The best Bonar Colleano’s romance movies

When a young airman miraculously survives bailing out of his aeroplane without a parachute, he falls in love with an American radio operator. But the officials in the other world realise their mistake, and dispatch an angel to collect him.

Tony and Felix own a tramp boat, and sail around the Caribbean doing odd jobs and drinking a lot. They agree to ferry the beautiful but passportless Irena to another island. They both fall for her, leading to betrayal and a break-up of their partnership. Tony takes a job on a cargo ship. After a collision he finds himself trapped below deck with time running out (the ship is aflame), and only Felix, whom he hates and has sworn to kill, left to save him.

A notorious bandit develops a grudging respect for the English military man assigned to capture him.

Episodic tale of four factory girls and their various romances at the local dance hall in Chiswick, London. Unusual at the time, the film tells its story from a feminine perspective. Today, it is mainly recognised for its post-war London atmosphere, with bomb sites, trolleybuses and rationing.

Starring Dirk Bogarde, Bonar Colleano, Thora Hird, Sid James and Bill Owen, this British gem was nominated for a BAFTA in 1949. Bogarde, in only his second film, plays the role of Bill Fox, a bored factory worker who becomes a famous speedway star. He meets a glamorous society woman who introduces him to a new and exciting social circle and Bill quickly forgets his working class roots. Bill eventually becomes disillusioned with the Mayfair scene and marries Pat, the sister of his team mate, Lag Gibbon. Back at the track, he tries to form a riders union to ensure families are financially secure should an accident occur on the track. Pat tries to get Bill to pack up racing and open a garage, but Bill refuses and she leaves him. WW2 arrives and Bill enlists as a motorcycle despatch rider but after the war Bill is left with a dilema, should he make a racing comeback or get back together with his one true love?

Life on a British bomber base, and the surrounding towns, from the opening days of the Battle of Britain, to the arrival of the Americans, who join in the bomber offensive. The film centres around Pilot Officer Peter Penrose, fresh out of a training unit, who joins the squadron, and quickly discovers about life during war time. He falls for Iris, a young girl who lives at the local hotel, but he becomes disillusioned about marriage, when the squadron commander dies in a raid, and leaves his wife, the hotel manageress, with a young son to bring up. As the war progresses, Penross comes to terms that he has survived, while others have been killed.