frankie's - 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die List

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Widely considered one of Britain's greatest filmmakers, Humphrey Jennings has long been celebrated as one of cinema's true poets.

This, the second of three volumes which brings together his entire directorial output, features five films made between 1941-1943 which show Jennings at the peak of his tragically short but outstanding career. From the rousing call to arms of "The Heart of Britain" and "Words for Battle" to the poetic evocation of daily life in "Listen to Britain", and the powerfully resonating drama of "Fires Were Started" and "The Silent Village", the films included in this set offer a lyrical portrait of the nation at war and a moving celebration of Britishness.

Films Comprise:
- The Heart of Britain (1941)
- Words for Battle (1941)
- Listen to Britain (1941)
- Fires Were Started (1943)
- The Silent Village (1943)

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A gorgeous debutante, Clarissa Richmond, is under obligation to enter into marriage with the wealthy Marquis of Rohan (James Mason). Rohan is not in love with Clarissa (Phyllis Calvert), but he wants an heir to his title - an ambition which is fulfilled when Clarissa presents him with a son.

On the way to the theatre to see an old friend, Hesther (Margaret Lockwood), Clarissa is waylaid by a highwayman who demands a lift to the theatre she is attending - the highwayman is, in fact, a young actor called Peter Rokeby (Stewart Granger). Hesther comes to live with Clarissa, but she becomes a cuckoo in the nest when Rohan falls for her charms and she tries to oust Clarissa from the household.

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Roger Livesey brilliantly portrays a British officer, Clive Candy, through the trials and tribulations of three wars, three lovers and a lifelong friendship across enemy lines. During the Boer War, candy is sent to Berlin to trap a German spy.

There he befriends a German officer, Theo (Anton Walbrook), who marries the girl (Deborah Kerr) Candy is in love with. During the First World War, Candy marries a girl who resembles his lost love and helps Theo - now a POW - to get repatriated. Candy comes back in the Second World War as Brigadier General and once again encounters Theo. On joining a Home Guard exercise, Candy is captured, however, and the two are forced to either aid or betray each other.

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Betsy Conell (Frances Dee), a young nurse, accepts a job in a sugar plantation at San Sebastian, in the Antilles, where she will have to take care of the powerful landowner Paul Hollands wife (Christine Gordon), who suffers a mysterious illness that condemns her to a vegetal life.

The exoticism and beauty of the place charm Betsy. But the dark past around the mansion that affects Holland (Tom Conway) as well as his stepbrother Wesley Rand (James Ellison), both are in love with Betsy, will change the course of her placid life, affected by the local superstition, the voodoo rites and the each time more guilty verification of the existence of zombies.

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Mary (Kim Hunter) travels to New York to discover the reason for her sister Jacqueline's sudden disappearance. The cosmetics shop that Jacqueline (Jean Brooks) owned has been sold and her rented room is empty, save for a solitary chair and a noose.

Suspecting that her sister is under the influence of Satanists, Mary hires a private detective to stakeout the shop at night, but she then discovers that he has been murdered. Dr. Louis Judd (Tom Conway) contacts Mary to explain that he is a psychiatrist and that Jacqueline is under his care because she is mentally ill. But when Jacqueline vanishes again, it becomes clear to Mary that she in the clutches of a satanic cult whose penalty for revealing anything about themselves is death. Six people have already been murdered... will Jacqueline become the seventh victim?

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Set in a small Nevada town where tensions are running high thanks to a spate of cattle rustling, things reach boiling point when cowboy Larry Kinkaid is murdered.

With the sheriff out of town, the residents form a posse and head to Ox-Bow Canyon to find the three men they believe to be guilty - including Dana Andrews and Anthony Quinn in early major roles - and enact their own form of justice.

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When Uncle Charlie comes to visit his relatives in the sleepy town of Santa Rosa, the foundation is laid for one of his most engaging and suspenseful excursions.

Joseph Cotten stars as the charming Uncle Charlie, a beguiling killer who travels from Philadelphia to California just one step ahead of the law. But soon his unknowing niece and namesake, "Young Charlie" (Teresa Wright), begins to suspect her uncle of being the Merry Widow murderer, and a deadly game of cat-and-mouse begins. As his niece draws closer to the truth, the psychopathic killer has no choice but to plot the death of his favourite relative in one of Hitchcock's most riveting psychological thrillers.

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A restless wife, Giovanna (Clara Calamai), meets Gino (Massimo Girotti), a rough and handsome vagabond. Their passionate affair leads to the murder of Giovanna's boorish husband. Can a strong and sensual affair survive the guilt? Adapted from the James M.

Cain's classic novel 'The Postman Always Rings Twice', 'Ossessione' is a dark and provocative drama of sexual tension. It heralded a new era of Italian cinema, establishing Luchino Visconti as a leading and controversial exponent of 'neo-realism'.

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Judy Garland stars in a timeless tale of family, captured with warmth and emotion by director Vincente Minnelli. The enduring popularity of Meet Me in St Louis comes from a terrific blend of music, romance and humour.

