On the whole, business has not really been celebrated by the cinema.

This is understandable. The truth about business – hard work, slow progress, two steps forward and one step back – is not exactly high drama.

If business is mentioned, it is usually in the context of corruption – or some wealthy entrepreneur wanting to kill off James Bond very inefficiently.

There are, however, some honourable exceptions.

Given that film attendance may actually increase in recession, and that some of us may soon have more time on our hands as the result of the credit crunch, it seems a good time to suggest a few good business films to watch. Who knows? They might give some ideas.

1   Trading Places: the ultimate 80s film and the ultimate business film – get rich, and you get Denholm Elliot as your butler and Jamie Lee Curtis as your girlfriend.

2   Glengarry Glen Ross: whenever you are feeling demotivated, play Alec Baldwin’s legendary “steak knives” speech to yourself.

3   Save the Tiger: a depressing film, but the great Jack Lemmon captures what every entrepreneur has felt, or will feel, at least once in his career.

4   Network: although its blasphemous ending was unnecessary, Ned Beatty’s big speech is a masterly analysis of global capitalism.

5   Barbarians at the Gate: the ever-classy James Garner in a real-life story of a mega-deal gone wrong – one feels this is how it really must have been.

6   Wall Street: Michael Douglas’ infamous “greed is good” speech now sounds doubly ironic in the light of recent events, but, listen to it closely  - is it entirely wrong?

7   Working Girl: another great film from the 80s, the decade when aspiration became cool.

8   How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying: makes one wonder why the talented Robert Morse practically disappeared between this 60s film and reappearing in the current 60s-set television series Mad Men, with which it has much in common.

9   Tin Men: an over-the-top – and all too accurate – tribute to the testosterone-high world of sales.

10  The Big Kahuna: a quiet, intelligent, well-cast meditation on business integrity.

11  The Boiler Room: a deliberate homage to Glengarry Glen Ross and Wall Street – half the fun is spotting the references.

12  Office Space: a clever satire, stolen by Gary Cole as the creepy boss with a bottomless cup of coffee.

13  Other People’s Money: although the film was spoilt by a sentimental ending, Danny DeVito’s “Amen” speech is a brilliant, ruthless defence of market forces.

14  The Hudsucker Proxy: while we would never wish to imitate Charles Durning’s exit from a board meeting, we know how he feels.

15  The Apartment: more a movie with business as a setting than a business movie, but too charming to leave out.

The British gangster movie Stormy Monday is also not a business film in the strict sense, but it is notable for one good bit of business advice – “Always keep your receipts”.