The Billy Wilder directed Oscar nominated courtroom drama/ murder mystery came in sixth ahead of Anatomy of Murder and In Cold Blood.

In Witness, Laughton plays a curmudgeonly stubborn barrister Sir Wilfred Robarts who rises from his sick bed to defend a man (Tyrone Power) standing trial for the murder of a rich widow (Norma Varden) and really gets the bit between his teeth when the wife (Marlene Dietrich) stands as a witness against Power.

Topping the list was To Kill A Mockingbird which starred Gregory Peck – who starred with Laughton in another courtroom drama the Hitchcock-helmed The Paradine Case. In that instance Laughton plays the rather lewd judge, Lord Thomas Horfield and Peck the top-flight barrister defending a woman accused of murdering her husband.

Laughton was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Witness as was his real life wife Elsa Lanchester who plays Robarts’ equally hard-headed nurse Miss Plimsoll.

Laughton was not known to be the easiest of actors to work with – his dedication to his craft bordered on the obsessive and he immersed himself in his roles. Wilder said of the experience: “You can tell how good an actor is by looking at his script. If he’s no good, the script will be neat as a pin. Charles Laughton’s was so flithy it looked like a herring had been wrapped in it.”

Nominated for a best actor Oscar for his role as Sir Wilfrid, Laughton missed out to Sir Alec Guinness for A Bridge Over The River Kwai. His performance as Captain Bligh in Mutiny on the Bountry also received a nod from the Academy. On that occasion he missed out on the honour to Victor McLaglen. He did however win the best actor Oscar for The Private Life of Henry VIII.

Laughton was also a feted theatre actor and began his career on the London stage. He was born in Scarborough on July 1 1899.

At first he went into the family business of hotels, while participating in amateur theatricals in Scarborough. Finally allowed by his family to become a drama student at RADA in 1925, he made his first professional stage appearance in 1926.

Despite not having the looks for a romantic lead, he impressed audiences with his talent and played many classical roles before making his Hollywood film debut in 1932.

He became an American citizen in 1950 but did act in the UK again when he did a season at Stratford, appearing in King Lear and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The AFI has put together top 10 lists of films in 10 genres, including legal dramas, sci-fi, sport, gangster, animation and Westerns. Other winners included Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Lawrence of Arabia, A Space Odyssey, Raging Bull and Vertigo.

The AFI promotes US film education and heritage. Its president, Bob Gazzale, said the list helped to keep films in the cultural consciousness.

“This is why these lists are so important. They keep these films in the cultural conversation,” said Gazzale.