A regular commentator on here mentioned in the context of this blog’s weekend movie strand that they are an admirer of the film making team of Michael Powell and Emric Pressberger. I agree with the commentator that this pairs films were absolute classics of the period of the late 1930’s through to the late 1950’s.
Tonight’s movie is one of their earlier ones and was made in 1940. It’s set in the ‘Phoney War’ period that lasted from September 1939 until, for Britain at least, the bombing and fighting really got properly started.
The movie is called Contraband and is about a neutral Danish ship carrying passengers and £2million of Iodine that is stopped by a British patrol and guided into a port. Whilst in port the British government issue the crew and passengers with landing passes. However the landing passes go missing and in an attempt to find out what has happened the Captain finds himself enmeshed in a sinister German plot to spy on Britain.
I don’t believe that this P and P war film is as good as The Silver Fleet about Dutch resistance to their German occupiers, but it is still a rollicking good yarn with drama and some gently comedic moments.
PS: I know that I’ve had this movie up before but it was a long time ago and I believe that it deserved a second airing.
Both Contraband and The Silver Fleet are cracking films, but it’s interesting to note that to many Archers fans The Silver Fleet is “not really” a Powell and Pressburger film, in that it was actually written by Gordon Wellesley, and directed by Vernon Sewell – Powell and Pressburger only handled the production duties on this, and then with a very light touch…. (They were building up to The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp at this time.) But it’s still a great little film….
Agree it’s an ‘edge’ P and P but still a good movie
Thanks for this very much, Contraband was a P&P I hadn’t heard of so a much appreciated first for me. A really interesting film, and definitely worth more than one viewing. It’s a shame it hasn’t been digitally remastered yet as it’s a bit blurry.
I haven’t watched The Silver Fleet yet, but sounds worth it although not a real P&P especially as they covered the Dutch Resistance in One of our Aircraft is Missing.
No problem. I agree that it is not a good print. I like Silver Fleet and especially the use of the ‘Peet Hein’ motif to drive the plot along.