As Jimmy Porter, the angry young man railing against post-war Britain, Burton gave the screen version of John Osborne’s play its volcanic centre.
Look Back in Anger (1959) is confined largely to a cramped Midlands flat, where Jimmy, his wife Alison and their friend Cliff trade barbs and home truths. Burton plays Jimmy’s fury as both thrilling and exhausting, a man whose intelligence has nowhere to go.
The film captured the mood of a generation, and Burton’s stage-trained power made Jimmy unforgettable.
Image credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.