The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the novel The Bridge over the River Kwai, written by Pierre Boulle. Boulle's novel and the film's screenplay are almost entirely fictional but use the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943 as historical setting. It stars William Holden, Alec Guinness, and Jack Hawkins, with Sessue Hayakawa, James Donald, Ann Sears, and Geoffrey Horne in supporting roles. The film was initially scripted by screenwriter Carl Foreman, who was later replaced by Michael Wilson. Both writers had to work in secret since they were on the Hollywood blacklist and had fled to the UK to continue working. As a result, Boulle, who did not speak English, was credited and received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay; many years later, Foreman and Wilson posthumously received the Academy Award. The Bridge on the River Kwai is now widely recognized as one of the greatest films of the 1950s. It was the highest-grossing film of 1957 and received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. The film won seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture) at the 30th Academy Awards. In 1997, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress. It has been included on the American Film Institute's list of best American films ever made. In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Bridge on the River Kwai the 11th greatest British film of the 20th century.

David Copperfield is a 1969 British film directed by Delbert Mann based on the 1850 novel of the same name by Charles Dickens, adapted by Jack Pulman. The film was released in the UK in 1970. It stars Robin Phillips in the title role and Ralph Richardson as Micawber, and features well-known actors Richard Attenborough, Laurence Olivier, Susan Hampshire, Cyril Cusack, Wendy Hiller, Edith Evans, Michael Redgrave and Ron Moody.

This is a selective list of the works of Malcolm Arnold, listed by genre.

Hobson's Choice is a 1954 British romantic comedy film directed by David Lean. It is based on the 1916 play of the same name by Harold Brighouse. It stars Charles Laughton in the role of Victorian bootmaker Henry Hobson, John Mills as timid but highly talented employee Will Mossop, and Brenda de Banzie as Hobson's eldest, fiercely determined daughter. The film also features Prunella Scales in her second cinematic role. Hobson's Choice won the British Academy Film Award for Best British Film 1954.

In music, Op. 42 stands for Opus number 42. Compositions that are assigned this number include: Arnold – Homage to the Queen Britten – Saint Nicolas Bruch – Romance in A minor Busoni – Berceuse élégiaque Chopin – Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 42 Elgar – Diarmuid and Grania Glière – Symphony No. 3 Haydn – String Quartet in D Minor, Op. 42 Holst – At the Boar's Head Ippolitov-Ivanov – Caucasian Sketches, Suite No. 2 Mendelssohn – Psalm 42 Nielsen – Fynsk Foraar Rachmaninoff – Variations on a Theme of Corelli Rautavaara – Études Schumann – Frauenliebe und -leben Shostakovich – Five Fragments Tchaikovsky – Souvenir d'un lieu cher Widor – Symphony for Organ No. 5 Widor – Symphony for Organ No. 6

No Love for Johnnie is a 1961 British drama film in CinemaScope directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Peter Finch. It was written by Mordecai Richler and Nicholas Phipps based on the 1959 novel No Love for Johnnie by the Labour Member of Parliament Wilfred Fienburgh. It depicts the disillusionment and cynicism of a rebellious leftist Labour MP, who seeks escape in a relationship with a younger woman. The film had its world premiere on 9 February 1961 at the Leicester Square Theatre in London's West End. It has been called Thomas' best film.

This is a selective list of the works of Malcolm Arnold, listed by genre.

Stolen Face is a 1952 British film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Paul Henreid, Lizabeth Scott and André Morell. The screenplay was by Martin Berkeley and Richard Landau based on a story by Alexander Paal and Steven Vas. Jimmy Sangster was assistant director and Phil Leakey handled Makeup. Lead actors Henreid and Scott both were experiencing downturns in their careers and welcomed the chance to work in this film. It also featured Andre Morell's first work for Hammer. Filming began Oct. 29, 1951, and wrapped on December 4th. It was trade shown on April 12, 1952, and released at the Plaza on May 2nd, the first Hammer film ever to open at a prestigious West End cinema. This film was a preview of things to come for Hammer, with its borderline science-fiction theme and the involvement of director Terence Fisher, foreshadowing Hammer's later successes in the horror film genre.

The Belles of St Trinian's is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder, co-written by Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and starring Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, George Cole, Hermione Baddeley. Inspired by British cartoonist Ronald Searle's St Trinian's School comic strips, the film focuses on students and teachers of the fictional school, dealing with attempts to shut it down while the headmistress faces financial troubles, which culminates in students thwarting a scheme involving a racehorse. The film was among the most popular British films of 1954, critics praising the comedy and several of the cast, including Sim's dual role as the headmistress, Miss Millicent Fritton, and her twin brother, Clarence Fritton. The film was the first of the St. Trinian's series – three sequels were later produced: Blue Murder at St Trinian's (1957); The Pure Hell of St Trinian's (1960); and The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery (1966).

The Captain's Paradise is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Anthony Kimmins, and starring Alec Guinness, Yvonne De Carlo and Celia Johnson. Guinness plays the captain of a passenger ship that travels regularly between Gibraltar and Spanish Morocco. De Carlo plays his Moroccan lover and Johnson plays his British wife. The film begins at just before the end of the story, which is then told in a series of flashbacks. In 1958, the story was made into a Broadway musical comedy, retitled Oh, Captain!.

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is a 1958 20th Century Fox film loosely based on the story of Gladys Aylward, a British woman who became a missionary in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Directed by Mark Robson, who received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director, the film stars Ingrid Bergman as Aylward and Curt Jürgens as her love interest, Captain Lin Nan, a Chinese Army officer with a Dutch father. Robert Donat, who played the mandarin of the town in which Aylward lived, died before the film was released. The musical score was composed and conducted by Malcolm Arnold. The cinematography was by Freddie Young. The film was shot in Snowdonia, North Wales. Most of the children in the film were ethnic Chinese children from Liverpool, home to the oldest Chinese community in Europe.

The Roots of Heaven is a 1958 American adventure film directed by John Huston and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. The screenplay was written by Romain Gary and Patrick Leigh Fermor based on Romain Gary's 1956 novel of the same name. The film stars Errol Flynn, Juliette Gréco, Trevor Howard, Eddie Albert, Orson Welles, Paul Lukas, Herbert Lom, and Grégoire Aslan. The film was distributed by 20th Century-Fox.

Trapeze is a 1956 American circus film directed by Carol Reed and starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida. The film is based on Max Catto's 1950 novel The Killing Frost, with an adapted screenplay written by Liam O'Brien. The film performed well at the box office, placing among the top three earners of 1956 in the United States and Canada and as the fourth-most-popular film at the British box office in 1956.

Whistle Down the Wind is a 1961 British crime drama film directed by Bryan Forbes and starring Hayley Mills, Bernard Lee and Alan Bates. It was adapted by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall from the 1958 novel of the same name by Mary Hayley Bell (Mills's mother). In 2005, the British Film Institute included Whistle Down the Wind in a compiled list of the fifty films that children should see by the age of fourteen.

You Know What Sailors Are is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Donald Sinden, Michael Hordern, Bill Kerr, Dora Bryan and Akim Tamiroff. The screenplay by Peter Rogers was based on the 1951 novel Sylvester by Edward Hyams. It was shot at Pinewood Studios and on location around the Isle of Portland. The film's sets were designed by the art director George Provis.