Starring Judy Garland, together with Margaret O'Brien (as 1944's outstanding child actress) and Mary Astor, and featuring the musical classics "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis", "The Trolley Song" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".

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Nineteen-year-old Lauren Bacall makes her sizzling screen debut in the first of 4 films she made opposite Humphrey Bogart. he plays a cynical American expatriate swept up in the fighting of the French resistance - and swept off his feet by an alluring young drifter - Bacall.

Set on the island of Martinique in 1940, the film features smouldering performances from the legendary couple.

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Police detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is drawn into Manhattan high society as he investigates the death of stunning ad exec Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), apparently shotgunned in her own apartment.

The slithery suspects are numerous, led by effete, snobbish columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), and Laura's philandering fiancee Shelby (Vincent Price), who's also been cavorting with Laura's wealthy aunt (Judith Anderson). McPherson begins to fall in love with Laura through a portrait in her home and the memories relayed by those who knew her...just as it becomes apparent that even the basic facts of the case might not be what they seemed.

Lights flicker and dim. Footsteps sound from a sealed-off attic. Mysterious events only vulnerable young Paula (Ingrid Bergman) sees and hears make her fear she's losing her mind - exactly what treacherous spouse Gregory (Charles Boyer) hopes.

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Henry V is one of Shakespeare's most compelling historical plays. In this impressive Technicolor film, Henry sets out to press his claim to the Crown of France.

His small expedition encounters vastly superior French forces at Agincourt, and there Henry delivers his famous exhortation to the soldiers. His army victorious, the King visits the French Court where he meets and marries Catherine of Valois, thereby establishing the beginning of a promising alliance with France.

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Before his birth in 1530, many omens were observed and many prophecies made about the child to be born to the second wife of Vasily III as he was to be descended from generations in conflict and, to aid these predictions, he was born in the middle of a thunderstorm.

Ivan (Nikolay Cherkasov) had Greek origins although his mother was from the line of Khan Mamay of the Golden Horde and his father, Vasily III, was descended from one of the Khan's enemies, Dmitry Donskoy. On hearing of his birth, the wife of the Khan of Kazan is reported to have said, "A Tsar is born among you; two teeth has he. With one he will devour us. But with the other, you". Ivan became Tsar (from the word 'Caesar') at the age of three, although power was held by regents who were named by Ivan's father on his deathbed. Ivan and his brother were treated like princes in public but, when not in public, treated harshly. As a result to this, Ivan began to treat others badly too, torturing animals, running down peasants with his horse; thus learning this cruel side of ruling at an early age. The story begins with Ivan's coronation at the age of sixteen. One month later, contrary to custom that demanded he marry a foreign princess, he marries Anastasia (Lyudmila Tselikovskaya), a Russian girl from the Romanov family - much to the distaste of the establishment. Influenced by the Metropolitan of Moscow and his good friend the chamberlain Alexi Adashev, Ivan institutes many reforms to the legal code, the church and the military. The nobles try to overthrow him but without success and he destroys the Mogul's centuries-old power base. He then seeks to break the coalitions of neighbouring states that are cutting off Moscow's maritime access to the West. Ivan then decides to expand his power eastward and, in 1552, with 100,000 men and 150 cannon he advances on Kazan. The gateway to the Urals and Siberia was taken after months of fighting although Ivan does not advance further east. Ivan becomes ill in 1553 and is told that he will die. He tries to force the boyars, who are headed by his aunt Euphrosinia (Serafima Birman), swear allegiance to his son who is not yet one year old, but they refuse. This outrages Ivan. In 1560, during a period of consolidation of power against the boyars, Anastasia is poisoned. This causes Ivan to retreat to an estate outside Moscow and threaten to abdicate. A mass delegation from the city arrives to beg him to return. This is the decisive moment for Ivan - now he can achieve full power.

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In 1564, Ivan (Nikolay Cherkasov) suddenly changed his methods of ruling and moved his family to his estate at Uglich outside Moscow. As a result of the pilgrimage to this country retreat by the populous of Moscow, Ivan is persuaded to return to the city.

Taking advantage of this mass support, he now has the backing to make his rule more powerful and decisive than ever. The boyars were forced to to accept some drastic changes including the formation of two different governments in Russia so that Ivan could be in control of his land. He develops his own secret police force, the Oprichinks, who became his main instrument of terror and assisted him by obtaining undercover information and also doing his evil bidding exacting a terrible revenge on the aristocracy. After learning that Anastasia was probably poisoned by his aunt Euphrosinia (Serafima Birman) who was in league with the boyars and the nobles whoa re all opposed to Ivan, the Polish king (Pavel Massalsky) is about to launch his attack on Russia. A titanic struggle ensues with Ivan managing to quell this aggression and subdue the boyars. He then is able to address his attention towards the foreign enemies of Russia and seeks support from various friends and associates. The complex story is full of intrigue, high level political in-fighting, family resentment and suspicion, an assassination plot, executions and murder in the cathedral.