Great Expectations: British Postwar Cinema, 1945-1960

Retrospective at Locarno Film Festival 2025

Great Expectations: British Postwar Cinema

1945-1960

Though not quite the “lost continent” it was once called, British cinema still remains under-explored by international audiences. Featuring 45 titles, this retrospective celebrates some of the defining years of British cinema—a “golden age” of sorts— structured around the question of Britishness and life in the British Isles as reflected through its postwar cinema.

Presenting both major classics and some lesser-known, if equally worthy, titles, across a wide range of genres – comedies, melodramas, crime films, and literary adaptations – this selection focuses solely on contemporary films (no period pieces, WWII narratives, or fantastical premises) and pointedly excludes the New Wave and Kitchen Sink movements whose early years overlapped with the period covered here. Although the retrospective includes a handful of documentaries for context, the primary focus remains on narrative films.

Great Expectations – which, given the relentless hardship onscreen, should be taken with a touch of bitter irony – spotlights studio-era masters and craftsmen. It sketches different shades of popular cinema, grounded in reality yet departing from it through their own generic, authorial, and formal convictions.

While surveying cycles, trends, genres, and studios, the programme highlights women’s vital contributions – via works by Muriel Box, Wendy Toye, Margaret Tait, and Jill Craigie – and foregrounds outsider perspectives, like those of blacklisted Americans Joseph Losey and Cy Endfield, who found refuge in the British film industry.

The catalogue will help you navigate the riches of this year’s British films, but if you wish to delve deeper into the brilliant careers of figures such as Seth Holt, Alexander Mackendrick, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Terence Fisher, Carol Reed, and Lance Comfort, the festival’s book publication – featuring nearly 40 essays and many rare stills – can serve as both a guide for deeper understanding and a reference for further exploration.

Ultimately, though war films are absent, the war’s shadow looms over characters’ motives and shapes the battered landscapes of cities – life and its meagre joys still dispersed on ration card. The programme examines a victor’s landscape of loss and displacement, a brooding quality translated into language of cinema. From there, it maps the rise of a nation from the ashes of war and follows it on the bumpy road to reconstruction against the backdrop of the British Empire’s decline.

Great Expectations unveils British cinema’s edgier side. British directors constantly remind us that life is not easy... but one must carry on. These films have carried on beautifully since, and this is your chance to replenish on their artistry and exuberance. – Ehsan Khoshbakht

Peeping Tom

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<<FILMS>>

sorted by date of release

A Diary for Timothy (1945) 35mm

Humphrey Jennings

A touching docudrama loaded with apprehensive humanism, in which archival footage of WWII is projected while a voice narrates a cinematic letter to Timothy—a baby born in September '45—explaining why the war was fought and what kind of future awaits him.

I Know Where I’m Going! (1945) DCP

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

A high-spirited English woman (Wendy Hiller) travels to the Highlands to marry an industrial magnate but instead falls for a Navy officer (Roger Livesey). Powell and Pressburger leave nothing to the ordinary. Laced with mythical pastoralism, this is a pictorial feast unmatched in cinema history.

Odd Man Out (1947) DCP

Carol Reed

A wounded IRA fugitive (James Mason) flees through wintry Belfast, encountering strangers while reuniting with his lover. No 1940s director matched Carol Reed's fatalistic intensity, transforming mundane details into evocations of an unbalanced world.

Temptation Harbour (1947) 35mm

Lance Comfort

A darkly brooding and atmospheric film reminiscent of French Poetic Realism, about a dockworker (Robert Newton) who steals a bag of money left behind by two criminals in a fatal fight—an act that changes the course of his life.

The Shop at Sly Corner (1947) DCP

George King

The dark secrets of a seemingly harmless London antique dealer are exposed by his blackmailing assistant. The murder and suicide that follow unfold in semi-noir style, directed by the underrated George King, who excelled at morbid moods and murderous impulses.

