Sick Product of a Sick System

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Blistering performances.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Copyright 20 January 1949 by London Film Productions, Inc. New York opening at the Trans-Lux 72nd Street: 1 February 1952 (sic). U.S. release through Snader Productions. U.K. release through London Films: 21 February 1949. Australian release through Universal- International: 3 November 1949. 9,620 feet. 107 minutes.Alternate U.S. release title: HOUR OF GLORY.SYNOPSIS: A back-room scientist meets his greatest challenge when called on to defuse a German bomb.COMMENT: Although handicapped by the serious miscasting of Kathleen Byron as the heroine, this is an engrossing, well-written (the phraseology and nuances of Civil Service talk are expertly captured) and often inventively directed (the sequence with the clocks) picture of back-room boffins engaged in secret war work.David Farrar does a sterling job keeping audience sympathy way up for what is basically a rather unpleasant character. Good to see Jack Hawkins too — and as the villain for once. Fine character studies from a whole range of people from Michael Gough through Sidney James to Milton Rosmer and Robert Morley. The last-named makes a surprise guest appearance, and his comic scene, although short, is the one, next to the super-suspenseful climax, that everyone remembers.A bit of trimming would certainly improve the movie, however. There are too many sub-plots (Cyril Cusack's wife, for example) and Kathleen Byron just can't help looking sinister even when she's supposed to be friendly.Although the theme has since been worked to death, "The Small Back Room" has it all over Time Bomb, Ten Seconds to Hell and the rest in both meticulous background and moodily stylish film noir photography.OTHER VIEWS: Based on Nigel Balchin's anti-heroic novel, the story of Sammy Rice's obsessive quest to understand the workings of a new German bomb, is intertwined with his tortured love for Susan. Low- key, shadowy interiors alternate with the bleak landscapes of bomb- disposal areas in a film now widely hailed as an authentic British film noir.

While not a great film in comparison to other Archer productions such as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, 49th Parallel or The Red Shoes, The Small Back Room is a tense and interesting British thriller that recounts what it must have felt like to live in England during World War II, a most precarious time when the threat of Nazi air invasion was constantly hanging overhead (no pun intended).In this story, David Farrar and Kathleen Byron are reunited after their tumultuous chemistry in Black Narcissus, playing a respected bomb detector and his secretary girlfriend who find themselves fighting a personal war in addition to the larger conflict amidst Europe. Farrar finds himself battling alcoholism and directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger create many parallels between the two instances. What is most intriguing about this film, like so many other Powell and Pressburger productions, is how the ideas are presented as just as important as the action. Most American films, particularly in the last three decades, seem to focus solely on the actions of the characters rather than the notions that lead to such activity. Here, there is constant stewing over how to effectively dismantle and recognize Nazi booby-traps, all leading up to a rather tense and dramatic conclusion in which the embittered protagonist must fight his inner demons to save the day.The plot for the most part is rather trivial. What is important, and what remains, is the fact that Britain put itself entirely on the line to save Europe and possibly the world from what was perceived as pure evil. Films like this, 49th Parallel, and Colonel Blimp were often received as war propaganda used to encourage the British public to support the war effort. Even after the war, such films were quite useful in keeping up the morale in tough times that would eventually culminate in the Cold War. To see such a film today is to understand better a small aspect of history previously unavailable.

The Small Dark Room is a dull misnomer. The suggestion is that within that Defense Ministry cramper some insignificant human being is earnestly working away and finally does make a breakthrough, for which some Higher Up will snatch credit. That's not what this picture is about. How about this title?: The Broken Pace.Noir? Where's the crime, the chase, the gunshots, the road house, the slinky woman, the scream, the ominous shadows?Many years after its original release, Powell saw this film at a retrospective and declared it "cold." This emotional void is the real reason it failed to win an audience.Much time is wasted on satire and caricature: humpty dumpty Robert Morley, grinning despicable Jack Hawkins, the "Old Army" Colonel, the chaotic Committee Meeting, the intrusive over-animated blonde at the nightclub, etc. Go for convincing realism throughout the film so the audience can respect Farrar's problems, his relationship with Kathleen, and most of all the German explosive device that is killing children.The explosive device is a careless figment of the writer's imagination. Can we credit that these "thermos flask" metal cylinders with sensitive mechanisms inside can be air-dropped from 5000 or even 500 feet and not be destroyed on impact?We must see at least one device, obviously of grenade strength, detonate as a child picks it up. This will enable the audience to feel real apprehension and moral indignation. Don't just talk about the "thermos" things.Bitter David is not easily embraced by an audience. Add a prolog or flashback showing him ten years earlier. Pebble Beach: he's with a beautiful blonde, they walk barefoot along the shore, he kicks some water at her to make her squeal. Testing site: as an outdoor explosive experiment goes awry, all dive for cover, David pauses to yank an old-timer to safety, but David's right foot doesn't make it. Hospital ward: the blonde brings a box of candy to David, kisses him, smiling sits on the chair, then sees the flat sheet where his foot should be, she's struck dumb, runs off.Later on, even show his prosthetic foot beside the bathtub, the thick white cotton protective stocking beside it. This won't affront an audience who have come through WWII.Kathleen should actually burst into tears at an impasse. David: "Now, don't cry. I haven't for ten years." "They're not tears. They're holy water . . . (she touches her cheeks to his hair) . . . to beg God's mercy. Ten years is too long to try you." The concluding Pebble Beach scene, Revised: As the Sergeant and David walk to the explosive device, clouds like billowing black smoke darken the landscape, a stiff wind is blowing. Sergeant: "I'll help, you may need a hand." "I'd rather have a foot, if a new shipment comes in. Better you should join our compatriots behind the barrier." The Sergeant gently salutes him, "Yes sir," and goes. As David works on the device, there are some flashes of light in the dark sky, thunder rumbles, strong winds stream his hair and flap his collar. He succeeds at the disarmament. "Thank God," he murmurs to the cylinder.Powell's actual 1, 2, 3 Transformation sequence: The Sergeant sees David off at the train, tells him he's The Best. In a shadowy interior, David strongly reassures Corporal Cyril Cusack. David finds a smiling Kathleen in his flat, she gives him a message and sends the "new man" off to his duty. (How's that for a quick Hollywood Happy Ending from Cold Contemptuous Godless Maestro Powell!)

An interesting film, ahead of its time in its depiction of the relationship between Sam (Farrar), the alcoholic, embittered bomb disposal expert looking for a purpose, and Susan (Byron), the woman who bears much of the brunt of his despair.There are good dramatic scenes in this film, some comic such as the visit by a silly minister (Robert Morley in excellent form), the meeting where Sam goes against his dept. and supports the Army's doubt about a key weapon, the hallucination scene (surreal & gripping) and Sam's final confrontation with his nemesis (the crafty Nazi booby-trap) on the beach.The film also includes Powell/Pressburger's characteristic send-up of British manners/society, such as buffonish Ministers, slightly creepy/ambitious Civil Service men, and gruff soldiers.Well-acted and filled with many good supporting performances such as Cyril Cusack as an insecure bomb disposal officer and Michael Gough as a colleague of Sam's. I particularly liked his scene where he shouts in desperation at a dying victim of a booby-trap; it comes across as cruel but it highlights the sheer desperation of the experts as they try to solve a deadly secret.On the whole, I enjoyed it but it is mostly a character study with the plot perhaps acting as secondary interest. It's on a smaller scale to other P & P classics such as the breath-taking melodrama of 'Black Narcissus' and perhaps lacks the heightened drama of that film.