jc-osms Yet another charming but sharp Ealing Comedy, as so many of them were. Yes, the premise is fanciful, yet the writing, characterisation and direction skilfully take the viewer along with it, along the way making witty observations on the black economy, big government bureaucracy and community spirit.Making good use of war-battered London locations and topical issues like rationing and the recent extended heat wave, the film has a terrific sense of place and with its employment of numerous principal characters and crowd scenes, easily sucks the viewer into the action while the screenplay by turns lionises as well as satirises identifiable British traits like opportunism to make easy money, support for the underdog and naturally that old staple, the stiff upper lip.There are several memorable scenes like those where the characters break the fourth wall in speaking directly to the camera, the age-old use of newspaper headlines to carry the story along and one in particular when a flying pig is symbolically sent to the Pimlico residents in their time of need.There are several identifiable actors in the large cast such as Stanley Baker as the unofficial president of the new principality, Margaret Rutherford as a blustery local expert and it was surprising to see the young Charles Hawtrey before he carried on playing the weedy effeminate character which typecast him in later years.The beauty of these Ealing Comedies is the way they address contemporary issues in a witty and entertaining way by touching on universal themes as here of greed, neighbourliness and independence, amongst many others.This was the first Ealing comedy to be commercially released and it helped set the mark for the disparate but always entertaining series of films to emerge under the moniker.

pacare I'm sorry to say this, but this film just doesn't cut the mustard for me. I did try to like it honestly but it left me with a feeling of thank goodness that that rubbish is over. It isn't a patch on other oldish "comedies" of that era such as Kind Hearts, School for Scoundrels, I'm all Right, and Lavender Hill,etc.etc and is just wearing and tiresome I'm afraid. It typifies the fake world of very posh actresses trying to put on a cockney accent with a fag hanging out the side of the mouth. It pushes the cliché of oh look how wonderful England is by the poor stereotypes used in the film ad nausea and the film just doesn't make it on so many fronts. Stanley Holloway does a valiant act of trying to save the film but the script is woeful. Barbara Murray isn't bad either as eye candy of that time. I only loved the bits of seeing old London but there really wasn't even much of that. The film was obviously trying to help in a small way to pick the nation up so I can't knock that and later gems must have learnt from this film's mistakes. Don't watch this to make you laugh is all I can advise to finish on. Sorry but there you go!

bkoganbing Although sometimes it takes a bit of knowledge of foreign institutions to get some of the humor being imparted in a comedy like Passport To Pimlico in this case American audiences could have identified with it immediately. We had the same kind of price controls that were kept in place even after peace was declared in the USA and American moviegoers could have truly related to what the residents of Pimlico were going through.It's now peace in Europe as the United Kingdom as well as the rest of the continent start to rebuild after World War II. The residents of the London working class neighborhood of Pimlico one fine day have one of Mr. Hitler's unexploded calling cards go off on them. One of the leading citizens of Pimlico, green grocer Stanley Holloway goes down into the hole and comes up with treasure which the crown immediately claims. But he also uncovers a document which reveals that the last Duke of Burgundy did not die in 1477, but escaped and was granted asylum in England by Edward IV and given a royal charter for what is now the neighborhood of Pimlico. And along comes a Frenchman, Jean Dupuis who claims to be a descendant of the Duke and the current rightful Duke. He makes Holloway his prime minister.Getting a few city blocks declared foreign territory opens up some interesting possibilities, all exploited in Passport To Pimlico. It gets kind of wild there with London trams stopped for customs and immigration, when the black market can operate with impunity in these blocks, the local bank is nationalized by the new Burgundian government. It's all quite merry and done with style.Naturally this does come to an end though I will not say how. I have to also single out Margaret Rutherford as an eccentric history professor who is the one who translates the charter scroll and sets all this merriment in motion.The British public just as the American public was tired of the wartime rationing and price controls. Their movie-going public and our's both responded well to one of Ealing Studios best comedies of the era.

The_Secretive_Bus One of Ealing's most fondly remembered comedies and for good reason; it's another one of their "little man stands up to the establishment" films, this time with the people of Pimlico sticking by their rights to be independent from Whitehall. There are some problems with the set-up - most notably with the fact that many of the problems the Pimlico citizens get into are their own fault by deliberately spiting the British government (ridiculing the police a few minutes before demanding they have police protection is a good case in point) - but overall the film gets by with its charm and almost fantastical quaintness. The satirical edge has been blunted by the passing years but for a film over 55 years old it still stands up today rather well. A glimpse into another world, really, where everybody in the district knows each other and life goes on amongst glimpses of bombed out buildings following the Blitz (for more of this sort of thing, see the earlier "Hue and Cry").The characters are an amiable lot and Stanley Holloway is a likable lead, embodying the Ealing Comedy spirit very well. Watch out also for a rather depressed pre-Carry On Charles Hawtrey, wandering in and out of the story at regular intervals. However, the absolutely wonderful Margaret Rutherford steals every one of her scenes, playing her eccentric, dotty old lady character as reliably and enjoyably as she ever did. I'm always amazed at how energetic her performances were. She was certainly one of British cinema's treasures."Pimlico", despite some story problems, remains a fun little picture that at 80 minutes doesn't out-stay its welcome, and probably gets better with repeated viewings. Well worth a go.