Take My Life (1947) 35mm

Ronald Neame

Ronald Neame's debut remains among his finest films, following an opera singer (Greta Gynt) determined to prove her husband's innocence in a murder case. This Cineguild production showcases the company’s signature lavish stylisation and vibrant visual eccentricities.

[Cancelled due to poor print]

They Made Me a Fugitive (1947) DCP

Alberto Cavalcanti

This exquisite British noir follows an ex-RAF pilot (Trevor Howard) who, due to unemployment, gets caught up in postwar black-market operations and is framed for the killing of a policeman. It is “filled with malign eccentricity” (David Thomson) by Brazilian director Alberto Cavalcanti.

It Always Rains on Sunday (1947) DCP

Robert Hamer

A gripping East End drama about an escaped convict seeking refuge in the home of his former lover, now married to another man, offering a breathtakingly bleak view of postwar Britain. Robert Hamer’s eloquence and mastery of style have never been more on point.

Brighton Rock (1948) DCP

John Boulting

Richard Attenborough, embodying the quintessential spiv of British cinema, plays Pinkie—a teenage hoodlum terrorizing Brighton—who is forced to marry a waitress who witnessed a murder he committed. The script, based on Graham Greene’s novel, was co-written by Greene and Terence Rattigan.

Daughter of Darkness (1948) 35mm

Lance Comfort

The morbid tale of a nymphomaniac Irish girl who brings death to men attracted to her is closer to Mexican Buñuel than to the British cinema. It showcases Lance Comfort at his most confident, brilliantly pushing the story to its limit while stopping just short of horror fantasy.

This Was a Woman (1948) 35mm

Tim Whelan

Directed by American Tim Whelan, this tale of a toxic matriarch destroying the lives of her family—including daughter and husband—is a British take on Craig’s Wife (Locarno 2024) that compellingly ventures into realms of perverse manipulation and murderous fury.

The Three Weird Sisters (1948) 35mm

Daniel Birt

One of only two original screenplays written by the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, this film follows the titular sisters as they attempt to poison their half-brother to save their crumbling home. The dialogue is pure gold, and the direction is brilliantly inspired.

The Fallen Idol (1948) 35mm

Carol Reed

A lonely ambassador’s son has only one friend: the butler. After the butler is accused of murder, the boy, in his innocent attempts to protect him, unwittingly contributes to sending him to the gallows. Directed with devastating precision by Reed, from a script by Graham Greene.

The Passionate Friends (1949) 35mm

David Lean

Based on H. G. Wells’s story of former lovers (Ann Todd and Trevor Howard) who rekindle their romance in Switzerland—this time, the woman is married to a jealous Claude Rains—this is one of Lean’s most passionate love stories, elevated by Guy Green’s lyrical cinematography.

Passport to Pimlico (1949) DCP

Henry Cornelius

When the inhabitants of Pimlico discover a document proving that their borough is not part of Britain, they declare independence. One of the greatest Ealing comedies, it presents an ingenious idea treated with rationality amidst the illogical— handy, when it comes to explaining Brexit.

Whisky Galore! (1949) DCP

Alexander Mackendrick

The greatest disaster that can strike a Scottish island: the whisky supply runs out. The divine miracle: a cargo ship carrying whisky sinks just offshore. This madcap comedy follows the islanders who scramble to salvage and stash, outwitting the lawmen. A hymn to whisky.

Obsession (1949) DCP

Edward Dmytryk

A London psychiatrist (Robert Newton) smuggles acid from work daily to a blitzed building, with the aim of killing and dissolving his wife’s American lover. Feverishly directed by blacklisted Edward Dmytryk, this is when Kafka meets film noir.

Train of Events (1949) 35mm

Sidney Cole, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden

One of the finest British anthology films, produced by Ealing in an odd but effective combination of comedy and drama, Train of Events examines the lives of a train’s passengers prior to a rail disaster, including a philandering composer and an actor who has murdered his wife

The Astonished Heart (1950) 35mm

Terence Fisher, Antony Darnborough

Based on a play by Noël Coward, this romantic tragedy stars the author himself as a married psychiatrist who falls for his wife’s friend (played by Celia Johnson and Margaret Leighton, respectively), and showcases the rising talent of director Terence Fisher.

