Naturally, a city as old and grand as London becomes the subject of many films. It plays home to kings and queens, cops and gangsters, and everyday men and women. From views of the skyline to displays of the boroughs’ character, these are ten films that every Londonphile should watch. These films not only tell the story of Londoners but make the city itself a character. This list is focused on older movies that Londonphiles will love. For a list of more modern movies, check out this article.
Passport to Pimlico
Ealing Studios in West London was once one of the premiere movie studios in the city and made major use of the locale. This love of the city is on display in Passport to Pimlico, a comedy in which the discovery of an old charter effectively makes Pimlico part of Burgundy instead of London. Naturally, hilarity ensues as the borough’s unique legal position creates opportunities and problems alike. Interestingly enough, the film’s location shots aren’t actually Pimlico, but Lambeth. Yet the heart of the city is fully on display in this classic post-war comedy.
The Long Good Friday
There are a number of great crime films that take place in London, and not all of them were directed by Guy Ritchie. Bob Hoskins plays Harold Shand, the king of the London gangsters trying to make his own organisation more legitimate. It’s a great late-70s/early-80s view of London and the concerns of the time, with the IRA representing the primary antagonists.
Alfie
Well before Jude Law attempted a half-hearted remake, the master, Michael Caine, played the eponymous playboy. As with Love Actually, Alfie shows off multiple London locations and landmarks as Alfie Elkins lives and loves his way through the city. Being set in the 1960s, it also offers a window back into London’s past, of a modern city without many of the buildings that define its skyline today.
Death Line
A horror film about what lurks in the Underground, Donald Pleasance plays Inspector Calhoun of Scotland yard, investigating a series of mysterious disappearances from the Russell Square and Holborn stations. The true cause of the kidnappings plays fast and loose with the history of the history of the Underground, but manages to transform the Tube into a terrifying place.
An American Werewolf in London
More scenery porn against the backdrop of a werewolf rampage throughout London, this tongue-in-cheek horror film by John Landis shows the city from a tourist’s viewpoint. After being mauled on the Yorkshire moors, an American tourist returns to London to discover his encounter left him a bit harrier and more bloodthirsty on nights with a full moon. Several important scenes take place in the Underground, the London Zoo, and Piccadilly Circus.
To Sir, With Love
A classic film that handles social status and race in 60s London, Sydney Poitier plays Mark Thackery, a teacher with a group of problem students that he attempts to turn around. Inner-city London is on display and shows how it affects the students as well as what is needed most to help them succeed—someone who really understands them.
The Lavender Hill Mob
It’s hard to decide which Alec Guinness crime comedy is better, this or The Ladykillers, but this one wins out for Guinness’s portrayal of Henry Holland, a London bank clerk who decides to get back at his bosses by stealing gold bullion from the bank. Predictably, the plan goes pear-shaped in a way that most crime comedy films do. Holland gets a bittersweet ending that gives him what he wants and then takes it away.
1984
Well before V for Vendetta, this adaptation of George Orwell’s novel paints a dystopian future in which Communism won in Britain. Censorship and surveillance are the norm as John Hurt’s character Winston Smith attempts to break free with a newfound love. Unfortunately, in a true dystopian tale, Big Brother wins the day and 1984 represents a possible future of what London could have been if it lost the Cold War…or perhaps a glimpse into the present-day fears of what it is becoming.
Repulsion
A psychological thriller from Roman Polanski, Catherine Deneauve’s Carol begins reliving horrible memories from her past. Ultimately, her past gets the better of her and she lashes out violently against an attack that brings everything crashing forward. Kensington is one of the wealthiest and poshest parts of London, but Polanski’s film shows that even the nicest places can have a dark side.
The Bespoke Overcoat
While not a feature-length movie, this short film directed by Jack Clayton features Alfie Bass as Fender, a lowly clerk in a clothing warehouse dreaming of owning a grand overcoat. Moving the action from Russia in the original story to East London, the film captures something about hopes and dreams of the working class and that desire to want something more from your life. In a way, just like reality often does, Fender falls just short of realising his dream.
