Focuses on the example of Britain's largest machine tool maker, Alfred Herbert Ltd of Coventry. Taking a chronological approach, this book explores how, during the late 19th century, the industry developed a reputation for excellence throughout the world, before the challenges of two world wars necessitated drastic changes & reorganisations. ...

Alfred Hitchcock (UK, 1899-1980) is undeniably the world's most famous film director. His name has become synonymous with the cinema, & each new generation takes the same pleasure in rediscovering his films, which are treasures of our artistic heritage. ...

Famous '50s/'60s mystery & suspense series hosted by the master of suspense himlsef, Alfred Hitchcock. Each 30 minute episode included opening & closing monologues by Hitchcock who would explain some aspect of the day's story in his inimitably dry, humorous monotone. Episodes included: ' Wet Saturday', ' Fog Closing In', ' De Mortis', ' Kill with Kindness', ' None Are So Blind', ' Toby', ' Alibi Me', ' Conversation Over a Corpse', ' Crack of Doom', ' Jonathan', 'A Better Bargain', ' The Rose Garden', ' Mr. Blanchard's Secret', ' John Brown's Body', ' Crackpot', ' Nightmare in 4-D', ' My Brother Richard', ' Manacled', ' Bottle of Wine', ' Malice Domestic', ' Number Twenty-Two', ' The End of Indian Summer', ' One for the Road', ' The Cream of the Jest', 'I Killed the Count (1)', 'I Killed the Count (2)', 'I Killed the Count (3)', ' One More Mile to Go', ' Vicious Circle', ' The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater', ' The Night the World Ended', ' The Hands of Mr. Ottermole', 'A Man Greatly Beloved', ' Martha Mason, Movie Star', ' The West Warlock Time Capsule', ' Father & Son', ' The Indestructible Mr. Weems', 'A Little Sleep'and ' The Dangerous People'. ...

All 38 episodes from the third season of the famous 1950s/60s mystery & suspense series hosted by the master of suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock. Each 30 minute episode

Includes:: opening & closing monologues by Hitchcock who would explain some aspect of the episode's story in his inimitably dry, humorous monotone.

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A collection of six classic films directed by the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. In ' Strangers on a Train' (1951), Guy Haines (Farley Granger) & Bruno Antony (Robert Walker) meet by chance in a train carriage. After some idle chat in which it transpires that each man has someone in their lives they would like to dispose of, Bruno proposes that he kills Guy's wife, in return for Guy murdering Bruno's father. Guy is appalled, but when his wife is murdered he realises that Bruno is intent on carrying out the 'deal' whether Guy wants to or not. ' Stage Fright' (1950) is set in London's theatrel&. On the run from the police, Jonathan Cooper (Richard Todd) takes refuge in the home of his former girlfriend, RADA student Eve Gill (Jane Wyman). Although Cooper has been spotted fleeing the scene of a murder, he insists that he is innocent. Eve believes his story, but knows that the police won't, so she decides to play detective herself. Marlene Dietrich co-stars as Charlotte Innwood, a seductive star of the stage whom Eve eventually pinpoints as the real murderer. In 'I Confess' (1953), Father Michael Logan (Montgomery Clift) faces a crisis of conscience when his caretaker, Otto Keller (O.E. Hasse), confesses to him that he has committed murder. Logan's dilemma intensifies when he himself comes under suspicion of the killing by police inspector Larrue (Karl Malden). Should Logan break with the sanctity of the confessional to prove his own innocence, or be hanged for a crime he did not commit? Hitchcock keeps us guessing till the very end... In ' Dial M For Murder' (1954), an adaptation of Frederick Knott's successful stage play, former tennis pro Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) hatches a cunning plot to get rid of his socialite wife, Margot (Grace Kelly), when he discovers that she has been unfaithful. Wendice blackmails a corrupt former schoolmate into murdering Margot, but the fellow bungles the job, & Margot, having killed her would-be assailant in self-defence, then finds herself under suspicion of premeditated murder. In ' The Wrong Man' (1957), musician Manny Balestrero (Henry Fonda) finds himself imprisoned after being wrongly accused of theft. Allowed out on bail, Manny employs the services of lawyer Frank O' Connor (Anthony Quayle) in his defence, but the strain proves too much for Manny's wife, Rose (Vera Miles), who begins to crack up. Hitchcock follows police procedure rigidly in his account of Manny's arrest, interrogation & imprisonment, based on actual events. In ' North by Northwest' (1959), a masterful mix of comedy & suspense, advertising executive Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is lunching in a restaurant with his mother when he mistakenly answers a page for one George Kaplan. He soon finds himself on the run across the country, being pursued by enemies of the government who are convinced that he is a secret agent. He finds a friend in Eve Kendall (Eve Marie Saint), who helps conceal him during a perilous train journey
- but soon discovers that she is not all she seems.
...

