The Magnificent Ambersons

(1942) U 3.05PM, BBC2 ★★★★

Studio RKO seized control of Orson Welles’ second feature film from him, re-editing it and changing the ending. Despite the studio’s interference, the film’s heart and soul survived. The story of the decline of a wealthy American family, it is ambitious and beguiling. Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead star.