Bombsight Stolen (AKA “Cottage to Let)
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Written by Anatole de Grunwald and J.O.C. Orton adapted from the play by Geoffrey Kerr
1941/UK
Gainsborough Pictures/Gaumont British Picture Corporation
First viewing/Internet Archive
[box] Mrs. Barrington: I can do no better than to quote the words of our great Prime Minister to the gallant boys of the RFA: Never have so much owed so many to so little.[/box]
I really enjoyed seeing the gathering of great British actors of the period in this wartime mystery/thriller.
Dr. Barrington (Leslie Banks) is an inventor who latest work is an advanced bombsight for the RAF. The only people admitted to his laboratory are himself and his assistant (Michael Wilding). His dizzy wife, who is full of wartime good works, has given a cottage on the property simultaneously to an evacuee (George Cole), a wounded RAF pilot (John Mills) and a proper tenant (Alistair Sim). All these people are suspected at various times of being involved in fifth column activities, including securing the bombsight for Germany. It would be criminal to say more about the convoluted plot.
The plot is perhaps a little too hard to follow and one actor goes straight over the top at the end but these quibbles are minor compared to the many superb moments of comedy and drama in this film. It was nice to see Leslie Banks in a non-psychotic role and everybody else is just wonderful. Recommended for fans of the genre or of the actors.
The film is in the public domain and is available complete on YouTube or on Internet Archive, where I watched it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCuBfOLYu90
No clip available so a lovely 7 minute tribute to Alistair Sim
And a shorter one!
