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
Charles Hawtrey	...	Bert Fitch
Margaret Rutherford	...	Professor Hatton-Jones
Stuart Lindsell	...	Coroner
Naunton Wayne	...	Straker
Basil Radford	...	Gregg
Gilbert Davis	...	Bagshawe
Michael Hordern	...	Inspector Bashford
Arthur Howard	...	Bassett
Bill Shine	...	Captain
Harry Locke	...	Sergeant
Sam Kydd	...	Sapper
Joe E. Carr	...	Dave Parsons (as Joey Carr)
Lloyd Pearson	...	Fawcett
Arthur Denton	...	Customs Official
Tommy Godfrey	...	Bus Conductor
James Hayter	...	Commissionaire
Masoni	...	Conjurer
Fred Griffiths	...	Spiv
Grace Arnold	...	Woman in underground
Paul Demel	...	Central European
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Winston Churchill	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Michael Craig	...	(uncredited)
E.V.H. Emmett	...	Newsreel Commentator (voice) (uncredited)
Bernard Farrel	...	(uncredited)
Richard Hearne	...	Nighttime drunk on bicycle (uncredited)
Arthur Lovegrove	...	Tough Man on Underground Train (uncredited)
Frank Phillips	...	Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Henry Cornelius

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
T.E.B. Clarke		screenplay

Produced by
Michael Balcon	....	producer
E.V.H. Emmett	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Georges Auric

Cinematography by
Lionel Banes		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Michael Truman

Art Direction by
Roy Oxley

Costume Design by
Anthony Mendleson

Makeup Department
Barbara Barnard	....	hair stylist
Ernest Taylor	....	makeup artist
Harry Frampton	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Ralph D. Hogg	....	unit production manager
Hal Mason	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gordon Scott	....	assistant director
David Peers	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Jack Shampan	....	draughtsman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Arthur Bradburn	....	sound recordist
Stephen Dalby	....	sound supervisor
Gordon Stone	....	dubbing editor (uncredited)

Stunts
Nosher Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Cecil R. Cooney	....	camera operator (as Cecil Cooney)
Jack Dooley	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Chic Waterson	....	second camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ron Beck	....	wardrobe master (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Harry Aldous	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Ernest Irving	....	conductor
Eddie Durham	....	composer: song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" (uncredited)
Sol Marcus	....	composer: song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" (uncredited)
Eddie Seiler	....	composer: song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" (uncredited)

Other crew
Jean Graham	....	continuity
Felicia Manheim	....	assistant continuity (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Ealing Studios

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1949) (UK) (theatrical)
• Eagle-Lion Films (1949) (USA) (theatrical)
• Classic Pictures (1952) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Better Television Distribution (2006) (worldwide) (TV)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1987) (UK) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Philharmonia Orchestra, The  orchestra

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 Creating 'The Upside of Anger' (2005) (V)

An endearing look at London life that is gone but not forgotten

Brace yourself for a shock - according to a recently-discovered and authentic legal document that is centuries old, Brooklyn belongs to Iceland! Consequently, people travelling to and from Brooklyn must now carry a passport or visa, declare items of value at the Brooklyn Customs points, and perhaps even converse in Icelandic!

It is a similar, mind-bending assumption (with hilarious practical implications) that British viewers have to make when watching "Passport to Pimlico" (a London district near Buckingham Palace, no less). In the film, much of Pimlico (or "Burgundy" as it is now called) looks like a bomb-site, which it probably was still at that time in the aftermath of World War II.

As one of the so-called "Ealing comedies", it ranks alongside other films in this group like "Kind Hearts and Coronets" and "The Lavender Hill Mob" which parody - but in an affectionate way - various aspects of British social life. Conversation is always very parochial and petty. At the same time, this film preserves certain other conventions of the time - for example, there really was a restriction on how much money people could take out of Britain which lasted until the 1970s. In "Passport to Pimlico", people travelling on the underground railway have to declare there currency at the "Burgundy" Customs points. Above all, Margaret Rutherford stands out as the unworldly history professor with sweeping convictions. This charming films preserves a way of life which, though long gone, is not forgotten.