The Searchers
(John Ford, 1956)

Western classic with buckets of franchise potential. As the anti-heroic Ethan Edwards John Wayne has got the iconic outfit (black hat, red shirt, blue neckerchief) and the brooding persona (he fancies his sister-in-law and hates himself). Plus he has his own catch phrase — “That’ll be the day!” Perfect prequel material.

The Sound of Music
(Robert Wise, 1965)

The sheer level of opportunity here is alarming. And not just in sequel terms (although The Sound of Music: The Swiss Border Years is rich with Nazi-baiting plot possibilities).

No, besides the live concerts and Von Trapp Family world tours there are the albums, the TV spin-offs and the spin-offs’ spin-offs (Gretl: The Sitcom, for example). Not to mention the T-shirts. The motherload of missing revenue.

North by Northwest
(Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

Cary Grant and Eve Marie Saint, last seen entering a mountainside train tunnel as the loved up Mr and Mrs Thornhill, emerge on the other side, only to find the track surrounded by an army of enemy spies. And that’s just the first of many glamorous and action-packed Mr and Mrs Thornhill movies.

Some Like it Hot
(Billy Wilder, 1959)

Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon return as Josephine and Daphne, everyone’s favourite zany cross-dressing heroines in a series of wacky Chicago-set escapades. Always one step ahead of nasty mob leader Spats Columbo (George Raft), the girls/boys laugh themselves into umpteen sequels, a spin-off television series, two soundtrack albums and a Broadway musical.

The Shining
(Stanley Kubrick, 1980)

“The Overlook Hotel has some new owners . . .” You can imagine the rest — an endless supply of quirky guests who do battle with the world’s creepiest mountain resort in a five-movie series. There will be an occasional guest-starring role for Jack Nicholson.

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