The good citizens then decide that it’s their duty to salvage and hide the booze.
This movie was among the first of many fine comedies produced by the legendary Ealing Studios in the late 1940s and 1950s. Alexander Mackendrick later directed the successful Hollywood drama The Sweet Smell of Success starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis.
Black Narcissus (1947)
- Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- Cast: Deborah Kerr, David Farrer, Sabu, Jean Simmons, Kathleen Byron, Flora Robson
- BFI Ranking: #44
This time Powell and Pressburger tell the story of a young nun (Kerr) who is sent by her order, with several other sisters, to establish a mission at the foot of the Himalayas. While there, her group struggles against the elements, the area’s culture, and their own feelings and desires.
The film was very controversial at the time because the nuns were often seen as being guided by their own needs rather than spiritual needs. The movie won Oscars for color cinematography and art direction.
Oliver Twist (1948)
- Director: David Lean
- Cast: Alec Guinness, Robert Newton, Francis L. Sullivan, John Howard Davies, Kay Walsh
- BFI Ranking: #46
After completing Great Expectations, director David Lean returned to Dickens for his interpretation of this old classic. The result is a picture, filmed in stark black and white which is much more grim and fatalistic than the musical Oliver! made twenty years later.
Alec Guiness is outstanding in the role of Fagin. John Howard Davies, who played Oliver, later became a noted television producer.
Related articles: Great British Films from the 1940s, More Classic British Movies.