The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) DCP

Frank Launder

Due to a clerical error, headmaster Alistair Sim must host female students brought by headmistress Margaret Rutherford to his all-boys school. The two then scramble to hide the mix-up from unsuspecting visitors. A hilarious comedy that skewers bureaucracy and joyfully embraced chaos.

Night and the City (1950) DCP

Jules Dassin

American director Jules Dassin’s British noir follows Harry (Richard Widmark), a small-time hustler dreaming of dominating the wrestling racket. When he double-crosses London's underworld, his lies become a death warrant in the city's merciless alleys. 

Last Holiday (1950) DCP

Henry Cass

A frugal salesman (Alec Guinness), told he has little time left, splurges on a lavish hotel stay to savour his final days. This sharp black comedy, co-written/co-produced by the esteemed J.B. Priestley, touches on class and identity with splendid results.

The Woman in Question (1950) 35mm

Anthony Asquith

In one of Anthony Asquith’s best sound films, made around the same time as Kurosawa’s Rashomon, five murder suspects give highly subjective accounts of a woman (Jean Kent) whose identity—and even appearance—seem to shift with each narrative and flashback.

The Clouded Yellow (1950) 35mm

Ralph Thomas

An ex-MI6 officer (Trevor Howard), now cataloguing butterflies, uncovers dark secrets in his employer’s house. A Hitchcockian gem that blends psychological melodrama with a spy thriller—the latter unfolding in a chase stretched across London, Newcastle, and Manchester.

To Be a Woman (1951) 35mm

Jill Craigie

“What does it mean to be a woman in 20th-century Britain?” Jill Craigie’s pioneering work—examining chauvinism and prejudice against women—offers an essayistic answer to the question through dialectical and ironic voice-overs.

Pool of London (1951) DCP

Basil Dearden

A remarkable London film, it tells the story of two seamen who become entangled in a smuggling racket. Bold in casting a black actor (Earl Cameron) as the romantic lead, the film is directed with typical rigour by one of Britain’s most underrated talents, Basil Dearden.

A Portrait of Ga (1952) Digital

Margaret Tait

A short film by Scottish filmmaker Margaret Tait that poetically captures the daily life of her mother on 16mm film.

Whispering Smith Hits London (1952) DCP

Francis Searle

Echoing Laura (Otto Preminger, 1944), Richard Carlson plays a detective investigating a woman's questionable suicide in this sleek Hammer B movie. As fascination grows, he uncovers darker truths.

Hunted (1952) 35mm

Charles Crichton

A shatteringly lyrical film about a fugitive murderer (Dirk Bogarde) dragging along an orphaned boy who has witnessed his crime. Occupying a middle ground between Roberto Rossellini and British rubble crime, it won the Golden Leopard at Locarno ‘53.

The Happy Family (1952) 35mm

Muriel Box

Muriel Box’s anarchic comedy follows a family who defiantly occupy their home, resisting Festival of Britain demolition crews. This pioneering female-directed satire blends eccentric humour with a sharp critique of postwar 'progress' and bureaucratic bulldozing.

Mandy (1952) DCP

Alexander Mackendrick

A heartfelt and often poignant tale of a deaf girl and the efforts of her mother and a school headmaster to help her connect with the world. It unfolds like a quiet metaphor for a nation relearning how to communicate. Winner of Venice’s Special Jury Prize.

The Stranger Left No Card (1952) DCP

Wendy Toye

This winner of Best Short Fiction at Cannes is about a scruffy-looking but amusing magician arriving in a town and winning the hearts of the children while hiding his real darker intentions. Jean Cocteau called it "Un petit film diabolique.”

The Elephant Will Never Forget (1953) 35mm

John Krish

The most emotionally evocative films often make you nostalgic for something you’ve never experienced. This short film does just that with a tram, capturing its final run before the service was discontinued in London.

