Michael Balcon
Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer, known for his work with Ealing Studios. Balcon had earlier worked for Gainsborough Pictures, Gaumont British and MGM-British.
The Long and the Short and the Tall
In 1942, a group of British soldiers is sent on a mission in the Malaysian jungle and gets lost in the Japanese-controlled zone.
The Siege of Pinchgut
Three men break Matt Kirk out of jail, but their escape plan derails after their boat falters near an island, where the caretaker recognizes him. A hostage situation erupts, leading to a tense standoff with authorities.
Nowhere to Go
A professional thief is sprung from prison with the assistance of a new partner who wants to know where he's hid his loot.
Dunkirk
A British Corporal in France finds himself responsible for the lives of his men when their officer is killed. He has to get them back to Britain somehow. Meanwhile, British civilians are being dragged into the war with Operation Dynamo, the scheme to get the French and British forces back from the Dunkirk beaches.
Davy
The Mad Morgans are a family song and dance act touring the British music halls. Young Davy is the star of the act, but should he stay with his family or strike out on his own?
The Shiralee
An Australian "swagman" finds his wife with another man, so he takes the daughter, Buster, with him. On the road together, going from town to town and from farm to farm, father and daughter explore new depths of understanding and bonding.
The Man in the Sky
The efforts of test pilot John Mitchell to make a better life for his wife Mary and their two children seem doomed to failure and he blames himself.
Barnacle Bill
A seasick sea captain commands an amusement pier despite local opposition. Released in the U.S. as 'All at Sea'
The Long Arm
The sleuths of Scotland Yard try to solve a series of burglaries.
The Feminine Touch
The public and private lives of 5 girls, who start out as student nurses in the National Health service during the 1950's.
The Night My Number Came Up
On a routine flight from Hong Kong to Japan, a British military transport aircraft's fate may or may not depend on a prophetic nightmare.
The Ladykillers
Meet "The Unholy Five"...The Most Befuddled Set of Assorted Thugs That Ever Fouled Up a Million Dollar Bank Robbery!!
West of Zanzibar
The story of native tribesmen who move towards Mombasa, getting drawn info the world of ivory smuggling.
Lease of Life
The parson of a small rural community knows he is dying and this makes him reconsider his life so far and what he can still do to help the community.
Mandy
Mandy Garland was born deaf and has been mute for all of her life. Her parents believe she is able to speak if she can only be taught, and they enroll her with a special teacher.
Where No Vultures Fly
An English game warden in Kenya creates a national park to protect wildlife but faces opposition from poachers and local tribesmen.
The Man in the White Suit
The unassuming, nebbishy inventor Sidney Stratton creates a miraculous fabric that will never be dirty or worn out. Clearly he can make a fortune selling clothes made of the material, but may cause a crisis in the process.
The Lavender Hill Mob
A meek bank clerk who oversees the shipment of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country as miniature Eiffel Towers.
Pool of London
Jewel thieves, murder, and a manhunt swirl around a sailor off a cargo ship in post-war London.
The Magnet
A classic Ealing comedy in which a young boy steals a magnet and becomes a hero.
The Blue Lamp
P.C. George Dixon is a long-serving traditional copper who is due to retire shortly. He takes a new recruit under his aegis and introduces him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic ordinary hero but also anachronistic, unprepared and unable to answer the violence of the 1950s.
Cage of Gold
The love that Judy, a young painter, feels for Alan, a promising doctor to whom she is engaged, falters when Bill, an old friend, suddenly appears.
Bitter Springs
Tommy (Tommy Trinder) is called in to smooth things out after Wally King (Chips Rafferty) encroaches upon Aboriginal tribal ground.
Whisky Galore!
Based on a true story. The name of the real ship, that sunk Feb 5 1941 - during WWII - was S/S Politician. Having left Liverpool two days earlier, heading for Jamaica, it sank outside Eriskay, The Outer Hebrides, Scotland, in bad weather, containing 250,000 bottles of whisky.
Passport to Pimlico
When an unexploded WWII bomb is accidentally detonated in Pimlico, it reveals a treasure trove and documents proving that the region is in fact part of Burgundy, France and thus foreign territory. The British government attempts to regain control by setting up border controls and cutting off services to the area.
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Louis Mazzini's mother belongs to the aristocratic family D'Ascoyne, but she ran away with an opera singer. Therefore, she and Louis were rejected by the D'Ascoynes. Once adult, Louis decides to avenges his mother and him, by becoming the next Duke of the family. Murdering every potential successor is clearly the safest way to achieve his goal.
Eureka Stockade
In 1854, Australian gold rush miners struggle for their rights against an oppressive government.
