The Small Back Room (1949)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Directors:

Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger

Writers:

Nigel Balchin (novel)
Michael Powell (writer) ...
(more)

Release Date:

23 February 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller | War

Plot:

As the Germans drop explosive booby-traps on 1943 England, the embittered expert who'll have to disarm them fights a private battle with alcohol.

Plot Keywords:

Bomb | Pain | Booby Trap | Bomb Disposal | Welsh

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

David Farrar	...	Sammy Rice
Kathleen Byron	...	Susan
Jack Hawkins	...	R.B. Waring
Leslie Banks	...	Col. A.K. Holland
Michael Gough	...	Capt. Dick Stuart
Cyril Cusack	...	Cpl. Taylor
Milton Rosmer	...	Prof. Mair
Walter Fitzgerald	...	Brine
Emrys Jones	...	Joe
Michael Goodliffe	...	Till
Renée Asherson	...	A.T.S. corporal
Anthony Bushell	...	Col. Strang
Henry Caine	...	Sgt. Maj. Rose
Elwyn Brook-Jones	...	Gladwin
James Dale	...	Brigadier
Sam Kydd	...	Crowhurst, door sentry
June Elvin	...	Gillian
David Hutcheson	...	Norval
Sid James	...	'Knucksie' Moran, barkeeper (as Sidney James)
Roderick Lovell	...	Capt. Pearson
James Carney	...	Sgt. Groves
Roddy Hughes	...	Welsh doctor
Geoffrey Keen	...	Pinker
Bryan Forbes	...	Peterson, dying gunner
Robert Morley	...	Minister
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Nielson
Ted Heath	...	Band Leader (uncredited)
Patrick Macnee	...	Man at committee meeting (uncredited)
Michael Powell	...	Gunnery Officer (uncredited)
John Stratton	...	Young Army Officer at commitee meeting (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger

Writing credits
Nigel Balchin		(novel)
Michael Powell		(writer) &
Emeric Pressburger		(writer)

Produced by
George R. Busby	....	assistant producer
Michael Powell	....	producer
Emeric Pressburger	....	producer
Anthony Bushell	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Brian Easdale

Cinematography by
Christopher Challis

Film Editing by
Clifford Turner

Casting by
Madeleine Godar		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Hein Heckroth

Art Direction by
John Hoesli

Costume Design by
Josephine Boss

Makeup Department
Peter Evans	....	makeup assistant (uncredited)
Dorrie Hamilton	....	makeup supervisor (uncredited)
Iris Tilley	....	assistant hair stylist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sydney Streeter	....	assistant director (as Sydney S. Streeter)
Jack N. Green	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Archie Knowles	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ivor Beddoes	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Peter Childs	....	junior draughtsman (uncredited)
Ted Clements	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Harry Pottle	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Dario Simoni	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Pat Sladden	....	junior draughtsman (uncredited)
Wallis Smith	....	chief draughtsman (uncredited)
Charles Townsend	....	production buyer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Alan Allen	....	sound
W.H.O. Sweeney	....	dubbing sound (as Bill Sweeny)
Peter Butcher	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Peter Meyers	....	assistant boom operator (uncredited)
George Stephenson	....	sound maintenance (uncredited)
Cyril Swern	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Freddie Francis	....	camera operator
Anthony Hopking	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Will Lee	....	focus puller (uncredited)
John von Kotze	....	clapper loader (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jack Dalmayne	....	wardrobe master (uncredited)
Arthur Skinner	....	wardrobe assistant (uncredited)
May Walding	....	wardrobe assistant (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Stephen Bearman	....	colorist (digitally restored version)
Reginald Mills	....	supervising editor
Noreen Ackland	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Derek Armstrong	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Tom Simpson	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Tom Simpson	....	assistant cutter (uncredited)
Frankie Taylor	....	junior cutter (uncredited)

Music Department
Kenny Baker	....	composer: night club scene music (as Ted Heath's Kenny Baker Swing Group)
Hubert Clifford	....	musical director
Frederick Lewis	....	composer: night club scene music (as Fred Lewis)

Other crew
Doreen North	....	continuity
Gwladys Jenks	....	production secretary (uncredited)
Vivienne Knight	....	publicist (uncredited)
Marjorie Mein	....	production department secretary (uncredited)
George Mills	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Charles Orme	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Jean Osborne	....	publicity assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Archers, The
• London Film Productions

Distributors

• British Lion Film Corporation (1949) (UK) (theatrical)
• British Lion Film Corporation (1952) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release) (edited)
• Snader Productions (1952) (USA) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

Hour of Glory (USA)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | UK:A | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Chesil Bank, Dorset, England, UK

Company:

Archers, The

Trivia:

This film marked the return of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger to Alexander Korda's London Films, after a successful but rather strained period at Rank.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: A little over 75 minutes into the film, during the scene where the character of Sammy Rice trashes his sitting room, the shadow of the boom mic can be seen reflected in the empty picture frame in the foreground of the shot.

Quotes:

Susan: Where were you going Sammy?
Sammy Rice: I don't know.
Susan: A woman?
Sammy Rice: Maybe.
Susan: How about me?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Taxi Driver (1976)

Soundtrack:

Night Club Music

This is from a time when writers still roamed the earth

A fine terse drama like this one is inconceivable today for many reasons, most of them having to do with market forces which dictate that only films about superheroes in long underwear and adolescent revenge fantasies are to get financing and international distribution. But the main reason why it can't be duplicated today is the quality of the writing by Emeric Pressburger, an innovative genius who wasn't afraid to leave his mark on material adapted from another medium and to use his imagination to keep things vivid at all times. The film shines in its production values, photography, art direction, casting but most of all in its details and its capacity to involve the viewer in a subject that would seem almost repellent today, a complicated and imperfect man's devotion to his work in time of war. If a film's success is to be measured by its capacity to take the viewer out of the ordinary, this film is certainly a hit. Its success is helped by the talent of the principals, a wise woman every warrior would like to return to (Kathleen Byron) and the most gorgeous hunk of uncompromising masculinity ever to grace a British screen and titillate the female viewers, David Farrar.