One of those legendary 1950s melodramas, this was treated as a routine release in America and Britain, but hailed as a major work of art by the French (notably Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut) because it is "un film de Nicholas Ray", the director of Rebel without a Cause and They Live by Night. It stars James Mason, in one of his best roles, as a mild-mannered teacher whose career and marriage are wrecked by his addiction to cortisone, which turns him into a megalomaniac monster. Made in CinemaScope and famous for its dramatic colour scheme (New York cabs are at their yellowest), it is a real humdinger. And it features Walter Matthau, too.

A friendly, successful suburban teacher and father grows dangerously addicted to cortisone, resulting in his transformation into a household despot.