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Browse 71 movies from British National Films
Twenty years removed from Alice Barlow's murder by a thief looking for her jewels, newlyweds Paul and Bella Mallen move into the very house where the crime was committed. Retired detective B.G. Rough, who worked on the Barlow case, is still in the area and grows suspicious of Paul, who he feels bears a striking resemblance to one of Barlow's relatives. Rough must find the truth before the killer can strike again and reclaim his bounty.
Aug 1940
Eccentric Cambridge archaeologist Horatio Smith takes a group of British and American archaeology students to pre-war Nazi Germany to help in his excavations. His research is supported by the Nazis, since he professes to be looking for evidence of the Aryan origins of German civilisation. However, he has a secret agenda: to free inmates of the concentration camps.
Jul 1941
A silent film version of the Gershwin stage musical
Jun 1927
A Lady adopts a runaway slum girl who resembles her own dead daughter.
Set in Claverly Village, it follows the fortunes of the Rookebys (Clements) and the ne'r-do-well Appleyards (Williams) from the time of the Normans, 1588, 1804, 1914, and 1940. Made to support morale during the war, its message is basically that you can't suppress the British; they've been there since the beginning; they'll be there to the end.
During a raid on Germany, a British bomber crew is forced to bail out after their plane is damaged. They land in Holland, where they're aided by Dutch civilians.
Apr 1942
During early World War II, a Danish sea captain, delayed in a British port, tangles with German spies.
May 1940
Bedelia Carrington is living happily, it appears, in Monte Carlo with her husband Charlie Carrington. But a cultivated young artist, Ben Chaney, begins probing into her past with curious concern. Chaney, who is really a detective, learns that Bedelia's obsession for money has led her, in the past, to husband-poisoning for the insurance money.
Jul 1946
As WWII begins, vaudeville entertainer Tommy Towers is called up to serve. He arranges a job for his girlfriend at the local pub. To keep moral up, his commanding officer orders him to perform for the troops.
Mar 1940
Powerful and sometimes disturbing account of Britain's defences against enemy attack - made six months before WWII.
Feb 1939
An operation of counterfeit five pound notes is discovered at a variety theater, leading to murder during the performance.
Oct 1943
Timid Don Chicago yearns to follow in the footsteps of his gangster mother, but is forced by the Mulligan Gang to leave America. In England, he tangles with a British police officer and high society.
Aug 1945
Depressing and realistic family drama about the struggles of unemployment and poverty in 1930s Lancashire. The 20-year-old Kerr gives an emotionally charged performance as Hardcastle, one of the cotton workers trying to make life better. Interlaced with humour that brings a ray of sunshine to the pervasive bleakness, this remains a powerful social study of life between the wars, and was a rare problem picture to come out of Britain at the time.
Jun 1941
Small-time jewel thief Leo Martin is deserted by his partners-in-crime, club owner Gus Loman and driver Hatchett, when the robbery they are committing goes wrong. After serving his prison sentence, Leo emerges with an intricate plan for revenge. Leo implicates Loman, as well as his amoral boss, Gregory Lang, for murder -- but Inspector Rogers suspects Leo.
May 1946
A Canadian officer, David Anson, who falls for French dancer Nicolette Bonnett during wartime, has a child with her, and returns heartbroken after her death from a weak heart, only for his wife to adopt the son, linking their lives across continents and tragedy, exploring themes of love, duty, and lost time.
Feb 1947
A patriotic, cinematic salvo, this wartime production tells the story of the owner of a shipbuilding company doing his best to contribute to the British fleet. War is good for business, but what will happen once the war is won? It was based on a novel by George Blake.
Dec 1943
An out-of-work comedian persuades a drunken nobleman to join a protest against the closing of a village hall.
Aug 1942
The Agitator is a 1945 British drama film directed by John Harlow and starring William Hartnell, Mary Morris and John Laurie. Its plot follows a young mechanic who unexpectedly inherits the large firm where he works and tries to run it according to his socialist political beliefs. It was based on the 1925 novel Peter Pettinger by William Riley.
Jan 1945
The French king's mistress frees her jailed lover and makes him her bodyguard.
Aug 1927
Turn of the Tide is a 1935 British film directed by Norman Walker. It was the first feature film made by J. Arthur Rank. It is set in a North Yorkshire fishing village, and relates the rivalry between two fishing families. The actors included John Garrick, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson speak in the local accent. The work is based on the novel Three Fevers by Leo Walmsley.
Jun 1935