Product Details

• Actors: Stanley Holloway, Betty Warren
• Format: NTSC
• Region: All Regions
• Studio: Synergy Ent
• DVD Release Date: May 14, 2007
• Run Time: 84 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000QRIKOU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,651 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Passport To Pimlico: 1949" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

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Ealing Studios was the birthplace of the most delectable crop of movies to decorate postwar cinemas, a group of veddy British comedies that nevertheless spoke the international language. By necessity, the Ealing Studios Comedy Collection takes second place to the Alec Guinness Collection, the latter being the crème de la crème of Ealing's signature actor. But the Comedy Collection is nevertheless a stem-to-stern delight.

Three films from Ealing's zenith year, 1949, anchor the collection. Passport to Pimlico captures the mood of postwar London via an absurdist plot: the detonation of an unexploded bomb in Pimlico reveals a 400-year-old decree proclaiming the neighborhood an independent royal territory of Burgundy. Their independence thus established, the locals (led by Stanley Holloway) celebrate their freedom from rationing and taxation. A Run for Your Money follows two Welsh coalmining brothers after they win a newspaper contest for tickets to a London rugby match; in this modest comedy, Alec Guinness sketches one of his eccentric little supporting gems.

Whisky Galore! is one of the best Ealing films--funny but also rather lovely. During the war, the remote Scottish island of Todday is starved for scarce whisky, until a shipwreck strands thousands of cases of "the water of life" tantalizingly within reach. Basil Radford is hilariously misguided as the island's chief of Defense, and Joan Greenwood lends her fetching presence--but every member of the large ensemble is terrific. The gifted Alexander Mackendrick debuted as director, and his sense of timing and tone is impeccable. (It was retitled Tight Little Island in the U.S., where it scored a big hit.)

Mackendrick also directed the marvelous 1954 comedy The Maggie, with Paul Douglas as a go-go American businessman whose cargo (and life) is slowed by a broken-down scow chugging from Glasgow to the islands. Traces of melancholy underlie the humor, and one wonders if this film might have been a model for the thematically similar Local Hero. Finally, The Titfield Thunderbolt, from 1953, is a Charles Crichton-directed farce about a small town going into the railroad business (and the first Ealing comedy in color). Its anarchy borders on the abrasive at times, although Stanley Holloway is in fine form as a benefactor who demands his own drinking car on the train. --Robert Horton

Product Description

During WWII in Pimlico, a tiny overlooked section of London, an unexploded bomb is accidentally set off, revealing a hidden cave full of treasures. While examining the hidden wonders found in the cave, a professor discovers a charter that says Pimlico is actually a part of the Burgundy section of France. Hilarity ensues when the people of Pimlico try to set up their own country, with the British government trying to pacify the situation.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Crown Jewels of Comedy, April 16, 2005

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David Baldwin (Philadelphia,PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ealing Studios Comedy Collection (The Maggie / A Run for Your Money / Titfield Thunderbolt / Whisky Galore! / Passport to Pimlico) (DVD)

Though by my account there is only one unqualified homerun in this collection("Whisky Galore"), the sum of this set's parts are a very satisfying whole. Not only is this British comedy at it's best but this collection is a mirror of the social history of the island nation( rationing, intrusive government buracracy, loss of personal freedoms) post World War II and serves to vent the frustrations of the British citizens. Anchor Bay, this collection's distributor, should be commended for releasing this set. Alas, like alot of Anchor Bay product, there are scant extras, not even trailers. This is disheartening because I understand that TCM recently ran a documentary on Ealing and I'm sure there are enough film scholars that could have contributed commentary on these landmark films. That said, this collection makes a great companion piece to the Alec Guiness and Peter Sellers sets that Anchor Bay released as a good overview of British comedy post-war through the early sixties.
"The Titfield Thunderbolt"-The weak link in the set. Mildly amusing tale of a small hamlet that takes over the local railroad line so that the transport department won't shut it down. Elicits mild chuckles but only seems to come to life when Stanley Holloway as the town's wealthy souse is on screen. Three stars.
"Whisky Galore"-Outright comic masterpiece, period. Residents of dry Scottish island abscond with some of the cargo of a wrecked ship carrying 50,000 bottles of whisky during World War II in the process thwarting efforts by the home defense to seize it. Colorful characters, evocative storytelling, just an outright joy. Five stars.
"A Run For Your Money"-Minor film about two Welsh brothers who win prize money and a trip to London to see an England-Wales rugby match only to be sidetracked by a female con artist and a Welsh harp player. Film is elevated by the likability of the main characters and the picturesque view of London in the early fifties. Alec Guiness is on hand in one of his less showier roles as a newspaper garden reporter whose job it is to escort the lads. Four Stars.
"Passport to Pimlico"-Clever, maybe a wee bit too clever, fable about a London residential estate who uncover a deed that reveals that they are not British subjects but citizens of Burgundy. At first things go swimmingly as the residents unshackle themselves from rationing and other government hindrances, however, they soon find out that as foreigners they will be treated as such. Of course, this means war. Funny, but falls just short of classic status. Four stars.
"The Maggie"-The Ealing equivalent to screwball comedy. Captain of a broken-down "puffer" hoodwinks American airline mogul into hauling his prescious cargo. Once the mogul gets wind of the wily skipper's scheme he attempts to hunt down the ship and reclaim his cargo, unsuccessfully. Consistently funny film that ends kind of melodramatically but is overall a success. Four stars.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A excellent collection of forties and fifties British comedies, October 10, 2005