Scott of the Antarctic
The true story of the British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his ill-fated expedition to try to be the first man to discover the South Pole - only to find that the murderously cold weather and a rival team of Norwegian explorers conspire against him
Saraband for Dead Lovers
Sophie Dorothea is a young woman forced into a loveless marriage with Prince George Louis of Hanover. George Louis is later crowned King George I of England. Despairing of ever experiencing true love, the depressed queen finds life at court no solace. Sophie then falls for a dashing Swedish soldier of fortune, Count Konigsmark.
Another Shore
A young Irishman comes up with an unusual plan to get the money to emigrate to Tahiti.
The Loves of Joanna Godden
On Romney Marsh at the turn of the century, a woman farmer has three suitors.
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
A fatherless boy tries to make his fortune despite interference from his rich uncle.
It Always Rains on Sunday
Robert Hamer's bleak portrait of life in London's East End.
Hue and Cry
A gang of street boys foil a master crook who sends commands for robberies by cunningly altering a comic strip's wording each week, unknown to writer and printer. The first of the Ealing comedies.
Frieda
A Royal Air Force pilot who was shot down during World War II returns home to his English village with his new bride. The trouble is that she is the German lady who helped him escape. Then her brother arrives.
The Overlanders
It's the start of WWII in Northern Australia. The Japanese are getting close. People are evacuating and burning everything in a "scorched earth" policy.
The Captive Heart
A series of stories about the lives and loves of men in a Prisoner of War camp over five years. The main story is of Hasek (Redgrave) a Czech soldier who needs to keep his identity a secret from the Nazis. To do this, he poses as a dead English Officer and corresponds with the man's wife. Other inmates’ stories are also revealed.
Pink String and Sealing Wax
Melodrama set in Victorian Brighton. Scheming pub landlady uses the timorous son of a domineering pharmacist to assist in the poisoning of her drunkard husband. (The title is from the way pharmacists used to wrap parcels containing poison).
Dead of Night
Architect Walter Craig, seeking the possibility of some work at a country farmhouse, soon finds himself once again stuck in his recurring nightmare. Dreading the end of the dream that he knows is coming, he must first listen to all the assembled guests' own bizarre tales.
They Came to a City
People from different walks of live mysteriously find themselves at the gate of an unknown city
The Halfway House
A group of travellers, all with something to hide in their past, take shelter from a storm in an old inn. The inn-keeper seems a little mysterious...
Champagne Charlie
Ealing Comedy about rivalry between 19th Century music hall performers.
Undercover
A World War II film made by Ealing Studios on the Yugoslav guerrilla resistance movement in German-occupied Yugoslavia.
My Learned Friend
An insane murderer is on the loose, and gunning for the men who put him away. Will Hay is on the list, and co-opts Claude Hulbert to try and stop him from meeting a grisly end.
Went the Day Well?
The quiet village of Bramley End is taken over by German troops posing as Royal Engineers. Their task is to disrupt England's radar network in preparation for a full scale German invasion. Once the villagers discover the true identity of the troops, they do whatever they can to thwart the Nazis plans.
The Big Blockade
Wartime propaganda piece reporting on the success of the economic blockade of Germany in the early years of the war.
The Ghost of St. Michael's
Will Hay, back in his role as a hapless teacher, is hired by a grim school in remotest Scotland. The school soon starts to be haunted by a legendary ghost, whose spectral bagpipes signal the death of one of the staff. Hay, assisted by Claude Hulbert and Charles Hawtrey, has to unravel the mystery before he becomes the next victim.
The Proud Valley
In a Welsh coal mining valley, a young man with a beautiful singing voice is called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice when a pit disaster threatens.
Saloon Bar
Against Christmas backdrop, pub regulars led by bookie Joe Harris try to prove Eddie Graves' innocence before his scheduled execution for murder the next morning, as landlord awaits new baby.
Return to Yesterday
Robert Maine is torn between returning to the glamour of Hollywood or working with a small theatre company in England. When she falls in love with Maine, Carol has the same dilemma.
Let George Do It!
Shortly after the start of World War II, a ukelele player (George) takes the wrong boat and finds himself in (still uninvaded) Norway. He is mistaken for a fellow British intelligence agent by a woman (Mary), and becomes involved in trying to defeat Nazi agents.
The Four Just Men
The four men of the title are British WWI veterans who decide to work secretly against enemies of the country. They aren't above a bit of murder or sabotage to serve their ends, but they consider themselves to be true patriots.
Cheer Boys Cheer
Shades of "Romeo and Juliet" with rival British Brewery owners who hate each other and their children who fall in love.
The Ware Case
Sir Hubert Ware (Clive Brook) an apparently wealthy businessman is in fact on the verge of bankruptcy. Ater his boorish, well-healed brother is found dead on the family estate, he finds himself on trial for murder.
