Passport to Pimlico (1949)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Henry Cornelius

Writer:

T.E.B. Clarke (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 October 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

It's the wittiest comedy in years!

Plot:

Residents of a part of London declare independence, when they discover an old treaty. This leads to the need for a 'Passport to Pimlico'.

Plot Keywords:

London | Burgundy | Bomb | Newsreel | Customs

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Stanley Holloway	...	Arthur Pemberton
Betty Warren	...	Connie Pemberton
Barbara Murray	...	Shirley Pemberton
Paul Dupuis	...	Duke of Burgundy
John Slater	...	Frank Huggins
Jane Hylton	...	Molly Reed
Raymond Huntley	...	Mr. W.P.J. Wix
Philip Stainton	...	P.C. Sid Spiller
Roy Carr	...	Benny Spiller
Sydney Tafler	...	Frederick Albert 'Fred' Cowan
Nancy Gabrielle	...	Mrs. Cowan
Malcolm Knight	...	Monty Cowan
Hermione Baddeley	...	Edie Randall
Roy Gladdish	...	Charlie Randall
Frederick Piper	...	Jim Garland

Runtime:

84 min | USA:70 min (2005 DVD release)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Australia:G | Finland:S | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Trivia:

At the start of the film a radio announcement mentions Latin music performed by "Les Norman and his Bethnal Green Bambinos". This is an in-joke referring to Ealing producer Leslie Norman. Bethnal Green was an unattractive area in the East End of London.

Goofs:

Continuity: Frank Huggins appears with a group of men refilling the reservoir with a hosepipe, while simultaneously refilling his goldfish tank back at the shop.

Quotes:

Professor Hatton-Jones: Forgive me - are you a bleeder? When you cut yourself, do you bleed interminably?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Just a Minute: (#2.2)" (1994)

A fun comic romp with real-life allusions.

This is a very funny Ealing comedy about a community in central London who, through an unusual set of circumstances, discover they are not English, but are an annex of the French province of Burgundy.

The film features comic actor Stanley Holloway (best known as Alfred Doolittle in MY FAIR LADY), as well as a host of other classic comic actors of the period.

The story was apparently based on a news item at the time, when the Canadian Government "officially" gave a hotel room to a visiting European member of royalty. The idea actually reminded me of the real-life case of the Hutt River Province in Western Australia, where a landowner "seceded" from the Australian Government due to a wool quota dispute. (It was never acknowledged by the Western Australian or Australian Governments).

This is a great script that plays with a lot of political and economic issues, rather like the TV show "Yes Minister"; as well as being a great little eccentric character piece as well.