This film is part of Rentals
Sapphire
A young student with a secret is brutally murdered in this British Academy Award winning thriller about race, sex and jealousy.
Director: Basil Dearden
Overview
Nigel Patrick and his bigoted Inspector (Michael Craig) unravel the mystery of Sapphire, a young student found murdered on Hampstead Heath. Their investigations take them across multi-cultural London as they uncover the prejudice, chaos and rivalry that surround the young woman’s murder. Capturing the essence of 1950s literature such as Sam Selvon's 'The Lonely Londoners' and the works of Colin MacInnes, filmmakers Basil Dearden, Michael Relph and writer Janet Green use the whodunnit to present the vibrant changes happening in London during the late 1950s.
Related
Blackmail Blackmail
Police drama 1929 82 mins Silent Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock's first sound film sees a young woman blackmailed for a murder she was forced to commit.
The Wicker Man The Wicker Man
Horror 1973 88 mins Director: Robin Hardy
Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward star in the folk horror classic about a policemen investigating an island given over to paganism.
The Blue Lamp The Blue Lamp
Police drama 1950 85 mins Director: Basil Dearden
Dirk Bogarde stars as a loose-cannon crook with Dixon of Dock Green (Jack Warner) on his tail, in the classic Ealing policier.
Loot Loot
Comedy 1971 102 mins Director: Silvio Narizzano
Silvio Narizzano adapts Joe Orton’s extraordinarily funny satire on police corruption and the conventions of detective fiction.
Hell Is a City Hell Is a City
Police drama 1960 96 mins Director: Val Guest
Punchy crime thriller with a realist streak as Stanley Baker pursues a fugitive through the streets of Manchester.
Wolcott Part 3 Wolcott Part 3
Police drama 1981 52 mins Director: Colin Bucksey
Continuing the gritty and ground-breaking drama featuring Britain’s first black TV detective.
Tyrannosaur Tyrannosaur
Drama 2011 92 mins Director: Paddy Considine
Paddy Considine’s powerful feature debut, featuring astonishingly strong performances from Olivia Colman and Peter Mullan.
You Were Never Really Here You Were Never Really Here
Thriller 2017 90 mins Director: Lynne Ramsay
Lynne Ramsay journeys with Joaquin Phoenix into the mind of an ex-soldier gun-for-hire whose own demons are as brutal as the actions of his adversaries.
Apostasy Apostasy
Drama 2018 95 mins Director: Dan Kokotajlo
A deeply religious family must decide whether to stick by their relation or abandon her, in this striking debut from Daniel Kokotajlo.
Beast Beast
Drama 2018 106 mins Director: Michael Pearce
The hunt for a Jersey serial killer sparks a dangerous awakening in a young woman in this astonishing psycho-sexual thriller.
RBG RBG
Biopic 2018 99 mins Director: Julie Cohen and Betsy West
Revelatory documentary on an unexpected hero - former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Pili Pili
Drama 2018 81 mins Director: Leanne Welham
An HIV+ mother has a chance to turn her life around when she's offered a market stall, in Leanne Welham's extraordinary drama.
The Queen of Spades The Queen of Spades
Fantasy 1949 95 mins Director: Thorold Dickinson
Thorold Dickinson's most dazzling success, based on Pushkin’s 1834 tale of black magic and gambling.
The Blue Lamp The Blue Lamp
Police drama 1950 85 mins Director: Basil Dearden
Dirk Bogarde stars as a loose-cannon crook with Dixon of Dock Green (Jack Warner) on his tail, in the classic Ealing policier.
The Goose Steps Out The Goose Steps Out
Comedy 1942 75 mins Director: Will Hay and Basil Dearden
Will Hay's third film for Ealing Studios finds the legendary comic parachuted into Nazi Germany when British intelligence discover that he's the spitting image of an enemy master spy
Pool of London Pool of London
Crime 1951 85 mins Director: Basil Dearden
Earl Cameron plays a naive Jamaican sailor who's dragged into a botched diamond robbery when trying to help a friend.
They Came to a City They Came to a City
Fantasy 1945 78 mins Director: Basil Dearden
Long-unavailable Utopian fantasy (or 'socialist propaganda'?) - a true oddity from the wartime Ealing Studios.
All Night Long All Night Long
Drama 1962 91 mins Director: Basil Dearden
Othello is transposed to the 1960s Soho jazz scene as a malevolent drummer sows mistrust between husband-and-wife jazz luminaries.
The Captive Heart The Captive Heart
War 1946 100 mins Director: Basil Dearden
A realistic recreation of life as a prisoner of war in Germany lends credence to this moving account of wartime survival against the odds.
The Ceremony The Ceremony
Thriller 2024 92 mins Director: Jack King
When night falls, two Bradford car wash workers are dragged into an escalating moral crisis.
Palestine 36 Palestine 36
Period drama 2025 120 mins Director: Annemarie Jacir
Acclaimed Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s most ambitious work is a powerful exploration of the events leading up to the Arab Revolt of 1936.
Ghost Trail Ghost Trail
Thriller 2024 106 mins Director: Jonathan Millet
Tense, morally complex political thriller about a man hunting down fugitive war criminals from the Assad regime in Syria, inspired by true events.
Plainclothes Plainclothes
Drama 2025 97 mins Director: Carmen Emmi
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey lead a Sundance-prize winning ensemble in this knockout cruising drama from debut director Carmen Emmi.
What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day? What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day?
Documentary 2005 45 mins Director: Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly’s second collaboration with pop band Saint Etienne traces the hidden history of East London’s Lower Lea Valley before its Olympic makeover.
Young Hearts Young Hearts
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Anthony Schatteman
A gentle and sincere story of queer love between two young teenage boys, told with warmth and humour.