The Shawshank Redemption, a feel-good film about a convicted murderer, prison brutality and the enduring power of friendship, has been voted the best movie never to have won a major Oscar.

The 1994 Hollywood film was rated way ahead of such popular classics as Some Like it Hot and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

More than a third of 6,000 cinema fans who responded to an online survey by the Radio Times nominated the jail drama as their favourite. Second place went to the sentimental Christmas tale It's a Wonderful Life, with 12% of votes cast. All of the films failed to win any Oscars for best director, actor, actress or best picture.

The film critic Barry Norman, who has written the introduction to the 2005 edition of the Radio Times Guide to Films, said: "Looking at this list really exposes the major voting mistakes academy members have made over the years.

"Each of these films have left their own indelible mark on the face of movie history; but, amazingly, all managed to go home without any major Academy Awards on their respective Oscar nights."

The Shawshank Redemption was nominated for seven awards. It bombed at the box office but went to establish a cult following on video. Based on a novella by Stephen King, it was filmed in a decommissioned jail in Ohio. It tells of how Tim Robbins's character, an accountant convicted of murdering his wife, is befriended by a veteran inmate played by Morgan Freeman, who helps him to survive prison life.

In the poll, three of the 10 never to have won a major Oscar were directed by Steven Spielberg: ET, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Colour Purple.