Box set containing ten of Hitchcock's most significant pre-war British films. In the silent film ' The Pleasure Garden' (1925), Patsy Brand (Virginia Valli) is a chorus girl at the Pleasure Garden music hall. She meets Jill Cheyne (Carmelita Geraghty) who is down on her luck & gets her a job as a dancer. Jill meets adventurer Hugh Fielding (John Stuart) & they get engaged, but when Hugh travels out of the country, she begins to play around. In ' The Lodger' (1926), Hitchcock's third feature, the foggy streets of London have fallen prey to the ' Avenger'
- an unknown killer whose victims are all blonde women. When a handsome lodger (Ivor Novello) arrives at a local boarding house, his suspicious behaviour leads to him being accused of the crimes & hotly pursued by a lynch mob out for justice. But is he really guilty? ' Downhill' (1927) tells the story of Roddy (Novello), first son of the rich Berwick family, who is expelled from school when he takes the blame for his friend Tim's (Robin Irvine) theft. His family sends him away & all of his friends desert him. Roddy decides to go to Paris where he spends what little money he has & starts working as a dancer. He soon becames a victim of alcoholism. Roddy moves to England's colonies but some sailors send him back to his rich family hoping for a reward. ' The Man Who Knew Too Much' (1934) was the first of Hitchcock's classic British spy thrillers. While holidaying in the Swiss Alps with their daughter, Betty (Nova Pilbeam), English couple Bob (Leslie Banks) & Jill Lawrence (Edna Best) are befriended by Frenchman Louis Bernard (Pierre Fresnay). When he is shot by international spies, Louis warns Jill with his dying breath that his killers intend to assassinate a leading diplomat in Britain. However, before Jill & Bob can inform the police, Betty is kidnapped by the spies, who warn the couple that unless they maintain their silence they will never see their daughter again. Peter Lorre makes his English-speaking debut as the charming but psychotic kidnapper, Abbott. Hitchcock later made a big-budget, colour remake of the film with James Stewart & Doris Day. In ' The 39 Steps' (1935), the most celebrated of Hitchcock's British thrillers, adapted from John Buchan's novel, Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) becomes the victim of mistaken identity when a female corpse is dumped in his flat by a spy ring. He tries to track down the true murderers whilst being pursued by the police, & hooks up with an unwilling accomplice (Madeleine Carroll). Their adventure eventually leads them to a music hall, where the secret of the 39 steps is revealed. ' Secret Agent' (1936) tells the story of British soldier & novelist Edgar Brodie (John Gielgud), who returns home during WWI to find that a government agency has faked a report of his death. They get him to change his name to Richard Ashenden & travel to Switzerland to track down & eliminate a German agent. In ' Sabotage' (1936) based on the Joseph Conrad novel, cinema manager Karl Verloc (Oscar Homolka), unbeknown to his wife Sylvia (Sylvia Sidney), is acting as a paid saboteur. After Karl's cutting off of London's electricity supply fails to create the havoc his employers hoped for, Karl is charged with delivering a bomb to Piccadilly Circus. The police, however, are already on his trail. When a young woman is found strangled on the seashore, in the comedy-thriller ' Young & Innocent' (1937), Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney) is quickly identified as the chief suspect in the case. The young man protests his innocence, but it seems that only Erica Burgoyne (Pilbeam), the eighteen-year-old daughter of the local police constable, is prepared to believe him. Together, the unlikely duo set out to find the real killer. In ' The Lady Vanishes' (1938), the elderly Miss Froy (May Whitty) goes missing on a train bound for England & her friend, Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood), sets out to find her. However, Iris's attempts are immediately frustrated by her fellow passengers, who question whether Miss Froy ever even existed. Only music scholar Gilbert Redman (Michael Redgrave) is prepared to believe Iris, & together they set about getting to the bottom of the mystery. In ' Jamaica Inn' (1939)
- Hitchcock's last British film before leaving for Hollywood & a contract with David O. Selznick
- young orphan Mary (Maureen O' Hara) arrives in 18th century Cornwall to live with her Uncle Joss (Banks), the landlord of Jamaica Inn. After finding work as a barmaid, Mary discovers that Joss commands a band of pirates who smuggle contraband from wrecked ships. Mary is further unnerved by the ever-present Justice of the Peace, Sir Humphrey Pengallan (Charles Laughton).


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