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Much of Ealing Studios’ core appeal begins right here, with T.E.B. Clarke’s astute look at the character of pragmatic, energetic Londoners, who in this fantasy face an outrageous situation with spirit, pluck, and a determination not to be cheated. What happens when a few square blocks of London discover that they’re no longer even part of the British Empire? A classic of wartime ‘adjustments,’ the ensemble comedy even begins with a Tex Avery- like ode to rationing.

Passport to Pimlico

Blu-ray

Film Movement Classics

1949 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 84 min. / Street Date December 20, 2019 / 29.95

Starring: Stanley Holloway, Hermione Baddeley, Margaret Rutherford, Sydney Tafler, Betty Warren, Barbara Murray, Paul Dupuis, John Slater, Jane Hylton, Raymond Huntley, Philip Stainton, Roy Carr, Nancy Gabrielle, Malcolm Knight, Roy Gladdish, Frederick Piper, Charles Hawtrey, Stuart Lindsell, Naunton Wayne, Basil Radford, Gilbert Davis, Michael Hordern, Arthur Howard, Bill Shine, Harry Locke, Sam Kydd.

Cinematography: Lionel...

Widely described as an "icon" of British theatre, the actor Alan Howard has died, aged 77. He had been suffering from pneumonia.Born in Croydon, it was almost inevitable that he would gravitate towards the stage: his father was the actor Arthur Howard and his uncle was Leslie Howard. He made his debut in front of an audience in Half In Earnest at the age of 21, and by the time he was 30 had found his "spiritual home" at the Royal Shakespeare Company.His career at the RSC spanned decades and almost countless roles, but perhaps his most significant achievement was gradually racking up all of Shakespeare's historical kings (as well as King Lear and Macbeth). His Henry IV was actually Bolingbroke in Richard II (rather than the title role in Henry IV Part I), but the feat remains an enviable one among his peers.Away from Stratford his appearances included as...

“My name is Bond - James Bond". That classic introduction to the cinema’s greatest secret agent is as famous as “I am Dracula, I bid you welcome.” When the box office success of Dr No (1962) turned the unknown Sean Connery into a movie legend, Hammer was never far away from the franchise. With their own films running parallel to the Bond series, Hammer and Eon Productions often made use of the same talent.

Dr No also marked the debuts of Bernard Lee (the first of 11 films as M) and Lois Maxwell (the first of 14 as Miss Moneypenny). Lee had a brief turn as Tarmut in Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973) and despite never starring in a Hammer horror, Maxwell turned up in their early fifties thrillers Lady in the Fog (1953) and Mantrap (1954).

As doomed double-agent Professor Dent, Anthony Dawson is best known as the vile Marquis in Curse...