The Thief Of Bagdad (1940) 

Dazzling Miklós Rózsa score beguiles from opening frames, matching brilliant colours and expansive design to conjure magic of Arabian Nights tales. Sabu provides mischief, Conrad Veidt is masterfully mean, whole film brims with imagination.

The Third Man (1949) 

Gorgeously evocative urban visuals and suspenseful staging of postwar Vienna's shifting politics and blackmarket sees wearied Joseph Cotton discovering truth to shady friend Orson Welles and actress Alida Valli. Series of memorable set pieces and witty dialogue.

The Thirty Nine Steps (1978) 

Solidly made and designed chase thriller that plays on memories of Hitchcock original while revisiting source novel with breezy action. Fine cast sees tense John Mills intrude on reluctant Robert Powell to prevent political assassination on eve of World War. 

This Happy Breed (1944) 

Captivating domestic epic spanning 20 years in the lives of a London family between world wars. Deft mix of comedy and tragedy is moving, performers uniformly persuasive and subtle Technicolor luminescent. Both detail and spectacle perfectly pitched, as well as proof that Britain runs on tea.

This Sporting Life (1963) 

Conflicted Richard Harris, raging against society even as he escapes mines for celebrated violence on rugby league fields, is captured with propulsive, effective technique. Social realism and gritty symbolism grounded by bitter anguish of Rachel Roberts.

The Trap (1966) 

Spectacular landscapes, and Robert Krasker's powerful visuals, combine with Ron Goodwin's head-on score to muscular effect. Oliver Reed's French-Canadian trapper and Rita Tushingham's mute wilderness survivor combine well and the wolf attack is savagely thrilling.

Trio (1950) 

Somerset Maugham stories provide unassuming portraits of characters facing turning points in their lives. Detail and subtlety deliver the most compelling strengths and gleaming visuals are evocative, yet individual moments remain more persuasive than the whole. 

Turn The Key Softly (1953) 

Intriguingly low-key and grittily told drama following three women released from prison, though cramming the events into a single day inevitably creates strains in narrative persuasion. Well established on London locations and Kathleen Harrison is especially moving.

Violent Playground (1958) 

Respectful pacing and open visuals allow a solid cast to take centre stage, as Stanley Baker's policeman and Peter Cushing's priest seek to help David McCallum and troubled youth in Liverpool. Overly earnest, urban atmosphere and reflection on society maintains interest.

Waterloo Road (1944) 

Crisply shot and highly evocative in its south London locations, the slight story features John Mills going AWOL to rescue his wife from the greasy hands of Stewart Granger's archetypal spiv. Told with swift humour and wartime message, as well as appealing grittiness.

The Way To The Stars (1947) 

Spanning the wartime years of a British airfield and local community, patchwork narrative vividly tells of life and loss with bittersweet sentimentality. Unfussy approach lends authentic voice and fine cast embodies fleeting joys and enduring hope. 

We Dive At Dawn (1943) 

Low-key style sets up Captain John Mills, Seaman Eric Portman and other submarine crew before central section screws claustrophobic tension of chase and escape, before action heroics raid on Danish port. Sense of documentary detail aids persuasive drama.

Where No Vultures Fly (1951)

Attractive location visuals compensate for unadventurous staging with principled Anthony Steel determined to establish African animal reserve and prevent colonial ivory traders. Wife Dinah Sheridan provides stoic support. Animals add vivid colour.

Whistle Down The Wind (1961) 

Stark humanity of relationships and sense of community is conjured through evocative photography, Malcolm Arnold's insightful score and natural performances, as innocent Hayley Mills believes fugitive Alan Bates is Jesus. Low-key and movingly conceived.

The Wicked Lady (1945) 

Stagy setups and pacing undermines the potential of Margaret Lockwood's gender playfulness as a highwayman chasing physical and emotional release. Design and costume, as well as the wedding party and James Mason hanging sequences, deliver more persuasive pleasures.

Windom's Way (1957) 

Historical basis of Malaysian post-war disturbances sees dedicated doctor Peter Finch caught between rebels and government as violent conflict spins out of control. Cynical politics and brittle relationship with conflicted Mary Ure prove uneasy mix.

The Winslow Boy (1948) 

Solidly told and performed, literate and tasteful adaptation benefits enormously from emotional nuance and conviction of Robert Donat allied with assured resilience of Margaret Leighton. Family's fight for son's innocence extols individual rights, despite personal sacrifices, on eve of war.

Young And Innocent (1937) 

Hitchcock's technical mastery and storytelling exuberance provides a giddy mix of comedy and thrills along with the virtuosity of individual set pieces. The flimsy narrative features the luminous Nova Pilbeam helping wrongly accused Derrick De Marney.The pleasure is in the detail and textures.