RetroFilm Archive (Firm)

This 1948 adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play tells of a father's struggle to clear his son's name after he is accused of theft at the Royal Naval College. The film was commercially very successful and was nominated for a BAFTA United Nations award (for a film embodying one or more of the principles of the UN charter). Starring Robert Donat, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Margaret Leighton, and Basil Radford. Directed by Anthony Asquith.

This famous 1948 adaptation of Tolstoy's unforgettable novel stars Vivien Leigh as Anna, the wife and mother who falls tragically in love with the dashing Count Vronsky. Starring Vivien Leigh, Kieron Moore, Ralph Richardson, Marie Lohr, Niall MacGinnis, and Helen Haye. Directed by Julien Duvivier. The famous playwright Jean Anouilh adapted the screenplay.

"The Three Sisters," often considered Anton Chekhov's greatest play, is seen here in a landmark 1965 production. The screen performance was directed by Paul Bogart, but was based on the theater production directed by the great Lee Strasberg, famous for his "Method" style. This long and unusually complete production was highly controversial in its time. Starring Geraldine Page as Olga, Kim Stanley as Masha, Sandy Dennis as Irina, and Shelley Winters...

This famous melodrama stars Van Johnson as Charles Willis, a journalist attempting to win back custody of his child. Much of the film is devoted to flashbacks focusing on Willis's disastrous relationship with his deceased wife, a wealthy heiress. The story is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic short story Babylon Revisited, with a few crucial details changed--for example, the film is set in the years after World War II, rather than between the...

This 1945 adaption one of Agatha Christie's finest novels won the Golden Leopard prize at the Locarno International Film Festival. The story begins with several strangers being summoned to a remote island. One by one they begin to die, until only two are left. Starring Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Judith Anderson, Roland Young, Louis Hayward, June Duprez, and Mischa Auer. Directed by René Clair. (97 minutes)

This outstanding adaptation of one of Oscar Wilde's major plays was directed by Alexander Korda. It stars Hugh Williams as a honorable politician whose long-ago sins come back to haunt him. Wilde's dialogue is brilliant throughout. Also starring Paulette Goddard, Michael Wilding, and Diana Wynyard. (168 minutes)

The story of The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy begins when a 6-foot ape descendant named Arthur Dent is saved from the destruction of planet Earth thanks to Ford Prefect, who is in fact from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betlegeuse, and not from Guildford as Arthur had first thought.

This 1973 film is based the novel of the same name by the Irish writer Brian Moore, who also wrote the screenplay. The story is set in the near future, after the Catholic religion has reformed and merged with other religions. A few steadfast Irish monks insist on preserving the old rites, until a young priest arrives from the Vatican to force them to abandon the old ways. The film is also known as The Conflict. Starring Trevor Howard, Martin Sheen,...

"Uncle Tom's Cabin," Harriet Beecher's Stowe's 1852 novel about the evils of slavery, was one of the most famous, and most effective, works of political melodrama ever. This silent version was made 50 years after the Civil War, and is said to be the first American movie to star an African-American actor. In 2012, it was selected for preservation by the United States National Film Registry because of its artistic and historic importance. Directed by...

This star-studded 1970 feature film production of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar was the first full-color adaptation of the play. It tells the famous story of Caesar's assassination and the subsequent struggle between his friend and protege Marc Antony and the anti-Caesar conspirators, led by Brutus and Cassius. Charlton Heston stars as Marc Antony, as he did in a previous 1950 film. Jason Robards's understated performance as Brutus proved controversial....