By 

Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ealing Studios Comedy Collection (The Maggie / A Run for Your Money / Titfield Thunderbolt / Whisky Galore! / Passport to Pimlico) (DVD)

Why is British cinema so lightly regarded? Unlike many such general questions, there is an identifiable reason why British film, especially from the thirties, forties, and fifties, fares so poorly in critical regard, and that reason is French auteur criticism. In the fifties, as Andre Bazin and other Cahiers du Cinema critics were formulating their ideas, it was decided that British film was second rate. David Lean was rejected, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger had not yet been rediscovered, and while Carol Reed's talent was acknowledged, he wasn't considered to belong to what Andrew Sarris would popularize as the Pantheon of great directors. I think this judgment to be utterly unjustified, but space prevents a detailed discussion. I personally have long loved and enjoyed British films and one of the great frustrations of my enthusiasm it has been the enormous difficulty in finding the variety of films that I would have liked. Needless to say, I'm always delighted when sets like this one are released. I had seen all of the film included before except for THE MAGGIE, but I am grateful that all are now readily available.

Ealing Studios were responsible for a substantial number of the finest films of the forties and fifties in Great Britain. Though they made a wide range of films, their comedies, especially a string of great Alec Guinness vehicles, remain among their most beloved. The films here are among their finest non-Guinness films (he appears in A RUN FOR YOUR MONEY, but in a supporting role). Though quite diverse, they share a number of common elements. Just as in the United States technological advances led to more and more filming off studio lots and on location, so in Britain films were being shot outside the studio. As a result we get in these films some of the best visual portraits of specific locales at the time. The films are also remarkable for their superb orchestral scores. Unlike the United States, writing for motion pictures did not bear the stigma in Britain that it did in Hollywood and as a result you see some first rate composers writing directly for the screen.

PASSPORT TO PIMLICO is an almost surreal comedy about residents of a street in Pimlico (a section of London) learning shortly after WW II that their area had actually been ceded to Burgundy centuries earlier. The rest of the film is a struggle between the community, asserting its right to ignore the rationing that following WW II, and London over the ownership of the remarkable treasure that was found along with the Burgundian documents. It is on one level silly, but it is elevated to a superb comedy due to the talents of the cast. Easily the most recognizable actor in the film is Stanley Holloway, who later would win an Oscar as Eliza Doolittle's father in MY FAIR LADY. It also features one of the least successful film appearances of the fine acting duo of Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne (they were much better in films like Hitchcock's THE LADY VANISHES, Carol Reed's NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH, and the golf segment of DEAD OF NIGHT).

WHISKY GALORE is easily the finest film in the set, a tale in the Outer Hebrides. Based on a real life ship wreck, it is the story of how whisky-deprived Scots during WW II raid a ship stranded on rocks salvaged a few hundred cases of whisky and the efforts of the over zealous home guard officer to recover it. This is an absolutely outstanding cast, filled with great performances both by folks whose faces are familiar but names are unknown, as well as a handful of name performers. Among the latter, Basil Radford, here without Naunton Wayne, is marvelous as the home guard officer. I have always thought that Joan Greenwood was one of the most enticing actresses in the history of film. If I could cast anyone from history in the role of Circe, she would be the one. She was not only beautiful and a fine actress, she possessed one of the great voices in film (put to great use in the Michael Redgrave version of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST). Jean Cadell steals every scene she is in as an overbearing mother, while a very young Gordon Jackson, later to achieve fame in UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS, plays her son.

