Bombsight Stolen (1941)

Allied spies and Nazi Agents insinuate themselves at a Scottish cottage (converted to a wartime hospital) with interests on an inventor's nearly perfected bomb sight.

Director:

Anthony Asquith

Writers:

Geoffrey Kerr (adapted from the play by), Anatole de Grunwald (screenplay) (as A. de Grunwald)

Stars:

Leslie Banks, Alastair Sim, Jeanne De Casalis

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Leslie Banks	...	John Barrington
Jeanne De Casalis	...	Mrs. Barrington
Carla Lehmann	...	Helen Barrington (as Carla Lehman)
Alastair Sim	...	Charles Dimble
John Mills	...	Flt·Lieut. Perry
George Cole	...	Ronald
Michael Wilding	...	Alan Trently
Frank Cellier	...	John Forest
Muriel Aked	...	Miss Fernery
Wally Patch	...	Evans
Muriel George	...	Mrs. Trimm
Hay Petrie	...	Dr. Truscott
Catherine Lacey	...	Mrs. Stokes

Storyline

A wartime cottage on a Scottish estate becomes a focus of attention when not only the new tenant but a London evacuee and a downed fighter pilot all move in. The interest may not be unconnected with the fact that the landowner is also a key British military inventor. For a start, the butler is obviously a Scotland Yard flatfoot.

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Plot Keywords:

espionage | millstone | scotland yard | nazi agent | fighter pilot | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bombsight Stolen

Filming Locations:

Gaumont-British Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gainsborough Pictures, Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (British Acoustic Film Full-Range Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Theatrical movie debut of George Cole (Ronald).

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Goofs

Despite being apparently unconscious, the downed parachutist can be seen helping the two boatmen pull him into the rowing boat at the start of the film.

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Quotes

Charles Dimble: I was looking for you.
Alan Trently: Oh, why?
Charles Dimble: This card just came for you. Swiss stamp and a very curious message.
Alan Trently: That's pretty cool nerve. Do you always read other people's letters?
Charles Dimble: Certainly not. This isn't a letter. It's a postcard. Postcards are fair game.

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Soundtracks

The Bonnie Banks O' Loch Lomond
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by children at the fair

User Reviews

One for aspiring film makers to watch

From the jaunty opening scenes to the thrilling ending, you could be forgiven for thinking 'Cottage To Let' was made during the post war period. But this film was released in 1941, when the outcome of the war was still in the balance.

The cast reflects the wealth of talent available in the British Film Industry at this time and for two decades onwards. Not a false note is struck: Jeannie De Casalis makes me laugh out loud playing the dotty wife (check out her introduction speech for John Mills at the fête). Leslie Banks turns in a precise low key performance. He is an antidote to all the eccentric and unbalanced scientists that were/are the staple of cinema-land. Michael Wilding is urbane and, in his scenes, a good foil for a crumpled Alistair Sim, or the intense and faintly menacing John Mills.

Sim, of course, had managed to get his protégé George Cole the part of Ronald. Cole had (I think) already played this role on the stage, but took to the sound stage like a fish to water. He moved and acted as if born to boom and camera. In an idle moment compare young George as Ronald with middle-aged George as Arthur Daley in TV's Minder. It's all there: the sideway looks, aggrieved voice, controlled energy, sheer believable and likable personality.

The film scores on all points for me. The script is realistic and economical, the supporting cast firmly wedded into the few sub-plots. Even the sets, one or two seem to have migrated from other films, are splendid and evocative. And the final denouement is probably one of the most menacing in wartime film, if not the wettest.