Sadly Over-hyped

Lack of good storyline.

Fantastic!

A Disappointing Continuation

Pressburger and Powell are well known for their films like "Black Narcissus" (1947), "The Red Shoes" (1948) and "Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" (1943). This film is probably one of their weakest, largely because there is no real plot, but rather a series of minor subplots that only rarely intersect. The strongest of these sub plots is the romance between a bitter scientist and a secretary, wonderfully played by David Farrar and Kathleen Byron. They're part of a scientific "think tank" where Farrar is in conflict with the marketing efforts of Jack Hawkins, who seems more concerned with having projects approved instead of savings lives. Behind the scenes, the war effort and the political effort are at odds, reflected in Leslie Banks as a Colonel and Robert Morley as a Minister. If these sub plots are confusing enough, there is the rush to solve a problem of exploding bombs.Wonderful acting can't replace the lack of a coherent plot. And the focus on a bottle of liquor is far overdone, as is the constant closeups of a key opening a door. Sophomoric stuff at best.

Based on the 1943 novel of the same name by Nigel Balchin, this is an absorbing, if at times very depressing, character drama. As I have come to expect from Powell and Pressburger's films, the duo's writing and direction is excellent. Both are very effective in communicating the struggles that a person goes through while dealing with alcoholism and depression and the negative effect that they can have on relationships. This is certainly helped by the moody, atmospheric cinematography of Christopher Callis. I loved the interaction of light and shadow throughout the film. When it comes to the treatment of the World War II material, the wonderful bomb disposal scene towards the end of the film is the most tense scene of its kind that I have ever seen. In contrast to the duo's earlier films, this was a bit of a flop at the box office. Powell attributed this in part to its extremely gloomy tone, which he did not think sat well with postwar British audiences.The film stars the sorely underrated David Farrar in a first rate performance as a military scientist named Sammy Rice, who is assigned to a "back room" think tank in London which is run by his friend and mentor Professor Mair. Sammy is a bitter, morose man who has a low opinion of most things in life, including himself. He has an artificial foot which is extremely painful but which he refuses to take off while in the company of other people, even his girlfriend Susan. The doctors have naturally given him painkillers but he finds them largely ineffective. He has instead turned to the "noble remedy" of alcohol, which is not much better when it comes to dulling the pain. However, it is effective in dulling his other senses, at least for a few hours at a time. There is a sense that Sammy is merely going through the motions when it comes to his life and, if there had not been a war on, he would probably do nothing more than shut himself away and drink. He is severely depressed, something which is not helped by his heavy drinking, and these feelings have manifested themselves in the form of self-pity. While Susan is more loyal and supportive more than most people would be in those circumstances, she eventually has enough of Sammy's attitude and the fact that he is neglecting her. She tells him that losing his foot means that he can't be a professional footballer but it does not mean that his life is over as he still has a great deal to live for. It becomes clear to Susan that he has no ambition to better himself and she breaks up with him. This sends him on a downward spiral. His drinking becomes even more pronounced and he starts a fight in a bar but is thrown out before it can escalate any further. He even cracks open the bottle of whiskey that he and Susan had been saving for V-E Day. This is followed by an excellent fantasy sequence in which Sammy is almost crushed against a wall by a giant bottle. This symbolism is not exactly subtle but it is extremely effective. The fact that the beginning of the fantasy sequence is accompanied by an extremely loud ticking sound is representative of Sammy's realisation that he is wasting his life. After this, he manages to sober up and begins to get his life back together. The role of Susan could have been a rather thankless one but Kathleen Byron delivers an extremely good performance, her best moment being the breakup scene, and the character always seems like a real person.In one of his first film appearances, Michael Gough is very strong as Captain Stuart, a young officer who comes to Sammy in the hope that he can help figure out the workings of small booby traps which the Germans have recently begun dropping on Britain during raids. This investigation of the booby traps, disguised as thermos flasks, forms a major backdrop to Sammy's struggles with alcoholism and is ultimately one of the reasons that he is able to overcome it. Jack Hawkins is excellent as the think tank's smarmy, sleazy, obnoxious and condescending administrator R.B. Waring, whom both Sammy and Susan feel like punching at different points during the film. I admire their restraint. In a small but uncharacteristically serious role, Sid James is great as the sympathetic bartender Knucksie Moran. The same is true of Cyril Cusack as Corporal Taylor, who is trying to save his deteriorating marriage. Robert Morley, credited as "A Guest," has a fantastic cameo as the incredibly dimwitted Minister in one of the film's only light-hearted moments. The film also features nice appearances from Geoffrey Keen as the civil servant Pinker (who is a bit of a stinker), Michael Goodliffe as Till, Renée Asherson as an A.T.S. corporal, Walter Fitzgerald as Professor Brine, Anthony Bushell as Colonel Strang and, in one of his final film appearances before his death in 1952, Leslie Banks as Colonel Holland.Overall, this is an excellent film, even if it isn't on the same level as the Archers' best work.

Master filmmakers Powell and Pressburger return from their much-more-famed stint to make their much-more-underrated "smaller" film "The Small Back Room", a combined thriller/romance in heady expressionistic tones. Emphasis put on the last phrase-work there, this movie is GORGEOUS. It's not really noir, but the lighting and staging put the genre to shame.Among many surprises here are some of the actors of Black Narcissus taking on new amazing roles, a mysterious German boobie-trap, and an expressionistic interlude that matches the opera from Red Shoes but is structured more like The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra. The timing of this movie is great, too, as long involved sequences showcasing Sammy's alcoholism and doubt stretch to painful lengths, whereas his technically much longer scene defusing a bomb is so tense that it seems to whip by in a second.Fans of the Archers should pretty much make it a point to see this. People unfamiliar with them could possibly get overwhelmed by all the promises of Black Narcissus, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Red Shoes, and A Matter of Life or Death, but could start here for something considered a bit smaller but just as good. A Small Back Room may not have quite the credentials, but it has all of the quality of the Archers' oeuvre.--PolarisDiB

This film is an interesting return to the general subject matter of Powell and Pressburger's black and white war films (49th Parallel, One of our Aircraft, etc..), but, made four years after the end of the war, it is a moody piece that focuses on a man disabled by the war. It is typical of their work in that it features brilliantly well-rounded, truly adult characters without easy answers or one-dimensional poses; it is also a departure from their other films of the period in its lack of flamboyance and otherworldly flair. The gritty style - no music, for example, and wonderfully spare dialogue by Pressburger - is perfectly echoed by the intense performances of Kathleen Byron and David Farrar. As always, Powell's keen visual sense is paramount to the brilliance of the Archers' films, and the bomb-defusing scene on the beach makes great use of the setting in its compositions and editing. Although it is not the best introduction to the work of Powell and Pressburger, this film is a keen testament to the capacity of their storytelling abilities in weaving a tale of a man who finds redemption through work and love. Whether their films are explorations of the power of art or the effects of war, I consistently find their work profoundly moving. Let's hope that it is FINALLY released on video or, better still, DVD. (Attention, Scorcese!!!!)