In this first comprehensive critical study of Anthony Asquith, Ryall sets the director's work in the context of British cinema from the silent period to the 1960s, and examines the artistic and cultural influences within which his films can be understood. The success of "Pygmalion" and "French Without Tears," based on plays by George Bernard Shaw and Terence Rattigan, together with his significant contributions to wartime British cinema, made Asquith one of Britain's leading film makers.