Staff Picks

Shadow of the Noose.

Hurrah! Finally on DVD after years in the wilderness this brilliant BBC Drama stars Jonathan Hyde as legendary barrister Sir Edward Marshall Hall in what was and remains gripping entertainment for all courtroom drama enthusiasts and admirers of Edwardian murder and intrigue.

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.

With the announcement that the BBC are to produce a new version of Le Carre's seminal Spy thriller this pioneering film adaptation from Director Martin Ritt was promoted as a timely antidote to James Bond and was certainly more grounded in the real world of spies and spymasters. If your taste is for bleak, existential espionage then this will hit the mark..

The Miracle Worker

Anne Bancroft won an Academy Award for her role as Anne Sullivan, tutor to the blind and deaf Helen Keller in this moving and at times harrowing adaptation of the 1959 Play by William Gibson. Director Arthur Penn thankfully avoids sentimentality while Bancroft and Patty Duke give performances of rare and raw dynamism. A must see film from the early 1960's.

The Man Who Never Was

Presented here in gorgeous CinemaScope this is the true story of one of the most famous deceptions undertaken by the Allies during WW11. Director Ronald Neame is sure footed with the suspense while giving the film a sombre tone throughout. A great British war film.

The Manchurian Candidate

Part political thriller part acerbic black satire this is undoubtedly a key film of the early 60's which became something of a Hollywood myth when it was pulled from distribution soon after the tragic death of President Kennedy – little wonder considering its theme of brainwashing and political assassination. Frank Sinatra was forever haunted by the fact that the film seemed too prescient for comfort and who can blame him? A brilliant thriller. 

Zee and Co

With a Screenplay by Edna O'Brien this early 1970's black comedy has some peerless acting from a trio of British stars on the top of their game.

Tony