Since any article that’s list’s based will be about what we left off the list – what are your favorite classic London movies? Let us know in the comments.
Author: John Rabon
John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.
Londontopia is simply the website for people who love London. It was founded by Jonathan & Jackie Thomas from Anglotopia.net as a place to post articles solely focused on London and its environs. Keep up with all the latest London news at Londontopia! This site is geared towards people who love to visit London and our primary audience is North American but everyone is welcome!
A Kid for Two Farthings is a lovely film set in the East End of London in the 1950s. It stars among others David Kossoff and Diana Dors and is a real slice of down to earth honest to goodness cockney life and humour. It never fails to make me cry at the end.
Great robbery movie “The League of Gentlemen” Blow up and a real odie “Time Bomb”
You didn’t include “Blow Up” (1966)?!
Some of my favourite London-themed films: Waterloo Bridge (admittedly not shot in England), The Ladykillers, The Nanny,Quartermass and the Pit, My Fair Lady, Frenzy…
I so agree!
Oh, and Scrooge, Miranda,Genevive, Seven Days to Noon, The Day the Earth Caught Fire, 10 Rillington Place…
‘Sparrows Can’t Sing’ and ‘Pool Of London’ are two films that I always associate with the London that I grew-up in. Both films vividly capture the London of that period (I was born in Willesden in 1957) and their stories represent the everyday lives of its inhabitants. Best of all is the location filming, which has preserved some sights that are (sadly) long-gone.
Personally I prefer Ladykillers to Lavender Hill Mob, but how can you leave off Kind Hearts and Coronets. BUT my number one favorite is Genevieve.
What about V for Veneta and A Fish Called Wanda?
Vendetta
This list is more for classic films. V for Vendetta wasn’t old enough but would certainly be on one of my lists!
What!? No Hard Day’s Night?!
Oliver! ?
I still love “Love Actually”. American Werewolf is also a favorite. I want to see movies & series that show me scenery as well as have a good story. British movies & shows tend to be loaded down with dialog, all within the 4 walls of a room…….. so when I watch something that shows the outdoors I get a feel for where they are or I can say “I have been there!” or “there is someplace I have to go to go see next time.”
Georgie Girl ?
Dennis Ashton
A real old one, Whistle Down The Wind with Haley Mills is one of my favorites.
Withnail and I
The Krays…
Thanks for reminding me of A Kid for Two Farthings & Whistle Down the Wind – wonderful films. Also love the “angry young man” movies of the 60’s – especially Look Back in Anger.
Passport to Pimlico. THAT is a classic. One of the signboards on a building advertises “Beck and Politzer-Engineers”. I WORKED for that company in the late nineties in a paper mill in Kent, England! The founder had his fingers in many pies and managed to squeeze free advertising in the movie!
“Withnail and I” is a classic! Would “10 Charing Cross Road” count as classic, or not old enough? What about “The Lady Vanishes,” or “Good-bye Mr. Chips”?
How do we in the States get these films?
Buy them on DVD? Netflix? Rent? They’re all well known films and easy enough to find. They’re also the type on TCM regularly.
Love actually. ..
A film called Hue and Cry has some wonderful scenes of the bombed sites in the city of London that I remember as a child when my parents moved to London after the war. Not so many now who would remember the bomb sites, that is what they were called “Bomb Sites”. I used to pass many on my way to school in Holborn. Children used them to play in when they had been cleared of all the debris. Earlier on though some had fireplaces still hanging onto walls, and also scraps of curtains still there too. I did manage to buy a copy of that film, pretty poor story, but for historically a curate shots one of the best!
Last Chance Harvey had wonderful scenes of the South Bank, the Thames, Waterloo and Millenium Bridges. The Mudlark, Mona Lisa, someof my favorites.
Arsenal fans love Fever Pitch, the real one with Colin Firth.
Movies made in London are great but what about novels that play in London? Recently, I found two great novels as an ebook on Amazon titled: London 2012 – What if? A romantic thriller and The Sleeping Truth, also a romantic thriller, both by Ian Irvine. Check them out, both are exciting reads.