My favourite British films: late 1950s - mid 1960s.
A new kind of British actor is in evidence.
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- DirectorKarel ReiszStarsAlbert FinneyShirley Anne FieldRachel RobertsA rebellious, hard-living factory worker juggles relationships with two women, one of whom is married to another man but pregnant with his child.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsTom CourtenayJulie ChristieWilfred PicklesA lazy, irresponsible young clerk (Sir Tom Courtenay) in provincial Northern England lives in his own fantasy world and makes emotionally immature decisions as he alienates friends and family.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsAlan BatesJune RitchieThora HirdAfter his girlfriend's pregnancy forces him to marry her, a young man must adjust to his new life and contend with his domineering mother-in-law.
- DirectorClive DonnerStarsAlan BatesDonald PleasenceRobert ShawWhile renovating his house in London, Aston, out of pity, lodges a homeless man, but Aston's brother taunts and harasses the cranky old bum.
- DirectorLeslie NormanStarsRichard ToddLaurence HarveyRichard HarrisIn 1942, a group of British soldiers is sent on a mission in the Malaysian jungle and gets lost into the Japanese controlled zone.
- DirectorCy EndfieldStarsStanley BakerHerbert LomPeggy CumminsA rookie trucker tries to expose his boss' rackets.
- DirectorLindsay AndersonStarsRichard HarrisRachel RobertsAlan BadelDespite success on the field, a rising rugby star senses the emerging emptiness of his life as his inner angst begins to materialize through aggression and brutality, so he attempts to woo his landlady in hopes of finding reason to live.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsRita TushinghamDora BryanRobert StephensA pregnant teenage girl must fend for herself when her mother remarries, leaving the girl with only a new male friend for support.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsMichael RedgraveTom CourtenayAvis BunnageA young thief takes up long-distance running when he is sent to a borstal.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsRichard BurtonClaire BloomMary UreA disillusioned, angry university graduate comes to terms with his grudge against middle-class life and values.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsLaurence OlivierBrenda de BanzieRoger LiveseyArchie Rice, an old-time British music hall performer sinking into final defeat, schemes to stay in show business.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsStanley BakerJohn CrawfordDonald PleasenceIn Britain, a Manchester police inspector becomes obsessed with capturing a criminal who escapes from prison.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsLaurence HarveySimone SignoretHeather SearsAn ambitious young accountant plots to wed a wealthy factory owner's daughter despite falling in love with a married older woman.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsAlbert FinneySusannah YorkGeorge DevineThe romantic and chivalrous adventures of adopted bastard Tom Jones in 18th-century England.
- DirectorLance ComfortStarsJohn GregsonAlec ClunesRobert ShawIt's a race against time for the police when they have to find a kidnapped boy imprisoned with a time bomb, after his abductor dies without revealing the child's whereabouts.
- DirectorBryan ForbesStarsKim StanleyRichard AttenboroughMargaret LaceyA medium and her husband stage a kidnapping in order for her to pretend to solve the crime and achieve fame.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsMichael CraigPatrick McGoohanJanet MunroWhen John Harris's daughter is badly injured in an boating accident, the hospital tells him that she will need an urgent blood transfusion. Due to his religious beliefs Harris refuses permission, and the child dies. When the inquest clears Harris of all blame, the doctor in charge of the case tries to get the police to press manslaughter charges against Harris.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsDirk BogardeSylvia SymsDennis PriceA closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice.Daring subject matter for the times, very well made.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsPatrick McGoohanKeith MichellBetsy BlairThis movie, based on William Shakespeare's Othello, is neatly positioned as a vehicle to showcase some of the best jazz musicians of the period, including Dave Brubeck and Charles Mingus.
- DirectorTerry BishopStarsHarry H. CorbettFelicity YoungSpencer TeakleSet in the sleazy world of a backstreet 1950s nightclub, a serial killer is believed to be murdering the models of a glamour magazine.An underrated little thriller.
- DirectorTerry BishopStarsDerren NesbittJulie HopkinsHoward Marion-CrawfordThe inhabitants of a small village, led by a war veteran, try to catch a vagrant, who they suspect to be an escaped mental patient.
- DirectorVernon SewellStarsColin GordonJohn ChappellAnn LynnBank robbery goes awry, manager and cashier locked in vault. Robbers return after failed rescue attempt, race against time to free hostages before police arrive.Very watchable.
