Passeport pour Pimlico

I saw this film as a boy living in Chelsea (next door to Pimlico) and found it utterly charming. Curious, isn't it, how a film that one appreciated so long ago should remain firmly embedded in the memory. Other critics and reviewers have discussed the plot and actors, so there is no point in repeating their revelations. I would say, though, that it reminds me, in retrospect, of THE MOUSE THAT ROARED in its approach to the, ahem, inconsistencies of life. And it brought Post WWII London to life with clarity and power, with cinematography and dialogue that were entirely to the point. My complaint, now that I live in the U.S., is why the **** we can't get this film on VHS or DVD for enjoyment here. Much like that other spectacular comedy of a few years later, GENEVIEVE.

Very funny, well-crafted, well-acted, meticulous attention to detail. A real window into a specific time and place in history. Could almost believe this was a true story in a parallel universe. Interesting how Passport to Pimlico anticipates the Berlin airlift. A definite 10.

A bustling and, it is implied, unscrupulous gaggle of Britons waddles its way into the freshly, sloppily partitioned nation of Burgundy. For the new Burgundians, opportunity knocks on one door, while confusion beats down another. The cacophonous Nazi explosion that created Burgundy (and buried Pimlico) is now rivaled by the vociferous crowd, swarming through the former British district like Bedouins over the dunes of Arabia.

T. E. B. Clarke's screenplay, "Passport to Pimlico," in its superior comedic handling of legal, logistical and practical civil nightmares, is one of best political parodies ever filmed. Like Clarke's later "The Lavender Hill Mob," "Passport" holds its knot to British underpinnings of dignity and grace under pressure; what remains so comedic about both stories, however, is the loss of such maintained hegemony. The direction, by veteran Henry Cornelius ("I Am a Camera," dramatic basis of "Cabaret"), is sure, confident in a way that resembles the careful work of a helmer filming a story of his own, which, in fact, he is (a conceptual collaboration with Clarke). It has been said that the two based their outline of "Passport to Pimlico" on the Canadian government's gift of a provincial `room' to the Netherlands.

"Passport" is a great, funny, touching film, well known to subject historians and critics, worthy of popular re-discovery.

Say what you like about the cinematic importance of the Ealing Studios comedies of the late 1940s and early 1950s, but nobody can deny that pretty much all of them have a lot of heart, and always provide 90 minutes of solid, quirky entertainment. My #7 film from the studio is 'Passport to Pimlico (1949),' directed by Henry Cornelius {in his directorial debut}, which tells the peculiar story of a small London district that unexpectedly becomes its own separate nation. After a bomb left over from WWII accidentally detonates underground, a local resident of Pimlico discovers a stash of treasure belonging to Charles VII "The Rash", the last Duke of Burgundy. Also discovered is an ancient document declaring that the small district, in actual fact, is the last existing slice of Burgundian land, effectively making it a country of its own. The small band of friendly residents are initially excited about this discovery, but have some misgivings when criminals and black-market dealers realise that the London police have absolutely no jurisdiction in the streets of Pimlico. While the British government entangles the issue in lengths of red-tape, the newly-realised nation of Burgundy tries desperately to sort itself out.

The scenario behind 'Passport to Pimlico' really isn't as ludicrous as it initially sounds. The screenplay, written by T.E.B. Clarke {who also wrote 'The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)'}, was inspired by a real-life occurrence during World War Two, when the Canadian government decreed that a maternity ward belonged officially to the Netherlands, to accommodate the birth of Princess Juliana's child {under Dutch law, a royal heir had to be born in the Netherlands in order to be eligible for succession to the throne}. It also appears that some of the events in the film were based upon the Berlin Blockade (June 24, 1948 – May 11, 1949), in which Western forces bypassed the Soviet blockades to sectors of Berlin via airlifts of food and other provisions. In this film, the British government's attempts to starve-out the troublesome Burgundians prove unsuccessful after crowds of sympathetic Londoners bombard the district with supplies, even air-dropping a fully-grown pig with a parachute.

Though the story occasionally drags, 'Passport to Pimlico' proves worthwhile thanks to its unique storyline and a collection of entertaining characters. Police Constable Sid Spiller (Philip Stainton) is probably the film's funniest, particularly when he first realises the implications of Pimlico becoming its own nation ("Blimey, I'm a foreigner!") and when, working undercover to procure water for the reservoir, he must elude a drunk who simply insists on being arrested. Other notable players include Stanley Holloway, Betty Warren, Margaret Rutherford and Hermione Baddeley. Notably, Clarke's screenplay was nominated at the 1950 Oscars, and the film was nominated for Best British film at the 1950 BAFTA awards – in the latter category, Cornelius' film lost to Carol Reed's masterpiece 'The Third Man (1949),' but it was in good company. Also nominated were the other Ealing classics, 'Kind Hearts and Coronets,' 'Whisky Galore!' and {a favourite of mine} 'A Run For Your Money.'

Brace yourself for a shock - according to a recently-discovered and authentic legal document that is centuries old, Brooklyn belongs to Iceland! Consequently, people travelling to and from Brooklyn must now carry a passport or visa, declare items of value at the Brooklyn Customs points, and perhaps even converse in Icelandic!

It is a similar, mind-bending assumption (with hilarious practical implications) that British viewers have to make when watching "Passport to Pimlico" (a London district near Buckingham Palace, no less). In the film, much of Pimlico (or "Burgundy" as it is now called) looks like a bomb-site, which it probably was still at that time in the aftermath of World War II.

As one of the so-called "Ealing comedies", it ranks alongside other films in this group like "Kind Hearts and Coronets" and "The Lavender Hill Mob" which parody - but in an affectionate way - various aspects of British social life. Conversation is always very parochial and petty. At the same time, this film preserves certain other conventions of the time - for example, there really was a restriction on how much money people could take out of Britain which lasted until the 1970s. In "Passport to Pimlico", people travelling on the underground railway have to declare there currency at the "Burgundy" Customs points. Above all, Margaret Rutherford stands out as the unworldly history professor with sweeping convictions. This charming films preserves a way of life which, though long gone, is not forgotten.