Saga Travel has teamed up with LOVEFiLM to discover which films top the charts for the UK’s over-50s. The top 20 strongly features drama, action and adventure. Comedy and classic blockbusters also proved popular while sci-fi, western and horror movies lagged behind.

The top 50 films are available for passengers to view free of charge on Saga’s newest cruise ship, Saga Sapphire. Following a multimillion-pound investment, the small luxury ship is loaded with top-of-the-range entertainment technology, including iPads and 3D TV screens.

Securing the top spot is gritty American prison drama The Shawshank Redemption, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. The movie also tops the charts of IMDb’s (The Internet Movie Database) Top 250 Movies, which shows that everyone loves a gripping drama, irrelevant of age.

Next in the poll is the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life, where James Stewart’s character George Bailey is helped to fully appreciate his life by his guardian angel. The romantic drama Casablanca scoops third place, with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman simply smouldering on screen.

Saga Travel 50 Favourite Films at 50 Top 10
1       The Shawshank Redemption
2       It’s a Wonderful Life
3       Casablanca
4       Schindler’s List
5       Some Like it Hot
6       Forrest Gump
7       The Great Escape
8       Singin’ in the Rain
9       One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
10     Indiana Jones – Raiders of the Lost Ark

British actor Nigel Havers, who announced the results, said: “This is a great line up of movies, as well as some of the timeless classics you would expect to see there are some great adventures and poignant dramas. The choice of foreign language films also shows what a discerning bunch the over-50s are.  I am delighted that my own Chariots of Fire is rated as the 13th most popular film!”

Tom Hanks came through as a favourite actor for many, starring in three of the top 20 hits with comedy Forrest Gump in sixth place followed by The Green Mile and Saving Private Ryan. Three foreign language films also made it onto the top 50 list: Amelie from France, German U-boat drama Das Boot and, exploring the magic of the movies, Cinema Paradiso from Italy.

Saga Sapphire sails to some of the world’s most popular and beautiful destinations, including the Baltic States, the Caribbean and Europe. Prices from £950 per person.