Stage to Screen
It wouldn’t just be the actors themselves making the transition from the boards of West End to the big screen. Armed with the collected works of playwrights known the world over - from William Shakespeare to Joe Orton - Britain’s rich theatrical history was ripe for cinematic inspiration. Bringing to life the lavish operas, shadowy whodunnits and outrageous comedies formerly only seen following a pilgrimage to the playhouse - this collection reimagines the theatre experience in your own home.
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Henry VIII and His Six Wives
With his reign coming to an end, a dying Henry VIII looks back on his life and the six marriages that would go on to define him. The film looks back with the King, following his life from his marriage to a Spanish princess to the foundation of Protestantism, to the beheadings and divorces that wo...
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The Winslow Boy
Exemplary adaptation of the Terence Rattigan play, ostensibly about a naval cadet accused of stealing a postal order but predominantly concerned with the liberty of the individual. Savouring every word of Rattigan's immaculate dialogue, Robert Donat excels as defense counsel Sir Robert Morton, ou...
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Entertaining Mr Sloane
Joe Orton’s delicious tale of suburban perversity, in which a lascivious landlady and her gay brother attempt to seduce the titular tenant, who happens to be a psychopath, was first staged in 1964 and adapted for the BBC in 1968. Two years later Douglas Hickox directed this feature film version, ...
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An Inspector Calls
It is 1912, and the shadow of war looms over a wealthy family. As they celebrate their eldest daughter's engagement in their lavish Yorkshire manor, they're interrupted by an ominous police detective who is investigating a young woman's suicide, and what role each of them played in her death.
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The Lion in Winter
Christmas 1183. An elderly King Henry the Second (Peter O'Toole) is torn over naming his successor. He wants the young Prince John (Nigel Terry), one of his three sons, to take over, however, his wife Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katherine Hepburn) wants another of his sons, Prince Richard the Lio...
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Pink String and Sealing Wax
Two worlds collide in this melodrama set in Victorian Brighton: a repressive household, run by a tyrannical chemist, and a sleazy tavern, presided over by a passionate landlady. The chemist's son (Gordon Jackson) finds himself, understandably enough, in thrall to the landlady (Googie Withers). Hi...
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The Halfway House
A disparate group ñ a couple whose marriage is breaking down, a terminally ill conductor, grief-stricken parents ñ arrive at a Welsh country inn and discover that they have a year's grace to resolve their difficulties. WW2 witnessed the birth of the fantasy mini-genre where the supernatural admin...
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Station Six Sahara
In the searing Sahara heat tensions are on the rise between the five men at the station. Petty squabbles have started between the refined Captain Macey and the coarse Fletcher, and the generals base-enforced card game surfaces the competitive nature of the crew. Once a beautiful blonde is thrown ...