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All those British crime films once deemed undesirable for the National Image are beginning to get the attention they deserve. This story of a single day in a working class section of London has plenty of criminal activity but blends it in with the everyday crimes of desperation and boredom. The Sandigate girls are flirting with trouble but Googie Withers’ Rose Sandigate has gone much further: she’s hiding an escaped fugitive who was once her lover in the vain hope of recapturing her lost youth. Director Robert Hamer examines a dozen distinctive characters on the edge of respectability, in one of the most original ‘Brit noirs’ we’ve seen to date.

It Always Rains on Sunday

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1947 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 92 min. / Street Date November 5, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Googie Withers, John McCallum, Jack Warner, Edward Chapman, Susan Shaw, Patricia Plunkett, Nigel Stock, David Lines, Sydney Tafler,...

Toot Toot! The Little Engine that Could becomes a tale of the little town that could, when their tiny rail service is discontinued. A crackerjack cast of Ealing regulars — Stanley Holloway, Naunton Wayne, John Gregson — band together to take over the little spur line and keep it running. We get to see a vintage locomotive from the early 1800s in action, but the appeal isn’t limited to lovers of trains — Ealing’s knack for inspired, understated comedy is all over this show. Plus, it’s the company’s first feature in Technicolor, and is beautifully remastered.

The Titfield Thunderbolt

Blu-ray

Film Movement Classics

1953 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 84 min. / Street Date , 2020 /

Starring: Stanley Holloway, George Relph, Naunton Wayne, John Gregson, Godfrey Tearle, Hugh Griffith, Gabrielle Brune, Sidney James, Reginald Beckwith, Edie Martin, Michael Trubshawe, Jack MacGowran, Ewan Roberts.

Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe

Film Editor: Seth Holt

Original Music: Georges Auric

Written by...

Much of Ealing Studios’ core appeal begins right here, with T.E.B. Clarke’s astute look at the character of pragmatic, energetic Londoners, who in this fantasy face an outrageous situation with spirit, pluck, and a determination not to be cheated. What happens when a few square blocks of London discover that they’re no longer even part of the British Empire? A classic of wartime ‘adjustments,’ the ensemble comedy even begins with a Tex Avery- like ode to rationing.

Passport to Pimlico

Blu-ray

Film Movement Classics

1949 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 84 min. / Street Date December 20, 2019 / 29.95

Starring: Stanley Holloway, Hermione Baddeley, Margaret Rutherford, Sydney Tafler, Betty Warren, Barbara Murray, Paul Dupuis, John Slater, Jane Hylton, Raymond Huntley, Philip Stainton, Roy Carr, Nancy Gabrielle, Malcolm Knight, Roy Gladdish, Frederick Piper, Charles Hawtrey, Stuart Lindsell, Naunton Wayne, Basil Radford, Gilbert Davis, Michael Hordern, Arthur Howard, Bill Shine, Harry Locke, Sam Kydd.

Cinematography: Lionel...

The soundtrack for Universal's straight-to-video action/horror feature Dead in Tombstone will be released by Back Lot Records Oct. 15, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively. The film's soundtrack will feature new music from UK-based electronic group Hybrid, which consists of composers Michael Truman, Chris Healings and Charlotte James.  Story: John Lennon's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Defaced "Director Roel Reine wanted us to deliver a contemporary score for a traditional film with a unique twist," the group said in a statement. Since their debut album Wide Angle in 1999, the group has incorporated filmic elements to

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To mark the release of Go to Blazes on DVD this Monday, 6th February, Studio Canal have given us three copies of the class movie to give away. The movie was originally released in 1962, is directed by Michael Truman and stars Maggie Smith, Dave King, Robert Morley and Daniel Massey.

For anyone who loves British comedy, Go To Blazes features an all-star cast that includes Robert Morley (The African Queen, Topkapi), Daniel Massey (In Which We Serve, The Entertainer), Dennis Price (Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Rebel) and Coral Browne (Auntie Mame, Theatre of Blood).  Go To Blazes also features classic British character actors Norman Rossington (The Wrong Box, The Charge of the Light Brigade), Finlay Currie (Around The World in Eighty Days, Ben Hur) and Miles Malleson (The Importance of Being Earnest, The Man In The White Suit). And last but not least, Go To Blazes stars Dame Maggie Smith...

Go To Blazes

Stars: Dave King, Robert Morley, Daniel Massey, Maggie Smith | Written by Patrick Campbell, Vivienne Knight | Directed by Michael Truman

First released in 1962, Go to Blazes is a frothy British comedy in the classic mould. The film follows the escapades of a trio of hapless criminals. After their getaway from a jewellery shop robbery is foiled by a traffic jam caused by a fire engine, the gang decide to procure a fire engine of their own as the perfect getaway vehicle. With zany results!

For some reason it feels more difficult to criticise old movies than it does modern ones. I think there’s an innate instinct to revere that which has gone before, at least in terms of cinema. Of course, the language and culture of cinema today is vastly different from the early sixties, which makes it tricky, for me at least, to offer a fair critique.