[1] Dalrymple said in 1941 their goal was: We say in film to our own people 'This is what the boys in the services, or the girls in the factories, or the men and women in Civil Defence, or the patient citizens themselves are like, and what they are doing.
The company signed an agreement with Rank, and made The Woman in the Hall (1947), written and produced by Dalrymple and directed by Lee.
It was followed by Esther Waters (1948), which Dalrymple directed alongside Peter Proud, and is remembered today for introducing Dirk Bogarde.
[12] The change had instant results: Wessex's first film in association with London, The Wooden Horse (1950), directed by Lee, was a big hit.
It was followed by Three Cases of Murder (1955), a horror anthology, and Raising a Riot (1955), a Kenneth More comedy directed by Wendy Toye which was a big success.
Wessex made a film about the Korean War, A Hill in Korea (1956), best remembered today for giving early roles to actors such as Robert Shaw, Stanley Baker and Michael Caine.