One of the best literary adaptations ever made.

Reed's take on the material is innovative, letting realism blur into an anaemic, soul-searching delirium.

David Lean ably directed Noel Coward's script for this intensely passionate film in which almost nothing happens.

Adapted from a melodramatic novel by James M Cain, it is a magnificent blend of film noir and feminine soap, glossily crafted by Michael Curtiz whose versatile achievements included Casablanca and Yankee Doodle Dandy.

A visually rich and morally ambiguous parable of our recent history, it is a paean to decency in an indecent age and a timelessly potent satire of class and nationalism.

MGM's lavish adaptation of Enid Bangold's evergreen novel is an at times winsome but nonetheless enjoyable yarn that remains a popular favourite among adults and children alike, dealing as it does with the notion of endeavour and the conviction of pursuing one's dreams.

Combining some wonderful song and dance routines with a cast of memorable characters, Meet Me in St Louis is certainly one the best Hollywood musicals ever. It's also one of the least ostentatious.

Music is definitely the key here, as the plot is distinctly thin, and the pairing of Crosby and Astaire, does not work as well as it could have.

It's a great comedy, with a message that works in context, the flophouses of life's downside contrasting with Hollywood's absurd hedonism.

The shady world of wildcat truck driving is the background for this B-movie, which finally gave Bogart a part to relish rather than playing a stooge due for a bullet.

Produced by David Selznick, Rebecca is a delirious Gothic melodrama, swimming with queer undercurrents

Clear an evening and indulge yourself in one of the few films that can justifiably be called an epic.

Each time it is shown, this extraordinary film embraces a new generation of children who succumb to its magic.

A crisply satisfying tale of espionage from cinema's master of suspense.

A significant precursor to the same film-maker's North by Northwest, it remains a supremely entertaining and accomplished work in its own right.

A stark and intense film, Jeanne d'Arc is renowned for its sparse shooting style - which focuses in on Falconetti's face with such relentless fascination that everything else (sets, props, secondary characters) disappear from view.

A landmark in the history of cinema that turns melodrama into high art with the story of a hard-up farmer (George O'Brien) whose affair with a city girl (Margaret Livingston) leads him to the brink of killing his doting wife (Janet Gaynor).

If you are at all interested in the history of cinema, or the influence of 20th century politics on the medium, then this film is a must-see, although over an hour of Soviet propaganda is likely to test the patience of modern viewers.