The Yellow Balloon (1953) 35mm

J. Lee Thompson

Set in the bombed-out ruins of London, a boy accidentally causes his friend’s death and is blackmailed by a ruthless criminal into aiding a robbery. This unflinching drama marked Thompson’s breakthrough, showcasing his bold, gritty imagination in only his second film.

Turn the Key Softly (1953) 35mm

Jack Lee

A Neorealist-influenced story of three women (Yvonne Mitchell, Joan Collins, Kathleen Harrison) released from jail into the cold indifference of London, brought vividly to life by Geoffrey Unsworth's fantastic cinematography. Lee is a sensitive, even sensual director, with a continental touch and remarkably assured pacing. This film alone proves him to be one of the unsung heroes of British cinema.

Cast a Dark Shadow (1955) DCP

Lewis Gilbert

A chilling slice of country gothic in which Dirk Bogarde’s working-class Bluebeard murders his wealthy older wife and stages it as a suicide. Discovering she left him nothing, he sets his sights on Margaret Lockwood—only to find she’s far harder to manipulate.

Simon and Laura (1955) 35mm

Muriel Box

This pioneering and hilarious satire of reality TV follows a BBC “perfect couple” (Kay Kendall and Peter Finch), who can’t stand each other off-air. Gorgeously shot in colour, this is perhaps Muriel Box’s finest work and as good as the best of Frank Tashlin.

Tiger in the Smoke (1956) 35mm

Roy Baker

A treasure hunt tale of war vets-turned-buskers tracking their vanished boss—unravelling into murder and flight, half-lost in the smog-choked London, which are “transformed by Dutch angles and pea-soup fog into a hellish procession out of Bosch” (Imogen Sara Smith).

Time Without Pity (1957) 35mm

Joseph Losey

In this searing indictment of capital punishment, an alcoholic father (Michael Redgrave) has 24 hours to save his wrongly accused son from execution. Joseph Losey’s first film released under his own name following Hollywood blacklisting.

Hell Drivers (1957) DCP

Cy Endfield

A hard-hitting drama about truck drivers navigating treacherous cliff roads, where the rivalry and tension between two (Stanley Baker and Patrick McGoohan) adds further violence and grit to this thrilling film by American exile Cy Endfield.

The Flying Scot (1957) DCP

Compton Bennett

A masterclass in turning a "B" movie into art, famous for its opening sequence—13 minutes in silence—and the tale of three criminals robbing the Edinburgh-to-London night train in an agonizing journey of sweat, ulcer pain, and suspense.

Nowhere to Go (1958) 35mm

Seth Holt

This austere thriller is a cinematic tour de force, as chillingly detached as its antihero—an escaped convict pursuing stolen loot in a safety deposit box. Co-written by famous critic Kenneth Tynan and featuring Maggie Smith in her debut.

I'm All Right, Jack (1959) DCP

John Boulting

An essential British comedy about the clash between scheming industrialists and pugnacious trade unionists (led by a magnificent Peter Sellers). Ian Carmichael brilliantly plays a naïve toff caught between both sides, his earnest dedication winning little favour from either.

Peeping Tom (1960) DCP

Michael Powell

Powell’s masterpiece about an amateur filmmaker/serial killer who films his victims’ deaths with a camera that doubles as his weapon sparked widespread outcry. It’s easy to understand why: cinema has never been so unsettling or self-aware of its perverse nature.

Hell Is a City (1960) 35mm

Val Guest

A superb Hammer-produced policier featuring Stanley Baker as Inspector Martineau, hunting a murderer while grappling with his crumbling marriage. The film culminates in one of British crime cinema's most thrilling climaxes, atop a building in Manchester.

Never Let Go (1960) 35mm

John Guillermin

This first-class thriller follows salesman Richard Todd, whose quest to recover his stolen car leads him to a brutal London gang, led by a cast-against-type Peter Sellers. Its brassy precision is enhanced by John Barry’s score and fast, riotous cuts.

order the retrospective book by clicking on the image