Grant is in uncharacteristic mode as a skiving, drunken bum seeing out WW2 on a South Sea island. Bribed into coast watching for the Aussie Navy, he takes to his task quite happily until the arrival of a shapely French schoolteacher and her seven small charges. A light-hearted saccharine romance. find out more...

Singing and dancing from Fred and Ginger, songs from Irving Berlin. We Saw The Sea, Let Yourself Go, Get Thee Behind Me Satan, I'd Rather Lead A Band, Let Yourself Go, I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket and Let's Face The Music And Dance are the classic song and dance routines - a total treat. find out more...

Shot in five sections "How The West Was Won" is a sprawling multi-star epic following the fortunes of one family from 1839 and New York to 1889 and Arizona. 'The Rivers' (dir Henry Hathaway); the Prescotts head west down the Ohio river. 'The Plains' (dir Henry Hathaway); Lily moves to St Louis and on to Caifornia. 'The Civil War' (dir John Ford); Linus and Zeb enlist on the Union side. 'The Railroad' (dir George Marshall); the settlers multiply and cavalry officer Zeb finds himself in a war with find out more...

Hiller is the headstrong young girl who travels to Scotland to marry a rich old man but falls for a seemingly poor young naval rating. Lyrically shot in monochrome it beautifully combines romance, comedy, suspense and a sense of the supernatural. Powell and Pressburger's most eloquent paean to the Brit landscape. find out more...

An epic retelling of the attack on Pearl Harbor and its immediate aftermath which focuses on the effects the attack has on the lives of individuals caught up in the ensuing chaos and brings the emotional issues of its characters into sharp relief. John Wayne delivers an excellent performance as a Captain nearing the end of his career who, faced with redundancy in action, looks to improving other areas of his life, particularly his relationship with his son. Kirk Douglas sees the event as a chanc find out more...

This story of a ship, the British destroyer HMS Torrin, and memories of the folks back home, are told in flash backs by survivors as they cling to a life raft. The epitome of stiff upper lip, as Coward's captain graciously condescends to his forelock-touching crew like an indulgent auntie, serves chiefly as a reminder of the structures of snobbery and privilege in the services which were partially responsible for Labour's postwar election victory. find out more...

With no personal bias whatsoever you quite simply have to see this film. Fabulous special effects and superbly theatrical acting, this Greek myth is a hugely entertaining adventure romp, replete with multi-headed Hydras, warrior skeletons and bronze gods. Suspend disbelief and enjoy. find out more...

Polanski's first, and arguably his finest, feature film is an economically brilliant exercise in tension. Sparse of cast and props, the atmosphere grows painfully taut as a young couple on a yachting trip and the hitcher they've picked up engage in ever more dangerous emotional games. find out more...

Nine survivors of a torpedoed ship, awaiting a rescue that may never arrive, find themselves in the same lifeboat as the captain of the U-Boat that sank them. Filmed as a propaganda effort, Lifeboat still manages effortlessly to convey the claustrophobia of the setting. Nominated for 3 Oscars, this is a nail-biting thriller from the master of suspense. find out more...

Brooks's adaptation of Conrad's novel, the story of an idealistic young naval officer who is discharged for cowardice and tries to redeem himself by taking some explosives into the unmapped jungles of Sumatra, where he is captured and tortured by a feudal war lord. O'Toole's Jim and Mason's Gentleman Brown discussing the age of the world and the price of evil while sat on a raft in the middle of a fog-bound river is a classic scene, and Freddie Young's photography does for the Asian jungles what find out more...