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Passport to Pimlico, a review by Antares

Passport to Pimlico





Year: 1949
Film Studio: Ealing Studios, Anchor Bay Entertainment
Genre: Comedy
Length: 85 Min.

Director
Henry Cornelius (1913)

Writing
T. E. B. Clarke (1907)...Original Screenplay

Producer
Michael Balcon (1896)
E. V. H. Emmett (1902)

Cinematographer
Lionel Banes (1904)

Music
Georges Auric (1899)...Composer

Stars
Stanley Holloway (1890) as Arthur Pemberton
Betty Warren (1905) as Connie Pemberton
Barbara Murray (1929) as Shirley Pemberton
Paul Dupuis (1913) as Duke of Burgundy
John Slater (1916) as Frank Huggins
Jane Hylton (1927) as Molly
Raymond Huntley (1904) as Mr. Wix
Philip Stainton (1908) as PC Spiller

Review
       Post-war England is in the midst of an extended heat wave, and the local residents of the Pimlico section of London are sweltering under the oppressive heat. Their lives are guided by rationing, shortages and measured allotments of the day-to-day staples that all must live upon. Little do they know that fate is about to turn their normal way of life on its ear. When the last unexploded German bomb of the Blitz is accidentally detonated by a harmless childhood prank, the locals stumble upon an underground chamber filled with treasure. Amongst the valuables is a painting of an unknown nobleman and a charter signed by King Edward IV. The charter leads an historian (Margaret Rutherford) to proclaim that the nobleman is the French Duke of Burgundy, who was thought to have been killed at the Battle of Nancy in 1477. After escaping the battlefield, the Duke had settled into an estate on the outskirts of London and the King has granted him sovereignty over his estate as an extended part of Burgundy. The charter also states that in perpetuity, the residents of the estate are henceforth Burgundian citizens.

       At first the locals do not know what to make of these findings, but when the local bank executive informs his boss that he does not have to adhere to British rules because of his Burgundian residency. He sets off a wave of anarchy amongst the population of Pimlico as they decide that maybe being Burgundian might have its advantages. No longer do they have to abide by rationing and curfews and can live their lives unfettered from the rules that all other Englishman must endure. But when the general population of London realizes that Pimlico is a haven from domestic authority, anarchy spreads to create a black market of profiteering on their streets, and they subsequently appeal to Whitehall to solve their growing problem. The government, in a dispute with the citizens over the treasures ownership, decides to and orders the residents to leave their homes. After surviving the terror of the Blitz, this indignity unites the Burgundians in defiance and as one resident puts it, A Run for your Money, Passport to Pimlico, Kind Hearts and Coronets and Whiskey Galore!. Each is a genuine classic and if you are a fan of British humor you can rest assured that each of these films is an excellent way to spend a couple of hours in screening.


Ratings Criterion

(From Passport to Pimlico (1949) on January 16th, 2010)

Ravenous, a review by Rich

Ravenous



It's a recipe for nonstop action and excitement when the inhabitants of an isolated military outpost go up against a marauding band of cannibals in a deadly struggle for survival!
Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential, Memento), Robert Carlyle (The World is Not Enough, The Beach) and David Arquette (Scream) must fight brutal elements of the Sierra Nevada wilderness - as well as their own murderous instincts - in this thriilling adventure, filled with "incredibly dark and brilliantly twisted horror." - LOADED.

What a pointless, preposterous movie, I had read such rave reviews but I didn't enjoy it, in fact found it totally boring and ridiculous. It is gory without the horror, in fact my personal thoughts were this was more a tongue in cheek comedy, with plenty of hamming by the lead actors.
If it isn't an attempted comedy, I am at a loss on how to review it? Perhaps a more informed horror viewer can advise it's correct genre??
 




(From Riches Random Reviews on May 31st, 2009)

Pilot Season 2014-15, a review by DJ Doena

About A Boy



About A Boy @ Wikipedia
About A Boy @ IMDb

Synopsis: Will wrote a Christmas song that made him decently rich a few years ago. He is an adult but he never grew up.
His life changes when a single mother and her young son move in next door.
Marcus doesn't have any friends and is a bit "odd" but for some reason the connects with Will and vice versa.
From there on the three of them have a kind of relationship that is very hard to explain to outsiders but it works for them.

My Opinion: The show started during the Olympics back in February and will soon start its second season.
It's based on the same book and has (in the beginning) the same basic story as the movie of the same name starring Hugh Grant.

The only truly recognizable names are Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting) and Al Madrigal (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart).

I liked the show right from the start and I am glad that it got a second season. Like most comedies I like it's not of the Ha-Ha-LOL variety but bases his humour more on the general setting and the likeability of the characters.



(From Pilot Season 2014-15 on September 6th, 2014)