The Auteur's Selection In the Shadow of Barnaby Rudge: Cult Guide

Dir: Thomas Bentley

A bird's-eye view of life in a City of London office.

Dir: Thomas Bentley

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Sleepless Nights perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Stanley Lupino is a reporter who becomes involved with an heiress (Polly Walker) in this bright musical comedy set in Nice.

Dir: Thomas Bentley

A girl helps a composer win fame despite a flirtatious socialite.

Dir: Thomas Bentley

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Harmony Heaven perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Thomas Bentley

Strange film intertwining several vignettes involving Henry Hall and his BBC dance orchestra, in the studio at broadcast house, and their mishaps at children's outing, and how their music affects listeners on a luxury liner at sea, a mountaineering couple, two men trapped in a jungle cabin, and a court case where Romeo and Juliet-type neighbours fight over a loud wireless set.

Dir: Thomas Bentley

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Love Nest perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Henry Hobson runs a successful boot-maker's shop in nineteenth-century Salford. A widower with a weakness for the pub opposite, he tries forcefully to run the lives of his three unruly daughters. When he decrees 'no marriages' to avoid the expensive matter of settlements, eldest daughter Maggie rebels and sets her sights on Will Mossop, Hobson's star boot-maker. Maggie and Will leave to start up in competition, and she then turns her mind to helping her sisters marry their chosen partners.

Dir: Thomas Bentley

A gentle orphan discovers life and love in an indifferent adult world.

Dir: Thomas Bentley

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Music Hath Charms perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Sherlock Holmes takes a vacation and visits his old friend Sir Henry Baskerville. His vacation ends when he suddenly finds himself in the middle of a double-murder mystery. Now he's got to find Professor Moriarty and the horse Silver Blaze before the great cup final horse race.

Dir: Thomas Bentley

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Thomas Bentley

A mad scientist devises a formula that puts people into a zombie-like trance to do his bidding.