Not part of a collection.
The Small Back Room
As the Germans drop explosive booby-traps on 1943 Britain, the embittered expert who'll have to disarm them fights a private battle with alcohol.
- Original title
- The Small Back Room
- Language
- EN
- Country
- GB
- Budget
- $240,000
- Revenue
- $135,000
John Chard
Jul 2, 2015 · via TMDB
I must have a drink. Ask me to have a drink woman. The Small Back Room (AKA: Hour of Glory) is directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, with both adapting the screenplay from the Nigel Balchin novel. It stars David Farrar, Kathleen Byron, Jack Hawkins, Leslie Banks and Michael Gough. Music is by Brian Easdale and cinematography by Christopher Challis. As the Germans drop explosive booby-traps across coastline England, Sammy Rice (Farrar) will be tasked with learning the secret to disarming the deadly devices. But first he must beat his private battle with alcohol, his form of self medication due to the loss of one of his feet. The Archers produce what is in essence a tale of redemption, it's a superbly mounted drama dripping with realism and infused with atmospheric black and white photography. It somewhat divided critics back on release, but that tended to be customary where Powell was concerned, who himself wasn't sure about the validity of this particular piece. Yet it finds Pressburger and himself on sure footings, returning to more grounded human dramatics, their willingness to explore the murky fallibility of mankind is a thing of bold and effective cinematic beauty. The by-play between Farrar and Byron is sexually charged, but heart achingly poignant as well. The pic is at its best when these pair share scenes, the back drops to their troubled courting veering from vibrant (hope) to dour (despair), the latter always staged at Sammy's gloomy flat and the scene of a brilliantly filmed expressionistic nightmare that he suffers. Elsewhere various military types either stand tall or sit behind desks speaking in correct literary tones, their collective problem being that the pesky Germans have come up with a vile bomb tactic that needs addressing ASAP. Can Sammy come through for not only the war effort, but also for his sanity? Watch and see, it's great film making across the board. 8/10
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Fandango At Home
Criterion Channel
Fandango At Home
David Farrar
Sammy Rice
Kathleen Byron
Susan
Jack Hawkins
R.B. Waring
Leslie Banks
Col. A. K. Holland
Michael Gough
Capt. Dick Stuart
Cyril Cusack
Cpl. Taylor
Milton Rosmer
Prof. Mair
Walter Fitzgerald
Brine
Emrys Jones
Joe
Michael Goodliffe
Till
Renée Asherson
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Anthony Bushell
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The Minister
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Sam Kydd
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Geoffrey Keen
Pinker
Bryan Forbes
Peterson
Roderick Lovell
—
John Stratton
Young Army Officer
Hein Heckroth
Production Design
Freddie Francis
Camera Operator
Emeric Pressburger
Director
Michael Powell
Director
Anthony Bushell
Associate Producer
Emeric Pressburger
Producer
Michael Powell
Producer
Emeric Pressburger
Writer
Michael Powell
Writer
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Feb 23, 1952
