I am a great fan of Ealing comedies, but to be honest "Passport to Pimlico" is one of the weaker ones that I have seen so far.
Looking at the storyline I can imagine that it appealed to Post World War Two taste, but it hasn't aged well.
In the damaged streets of Pimlico (a neighbourhood in central London) a treasure is found. Part of this treasure is a document which reveals that Pimlico is part of Burgundy, and the Duke of Burgundy is head of state.
After the document is found the residents of Pimlico go through three phases.
In phase 1 there is euforia. All sorts of British regulations are no longer binding, for example food rationing (the film was made a couple of years after World War Two) and closing times of pubs.
In phase 2 there is panic. Pimlico has to make its own regulations and has to work out how to cooperate (or not cooperate ) with the United Kingdom, which fully surrounds the new Duchy. How to deal for example with the undergound that traverses Pimlico's territory?
In phase 3 there is a happy reunion with the United Kingdom. The reunion is celebrated with a dinner party in the open air, but (in a perfect example of English self-mockery) at the moment of reunion the weather changes from French to English and the rain starts to pour.
It could be that in 1949 the solidarity and togetherness of the residents of Pimlico during especially phase 2 was liked very much, reminding of the solidarity during World War Two that was slowly fading away four years later. Seventy years later people having a personal rememberance to the Second World War are becoming scarce and for Post World War Two viewers the storyline maybe a little far fetched. As already mentioned, the film had not aged well or the spectators have changed, what is essentially saying the same thing.
An element that does have aged well is however the perfomance of Margarate Rutherford as the eccentric Professor Hatton-Jones (the Professor that interprets the old document). She would later become Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in four films.
Looking at the storyline I can imagine that it appealed to Post World War Two taste, but it hasn't aged well.
In the damaged streets of Pimlico (a neighbourhood in central London) a treasure is found. Part of this treasure is a document which reveals that Pimlico is part of Burgundy, and the Duke of Burgundy is head of state.
After the document is found the residents of Pimlico go through three phases.
In phase 1 there is euforia. All sorts of British regulations are no longer binding, for example food rationing (the film was made a couple of years after World War Two) and closing times of pubs.
In phase 2 there is panic. Pimlico has to make its own regulations and has to work out how to cooperate (or not cooperate ) with the United Kingdom, which fully surrounds the new Duchy. How to deal for example with the undergound that traverses Pimlico's territory?
In phase 3 there is a happy reunion with the United Kingdom. The reunion is celebrated with a dinner party in the open air, but (in a perfect example of English self-mockery) at the moment of reunion the weather changes from French to English and the rain starts to pour.
It could be that in 1949 the solidarity and togetherness of the residents of Pimlico during especially phase 2 was liked very much, reminding of the solidarity during World War Two that was slowly fading away four years later. Seventy years later people having a personal rememberance to the Second World War are becoming scarce and for Post World War Two viewers the storyline maybe a little far fetched. As already mentioned, the film had not aged well or the spectators have changed, what is essentially saying the same thing.
An element that does have aged well is however the perfomance of Margarate Rutherford as the eccentric Professor Hatton-Jones (the Professor that interprets the old document). She would later become Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in four films.