Thursday 20 August 2015

Contraband (1940 Michael Powell)

Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson reunited again in another double-twist Pressburger screenplay. Plays very much like a Hitchcock with ingenious use of the London blackout, many great touches such as warehouse of plaster heads, Danish restaurant, the 'brothers Grimm' (one of whom is Peter Bull), dream sequence. Bernard Miles is uncredited again in amusing cameo, Hay Petrie performs the ship's first officer and his brother the restaurateur with aplomb. It's also the screen debut of Eric and Spangle. With Joss Ambler, Raymond Lovell, Esmond Knight. "I particularly remember... Denis Arundell as a creepy-crawly, inaudible and almost invisible German agent who acted everybody off the screen." (Powell. Have to look out for him next time - the character's called Lieman.)

The rather common sounding variety manager Mr Pigeon comes out with a Latin saying during his interview, and thinking back it's a telltale sign he's not who he says he is.

Freddie Young is lighting, he and Alfred Junge having fun with a lift; John Seabourne editing, music by Richard Addinsell and John Greenwood.

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