Dr Frankenstein and his monster both turn out to be alive, not killed as previously believed. Dr Frankenstein wants to get out of the evil experiment business, but when a mad scientist, Dr Pretorius, kidnaps his wife, Dr Frankenstein agrees to help him create a new creature, a woman, to be the companion of the monster. What distinguishes the film is less its horror content, which is admittedly low, than the macabre humour and sense of parody. Strong on atmosphere, Gothic sets and expressionist c find out more...

A landmark in the history of the cinema; it was ranked Number 1 in the American Film Institute's 100 greatest films of all time in two polls (1998 and 2007) of more than 1,500 film industry movers and shakers and again by UK directors in a BFI poll. "Citizen Kane" narrates the rise and fall of a newspaper tycoon driven by a childhood obssession and is loosely based round the life of William Randolph Hurst, who tried to have it banned, but incorporates elements from the lives of other fat cats il find out more...

The classic version of Frankenstein, often imitated but its stunning style has rarely been bettered. For the unfamiliar, Frankenstein tells the story of a maverick doctor's attempts to create life from the body parts of the deceased. His creation (Frankenstein's Monster...) is the tragic embodiment of goodness. More human than those around him, the monster finds himself needing friendship more and more, before embarking on a doomed relationship with a small girl who takes pity on him. Needless t find out more...

'High Noon' works on many levels; the second-to-none screenplay, the subtle direction, the clock, Gary Cooper's Oscar-winning performance... It's about a small town sheriff who must basically stand alone to defend the people from a wild gang of outlaws, who have just been let out of jail and will arrive on the noon train. Although he does not have to, and the town does not deserve saving, Cooper decides that he will do the job that he was hired to do. A classic amongst Westerns, it strips the ge find out more...

One of the finest of the genre, this classic western follows two men whose initial contempt for each other's methods, one a hard man rancher, the other a naively honest lawyer, develops into respect when faced with the the town's local hoodlum. Tense, absorbing and not without wit. Superb. find out more...