Passport to Pimlico (1949)

Such a frustrating disappointment

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Written by Thomas Clarke, "Passport to Pimlico" watches as the Pimlico distinct of London learns that an ancient document authenticates it as belonging to the last Duke of Burgundy. The film then has fun watching as this tiny piece of land becomes its own nation state, complete with trade laws, no governmental ties to Britain, its own representative committee and legal councils.Clarke was renowned for writing screenplays which took seemingly absurd ideas and told them in a highly logical manner. Here he has the tiny town of Pimlico - which suddenly finds itself resembling Berlin during the post war blockades - set up passport checks, and even tax-free shopping zones (which leads to an influx of "immigrants" from Britain!). The inhabitants of Pimlico, however, soon learn that "belonging" to His Majesty's Britain has its own perks, including war-rationing, protection, food and water. They conduct night raids on Britain in an attempt to steal resources, but to no avail. The message: post war Europe is better off under the umbrella of those bumbling but loving Brits.7.9/10 - Worth one viewing.

"Passport to Pimlico" is another delightful film from Ealing Studios, released in 1949. The stars include Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford, Betty Warren, and Paul Dupuis.It's after the war, and Pimlico still has many of the effects of a brutal bombing. While investigating one of the many holes made by the bombs, its residents discover a treasure -- and a treaty -- which shows that they are actually under the rule of Burgundy. The citizens break from the UK so that it can keep the treasure, and all manner of mayhem begins. There is a mad stream of vendors selling rationed and duty-free goods, and a mad stream of people coming in to buy them. The police are useless since they're British and no one pays any attention to them. A relative of the original Duke of Burgundy is found and becomes the town's leader. After trying to solve the problem and becoming frustrated, the British government sets up a customs desk and in order to enter the town, one needs a passport.It's all pretty hilarious, and the government tries everything it can to bring its former citizens into line, including turning off the water and starving them out. The townsmen sneak out at night and turn on the water, and town becomes a cause celebre, with people throwing food over the fence.Very funny political send-up. Highly recommended.

There is no denying that Ealing comedies are good, but for me this film stands out as one of the best.The basic premise of the film is that a small part of Pimlico in London is discovered to be part of Burgundy, not the UK. We then follow the lives of the residents in their battle to keep the treasure found after the bomb explodes, and keep out the black market traders who soon realise that being exempt from UK law, rationing does not exist. When they become prisoners in their own street because the government has decided to close the boarder we see them fight back against the system.They are forced to ration water and food in their stand for what is right. In fact becoming worse off than they were before it all started, that's where the moral comes in. It's when they loose all the food that they think they are beaten and call for a surrender, only to have the whole of London respond to their plight by sending food, lot's of it. Thus enabling them to continue their struggle.This film hit's the right note throughout, the acting is superb, with Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford, Hermione Baddeley and Betty Warren standing out. It's pitched just right, not too sentimental and the moral of the story not forced down your throat. Well worth a viewing

I believe that what separates modern nations from the old model — and affiliations that aren't nations — is in the consistency of the national narrative. These days that is molded in cinematic terms.The much-celebrated sound bite phenomenon only works because as a shortcut it refers back to that narrative. All sound bits are cinematic. If we want to understand ourselves, we need to understand the stories we've joined.That's why I'm spending a bit of time with films that define what it means to be British. I'm not British myself, so It should be a bit easier to see. I write this shortly after terrorist attacks in London, an event which forces the UK to snap back to references of who they are. I saw this on a double bill with a quintessential Battle of Britain movie. You can see there that the whole enterprise is designed to convey a short list of characteristics. War movies are seldom about war and always about who we are.This is different. Possibly no collection of films define the Brits more than Ealing comedies. And I think this is the clearest.The setup concerns a small suburb of London. Ordinary folks... that's important.By some plot device, they become non-Brits in the midst of Britain. They cling to this, as one says they fight so hard to be non-British because they ARE British.As this unfolds, what we see is self-evaluation of what it means to belong and what the characteristics of the group are. I could list what I saw, but that's boring.Much more interesting is that everything I saw was a mild version of what we'd see later with the "Goon Show" and Monty Python. The "Minister of Silly Walks" bit seems pretty tight.Slight fun. Important. InsightfulTed's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.