- DirectorJim O'ConnollyStarsPeter VaughanJohn CarsonYvonne RomainA fastidious insurance assessor investigates a potential case of insurance fraud in Brighton and uncovers a murder.
- DirectorKen AnnakinStarsNigel PatrickMargaret WhitingKatherine WoodvilleScotland Yard Chief Inspector Johnnoe is investigating a string of bank robberies but the robbers are determined to compromise Johnnoe and the investigation.
- DirectorGuy GreenStarsRichard AttenboroughPier AngeliMichael CraigA young factory worker decides to stand up against his workmates and fellow union members when they want to hold a wildcat strike.
- DirectorMuriel BoxStarsHarry H. CorbettDiane CilentoThora HirdWhen a group of northern soccer fans are down in London for the Cup Final one of their number winds up with a lady of the night. As they talk, the unsophisticated and naive lad starts to believe he has found true love.
- DirectorWolf RillaStarsSylvia SymsEdward JuddJune RitchieTwo Soho club hostesses and roommates endanger their friendship due to their romantic rivalry over the affections of a married businessman.
- DirectorJohn GuillerminStarsRichard ToddPeter SellersElizabeth SellarsA cosmetic salesman sets out to prove to himself and his wife that he is not a failure.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsDirk BogardeSarah MilesWendy CraigUpper-class Tony hires servant Hugo Barrett, who turns out to have a hidden agenda.
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsMichael CaineShelley WintersMillicent MartinAn unrepentant ladies' man gradually begins to understand the consequences of his lifestyle.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsMichael CaineNigel GreenGuy DolemanIn London, a wisecracking spy investigates the kidnapping and brainwashing of British scientists while dealing with the constraints of his agency's bureaucracy.
- DirectorCy EndfieldStarsStanley BakerJack HawkinsUlla JacobssonOutnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift.
- DirectorPeter GlenvilleStarsRichard BurtonPeter O'TooleJohn GielgudKing Henry II of England comes to terms with his affection for his close friend and confidant Thomas Becket, who finds his true honor by observing God's divine will rather than the King's.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsAlec GuinnessKay WalshRenee HoustonAn ill-behaved, lovably scruffy painter, Gulley Jimson, searches for a perfect canvas, determined to let nothing come between himself and the realization of his exalted vision.
- DirectorCyril FrankelStarsAlfred LynchSean ConneryVictor MaddernDuring World War II, a street peddler invents a story about enlisting, which convinces the magistrate to send him to the RAF instead of prison. A new loyal friend goes along with his schemes to avoid work, but eventually duty calls.
- DirectorCliff OwenStarsStanley BakerHelmut SchmidTom BellA criminal gang sets out to pull off the heist of a large army payroll.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsStanley BakerSam WanamakerGrégoire AslanIn the UK, after pulling a racetrack robbery, repeat offender Johnny Bannion hides the loot in a farmer's field but the police and the local mob come looking for Johnny and the money.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsStanley BakerGuy RolfeLeo McKernIn World War II, during the Japanese invasion of Burma, the lost remnant of a British Army Brigade HQ, led by the ruthless Captain Alan Langford, escapes through the jungle toward the British lines.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsHardy KrügerStanley BakerMicheline PresleIn 1950s London, Dutch painter Jan Van Rooyen has an affair with a rich married Frenchwoman who is supposedly murdered, resulting in Van Rooyen becoming Scotland Yard's prime suspect.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsDeborah KerrPeter WyngardeMegs JenkinsA young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.A disturbing film and no violence to be seen anywhere.
- DirectorSidney HayersStarsPeter WyngardeJanet BlairMargaret JohnstonA woman who may be a witch defends her husband from forces attempting to harm him.Atmospheric and suspenseful. Peter Wyngarde is an underrated actor.
- DirectorSidney GilliatStarsPeter SellersMai ZetterlingVirginia MaskellA frustrated librarian (Sellers) in Swansea, Wales is torn between his wife Jean (Markell) and a glamorous married woman, Liz (Zetterling), who wants to have an affair.
- DirectorJohn BoultingStarsIan CarmichaelTerry-ThomasPeter SellersA naive aristocrat in search of a career becomes caught up in the struggles between his profit-minded uncle and an aggressive labor union.
- DirectorJohn BoultingRoy BoultingStarsPeter SellersCecil ParkerIsabel JeansA minister is accidentally appointed to a snobbish parish.
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsAlec GuinnessPeter SellersCecil ParkerFive oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.