Between 1930 and 1939, when Alexander Korda teamed him with Emeric Pressburger for The Spy in Black, Michael Powell had returned to a wintry England from his apprenticeship with Rex Ingram in the south of France and became part of the British production renaissance.

Often dismissed as “quota quickies”, made cheaply to meet the new British film legislation, these were an invaluable school for the rising generation of directors who would blossom in the 1940s. Powell used to joke that his reputation couldn’t survive any more of his first twenty films being found. But with his reputation now secure, these reveal the origins of his irreverent humour, eye for topical issues, and growing skill with actors.

Read the selection of films curated by James Bell (BFI), with Thelma Schoonmaker and Ian Christie.