Columbia Classics: Volume 1

Collection of six classic films. In 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' (1939), when naive Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) is chosen to replace a recently deceased senator, he heads for Washington full of idealistic dreams of serving his country, looking forward to working with his idol, senior senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains).

Upon his arrival, he is ridiculed in the press for his gullibility, but with the aid of his secretary, Saunders (Jean Arthur), he begins to realise that the world of politics is a cut-throat one full of double dealing.

When he discovers that Paine is working on a scheme for a new dam which will only profit him and his cronies, Smith sets out to expose the man he formerly idolised.

In 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962) Peter O'Toole stars as T.E.

Lawrence, the Oxford-educated British Army officer who aided the Arabs in their revolt against the Turks.

Teaming up with Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif), Lawrence crosses an inhospitable desert in order to join two separate Arab tribes together as a single fighting force.

Aiming to achieve Arab sovereignty, he wins a series of military victories but always keeps his eye on the larger picture, doing his best to prevent the subjection of the Arabs to British colonial rule.

In 'Dr. Strangelove Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' (1963), when lunatic General Jack D.

Ripper (Sterling Hayden) launches a nuclear attack on Russia, President Merkin Muffley of the United States (Peter Sellers) consults his advisors, among them the wheelchair-bound, ex-Nazi scientist Dr Strangelove (Sellers).

Meanwhile, British officer Captain Mandrake (Sellers) attempts to cancel the unplanned attack. 'Gandhi' (1982) follows the extraordinary life of Mahatma Gandhi (Ben Kingsley) from his beginnings as a young Indian lawyer to his triumph as a revolutionary.

Tom Hanks and Geena Davis star in 'A League of Their Own' (1992).

With all the male professional baseball players away fighting in World War II, drunken ex-Major League star Jimmy Dugan (Hanks) is employed to coach the Rockford Peaches, a team made up of women from all walks of life.

Initially reluctant, Dugan eventually rediscovers his enthusiasm when he realises how much the game means to his all-girl team as they embark on securing a spot in the World Series.

Finally, in 'Jerry Maguire' (1996), top sports manager Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is fired from his job when he suggests to his employers that they concentrate on caring more for fewer clients.

He starts up his own company, with only two clients - one of whom double-crosses him by returning to his former company.

However, Jerry still has American football player Ron Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), plus the unlikely support of fellow former SMI employee Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger), a single mother who Jerry begins dating.