Nearly 50 years after The Servant was first released, that combination of mellow voice, strings and lyrics filled with regret - "Leave it alone. It's all gone" - remains irresistible.

There are so many existing associations with The Blue Lamp that it is almost impossible to watch it with a fresh eye: George Dixon's life and death in film, then rebirth in the television hit Dixon of Dock Green; the menacing youthful swagger of Dirk Bogarde; British cinema's delight in such 'social problem' films through the 1950s and early 60s.

Another minor revelation when approaching my survey of Ealing films: they made this film about 'the Troubles' that included an attempt to present both sides of the conflict, and which cast cherub-faced John Mills as an IRA terrorist!