Simon and Laura

Throughout most of the '50s, British cinema regarded its pushy new rival, television, with a mix of alarm and disdain. While Hollywood tried to combat the small screen with CinemaScope and 3-D, the Brits mocked the medium in a series of gentle satires. Here, Simon and Laura (Finch and Kendall) are the Richard and Judy of their day, a married couple who feign domestic bliss for the sake of the small screen, but bicker constantly as soon as they're off-air. Just as in Finch's later, more savage TV satire, Network, they soon learn that acting angry for the cameras does wonders for the ratings.