Passport to Pimlico was really the first proper Ealing Comedy. There were 2 before but one was more of a thriller (Hue & Cry) and the other a tragedy (Another Shore)
The story of Passport is some local kids roll a tyre and it falls into a hole and a bomb goes off. Arthur Pembleton (Stanley Halloway) falls down the hole and after is rescued recalls he saw some hidden treasure so they go back down and find it. Professer Hatton-Jones (Margaret Rutherfold) tells them it belonged to the Duke of Burgundy. The Dukes’ charter has never been revoked so Pimlico is a part of Burgundy. Pimlico is quickly full of entrepreneurs, crooks and eager shoppers because the laws of post-war Britain don’t apply there. The film than deals with the fiasco of this little part of London being another country.
The film is very typical of the warmer side of Ealing than the more dark and sinister side of The Ladykillers or Kind Hearts & Coronets. The film is very anarchic though out with a very anti-bureaucracy streak in the film. It’s not as scathing as let’s say something like Brazil but what is? However it’s not entirety the government as fault; the people of Pimlico decides to become a part of Burgundy whilst drunk in the pub. The film is very dated now and not as entertainment as some later Ealing comedies but it’s still worth seeing sometime.
Ian Schultz
Rating:UUK Blu-Ray Release: 11 June 2012
Directed by: Henry Cornelius
Cast: Stanley Holloway, Betty Warren, Barbara Murray
Buy Passport to Pimlico: On Blu-ray
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