Climbing High
Wealthy Nicky finds himself engaged to gold-digger Lady Constance, but he really loves scatty model Diana. Complications, slapstick and mountaineering are the result.
Where There's a Will
Will Hay plays the pennyless, bungling solicitor Benjamin Stubbins, who arrives at his office to find his insolent office boy (Graham Moffatt) with his feet up on the desk, reading a wild west magazine, which Hay confiscates so that he can read it later.
The Man Who Changed His Mind
Dr. Laurence, a once-respectable scientist, begins to research the origin of the mind and the soul. The science community rejects him, and he risks losing everything for which he has worked. He begins to use his discoveries to save his research and further his own causes, thereby becoming ... a mad scientist, almost unstoppable.
Secret Agent
After three British agents are assigned to assassinate a mysterious German spy during World War I, two of them become ambivalent when their duty to the mission conflicts with their consciences.
Sabotage
Karl Anton Verloc and his wife own a small cinema in a quiet London suburb where they live seemingly happily. But Mrs. Verloc does not know that her husband has a secret that will affect their relationship and threaten her teenage brother's life.
It's Love Again
A gossip columnist creates a fictitious woman for his column, and an unknown singer impersonates the woman to gain publicity.
The Passing of the Third Floor Back
The tenants of an old London boarding house spend their time in petty bickering and sniping until a mysterious stranger arrives at their door.
The Clairvoyant
A fake music-hall clairvoyant meets a woman, and suddenly his predictions seem to come true ...
The 39 Steps
The 39 Steps is one of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpieces. A romantic thriller that revolves around a Canadian tourist visiting London who gets caught in the middle of a murder plot that has police and the secret service after him. A classic Hitchcock of romance mixed with adventure and picturesque scenes.
Me and Marlborough
In 1709, Kit Ross (Cicely Courtneidge) disguises herself as a man and joins the army to search for her press-ganged husband.
Foreign Affaires
Upper class but broke, two British scroungers cause havoc in high society on the French Riviera.
Bulldog Jack
While filling in for injured supersleuth Bulldog Drummond (Atholl Fleming), world-class cricket player Jack Pennington (Jack Hulbert) attempts to foil a criminal mastermind's (Ralph Richardson) impending heist that's targeting a valuable jewel necklace held within the British Museum.
The Man Who Knew Too Much
A man and his wife receive a clue to an imminent assassination attempt, only to learn that their daughter has been kidnapped to keep them quiet.
Man of Aran
A documentary on the life of the people of the Aran Islands, who were believed to contain the essence of the ancient Irish life, represented by a pure uncorrupted peasant existence centred around the struggle between man and his hostile but magnificent surroundings.
The Man from Toronto
The rich widow Leila disguises herself as a maid and falls in love with her employer Fergus who is a rich Canadian bachelor. Their wealth depends on each getting married within the next year. Whose fooling who in this comedy love affair?
The Good Companions
Musical taken from J. B. Priestley's novel about three musicians joining together to save a failing concert party, the Dinky Doos.
The Ghoul
An Egyptologist returns from the dead to take revenge on those who have violated his tomb.
I Was a Spy
During World War I, a young nurse in a hospital in German-occupied Belgium is secretly feeding military information to the British.
There Goes the Bride
A businessman's daughter runs away from an arranged marriage, only to find herself penniless and suspected of theft after she becomes the victim of a bag thief in the train.
Rome Express
The theft of a famous painting leads to murder and many suspects on a plush train speeding from Paris to Rome.
The Ringer
A master of disguise commits a series of daring crimes. Nobody knows what he looks like. He even masquerades as a doctor and kills his own partner whilst under police protection because he was about to betray him.
Easy Virtue
Larita Filton is named as correspondent in a scandalous divorce case. She escapes to France to rebuild her life where she meets John Whittaker. They are later married, but John's well-to-do family finds out Larita's secret.
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
London. A mysterious serial killer brutally murders young blond women by stalking them in the night fog. One foggy, sinister night, a young man who claims his name is Jonathan Drew arrives at the guest house run by the Bunting family and rents a room.
Downhill
Public schoolboy Roddy Berwick is expelled from school when he takes the blame for a friend's theft and his life falls apart in a series of misadventures.
The Rat
When bored courtesan Zelie de Chaumet begs her lover, the corrupt and powerful Stetz, to take her slumming, the pair encounter Pierre Boucheron, alias 'The Rat' , boy-king of the Paris underworld, and the innocent Odile.
The Pleasure Garden
Patsy Brand is a chorus girl at the Pleasure Garden music hall. She meets Jill Cheyne who is down on her luck and gets her a job as a dancer. Jill meets adventurer Hugh Fielding and they get engaged, but when Hugh travels out of the country, she begins to play around.