Blockade in London (1949)

Blockade in London: Directed by Henry Cornelius. With Stanley Holloway, Betty Warren, Barbara Murray, Paul Dupuis. Residents of a part of London declare independence when they discover an old treaty. This leads to the need for a “Passport to Pimlico”.

“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!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt is a similar, mind-bending assumption (with hilarious practical implications) that British viewers have to make when watching u0026quot;Passport to Pimlicou0026quot; (a London district near Buckingham Palace, no less). In the film, much of Pimlico (or u0026quot;Burgundyu0026quot; 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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs one of the so-called u0026quot;Ealing comediesu0026quot;, it ranks alongside other films in this group like u0026quot;Kind Hearts and Coronetsu0026quot; and u0026quot;The Lavender Hill Mobu0026quot; 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 u0026quot;Passport to Pimlicou0026quot;, people travelling on the underground railway have to declare there currency at the u0026quot;Burgundyu0026quot; 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.”