This collection of original essays will be the first to examine the place of the 'woman's picture' within British cinema history. Traditionally, discussion of the woman's picture has tended to focus on Hollywood, with substantial critical attention paid to 30s and 40s films such as ''Stella Dallas'' and ''Now Voyager''. Although there has been some work on the female-centred films made by Gainsborough studios, there has been a tendency for British films that might otherwise be categorised as women's pictures to be siphoned off into other groupings: such as war films, heritage films etc. This collection will redress the balance by reassessing key British films and cycles of film-making through the critical lens of the woman's picture, taking a fresh look at the female and the feminine realm in British film culture from the 40s melodrama to the contemporary 'chick flick'.