Films made by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association featuring the famous evangelist and dating back to 1955 have been made available on Amazon Prime.

The 17 films include classics like include The Hiding Place, The Restless Ones and Last Flight Out.

The films were designed to be dramatic, well-told stories appealing to non-Christians. Graham himself said: 'Thousands will come to see a film who would never come and hear a preacher.'

The films were made by World Wide Pictures (WWP), an arm of BGEA, and would often come with printed materials for audiences explaining how they could become Christians.

'Hundreds of thousands of individuals accepted Christ kneeling on sticky concrete floors in theatres across America,' said former WWP director of operations Barry Werner.

The first of the films was Mr Texas, which premiered at the Hollywood Bowl in 1951 and was attended by 25,000 people – the largest single premiere in the history of film-making at the time.

Billy Graham himself appears in a number of the films, which span the years 1955-2003. Some have been translated into as many as 38 languages and shown around the world.

Amazon Prime is also featuring 12 Billy Graham Classics – sermon each lasting 30 minutes on subjects ranging from daily living to eternal salvation.