A RUN FOR YOUR MONEY concerns two Welsh miners who win a prize for two hundred pounds and a trip to a soccer match in London. Though ostensibly starring Donald Houston and Meredith Edwards, the film is largely taken over by supporting characters. Moira Lister is fine as a confidence woman, but even better is the remarkable Hugh Griffith as a Welshman who earlier left their town of the improbably named Hafoduwchbenceubwllymarchogcoch for success in London, but had been so reduced to poverty that he had had to hock his beloved harp. Alec Guinness is good in support, though not as good as one might expect. Interestingly, he acts here without his wig, one of the few times in his career he would appear au natural (though one of his characters in KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS was wigless-several other bald actors, including Fred Astaire and Humphrey Bogart, never appeared in a film with their own hair).

THE MAGGIE I had never seen before. It features a fine performance by Alex Mackenzie as the master of a coal boat in what was almost inconceivably his film debut, even though he was in his late sixties. The cast is largely unknowns, though the American actor Paul Douglas stars as the American businessman whose goods the Maggie attempts to transport. This is not a great film, but I was transfixed by the large number of remarkable location shots throughout Scotland.

THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT is the kind of understated charming film that the British seem to excel at. The plot is simple: the local line of the railway is being shut down, but the locals team together to keep the line running, despite the machinations of the local bus company. This was one of the first color films that Ealing did and it is from first to last an exquisite film to gaze at. Like with the other films, there is the sense of a time that has been lost being captured on film. It is not the kind of film that will make you laugh; it is more the kind that will make you smile and grin. My only complaint is a remarkably abrupt ending. The cast is a strong one, with Stanley Holloway, Hugh Griffith, and Naunton Wayne, here without Basil Radford. The train used at the end of the film was authentic, an engine over a hundred years old at the time of filming.

All of these films have been wonderfully restored and the images for all are absolutely first rate. However, I've never seen such a bare bones set in my life. No extras, no commentaries, not even trailers. This is a disappointment, especially given the cost of the set, but at least the prints are superb, and thankfully these not-always-easy-to-find films have at least been made available on DVD. I heartily urge anyone interested in high quality comedy to give these films a try.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Imagine there's no countries..., February 10, 2006

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Junglies (Morrisville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Passport to Pimlico (DVD)

I was reminded of this little comedy through something I had read and recently obtained it for family viewing. Although very dated it is an amusing work in the great British tradition of fighting bureaucracy and government in general and poking fun at ourselves too.

There are a few barriers to overcome first, for instance, living in the land of the plenty and instant gratification, as I currently do, it is hard to explain the concept of wartime rationing to children, or why it was that everyone flocked to Pimlico once there was the realisation that the normal rules no longer applied, to sell things. Similarly my children were horrified by the fishmonger wrapping up a fish in newspaper. They were even more so when I told them it was the only way to eat fish and chips (by which I mean fries).

But anyway, on with the tale. This is an engaging tale of ordinary folks fighting for their rights and treasure against the Whitehall bureaucracy (the man in Whitehall knows best). By accidentally exploding a leftover bomb from the blitz, some children enable a treasure trove to be found which includes a lost document declaring Pimlico to be a fiefdom of the Duke of Burgundy. This in itself brought a wry smile. Parts of London, really a part of France. Funnily enough I had read earlier of the news that the 2007 Tour de France is to start in London! The plot proceeds in a series of moves and counter moves, each yielding some small victory to one side or another until at last one skirmish seems to have settled the game for the Freedom Fighters when the same victory appears to bring utter defeat. Just as they are about to concede, the great British public steps in to help the underdogs which even stretches to airlifts of milk, a comment no doubt on the Berlin airlift. Finally, in another great British tradition, a compromise is reached and they all live happily ever after.

There is a great deal of social commentary in this movie about the very slow end to rationing after the Second World War had ended and how resilient the British people were. The enemy were no longer the French or the Germans but our own civil servants. Many would consider things to be no different today. There is a relatively brief appearance by Margaret Rutherford, better know for her Miss Marple role, who enlivens the proceedings. All in all an interesting and amusing movie where things were much more simple and relatively quick action could achieve so much as opposed to endless chattering in committees and boards which has become the hallmark of modern industrial societies.

On to more Ealing comedies...the Carry On series beckons...