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Passport to Pimlico (1949)
7.1/10on IMDb
Released
A buried document makes part of Pimlico legally Burgundian, giving neighbors a chance to wriggle out of postwar rationing. It works because the local people take the ridiculous idea seriously enough to turn it into civic business. Start here for Ealing's gift for making a whole neighborhood the lead character.
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Dead of Night (1945)
7.5/10on IMDb
Released
An architect arrives at a country house and recognizes the guests from his nightmares. The guests' macabre stories come in different moods, which helps the unease sneak up on you. Try this when you want an evening of short shocks that get more disturbing together.
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The Cruel Sea (1953)
7.4/10on IMDb
Released
A corvette named Compass Rose escorts convoys through waters where German submarines can strike. Small decisions carry the strain of keeping men alive at sea. It's a good first choice for the studio's war pictures if you care about what command costs the people doing it.
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Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
8.0/10on IMDb
Released
An outsider sets about removing the relatives ahead of him in line for a dukedom. Alec Guinness keeps turning up as members of the family, which makes inherited privilege look absurdly hard to get away from. Pick this if you like your comedy delivered with perfect manners and a chill underneath.
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Whisky Galore! (1949)
7.1/10on IMDb
Released
A wreck leaves an island community with a chance to replenish its whisky, if the locals can stay a step ahead of Customs. The joke keeps spreading as different people decide how much they can get away with together. It's a good companion to Passport to Pimlico when you want neighbors pooling their ingenuity.
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The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
7.5/10on IMDb
Released
A quiet bank employee and his accomplices turn stolen gold into miniature Eiffel Towers. The daft little souvenirs give the movie the kind of physical joke you can follow through every mix-up. Choose this for a brisk caper in which the thieves' ordinariness makes their ambition funny.
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The Man in the White Suit (1951)
7.2/10on IMDb
Released
Sidney Stratton's cloth never gets dirty or wears out, which gives both mill owners and workers reasons to fear it. Alec Guinness plays Sidney as avidly curious while everyone around him runs through the consequences. It's the Ealing comedy to choose when you want an inventive premise that gets more uncomfortable the longer you think about it.
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The Ladykillers (1955)
7.6/10on IMDb
Released
Thieves pose as a string quintet and count on their elderly landlady to believe them. The performers get a surprising amount of mileage out of politeness, as if one more excuse might fix everything. Save this for when you want the studio's fondness for eccentric neighbors to turn into a very black joke.
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Went the Day Well? (1942)
7.5/10on IMDb
Released
A group of soldiers arrives in an English village with a reassuring story about who they are. The locals' discovery that they're facing a disguised German advance gives the familiar village setting a sharp edge. Watch it beside Passport to Pimlico to see the same instinct for collective action put under much darker pressure.
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Hue and Cry (1947)
6.7/10on IMDb
Released
A boy spots what he thinks is a gang's code in the funny papers. When the police dismiss him, the kids take over the investigation. The bomb-damaged London locations give their adventure a rougher, more open feel than a studio playset could.
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The Proud Valley (1940)
6.7/10on IMDb
Released
Paul Robeson's singing helps David find work and companionship in a Welsh coal town. When the mine closes, the community's attempt to reopen it makes this an early example of the collective spirit Ealing would later bring to its comedies. The music gives that commitment a human voice.
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It Always Rains on Sunday (1947)
7.1/10on IMDb
Released
An escaped prisoner turns up at the home of an old flame who is now married. Googie Withers makes the visit feel like an intrusion into the life Rose has worked to build. Try it for the way an ordinary household can become as tense as a police chase.
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Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948)
6.5/10on IMDb
Released
The masked carnival sequence gives this lavish drama a sudden jolt. Against the wild color and noise, one woman's attempt to get through the street becomes panicked and lonely. Pick this for Ealing at its most visually extravagant.
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Scott of the Antarctic (1948)
7.0/10on IMDb
Released
John Mills plays Scott on the expedition to the South Pole. The movie's color landscapes help you feel the size of a journey that can otherwise become a set of dates and distances. It makes a sturdy companion to The Cruel Sea for a look at Ealing taking people well beyond the familiar street or village.
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The Blue Lamp (1950)
6.8/10on IMDb
Released
The film spends time with experienced constable George Dixon and new officer Andy Mitchell on ordinary duties. That rhythm gives the local cinema robbery its shock. Pick it for the mix of familiar street life and trouble that can arrive in the middle of a shift.
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Cage of Gold (1950)
6.4/10on IMDb
Released
A young woman remarries after her first husband disappears, only to find he's still alive. That premise takes Ealing into anxious melodrama, where being at home gives the character little protection. It has a more private kind of menace than the studio's capers.
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Pool of London (1951)
7.1/10on IMDb
Released
Two merchant seamen on shore leave get drawn into a jewel robbery. The crime gives the picture momentum, but Earl Cameron's Johnny is a reason to stay with the quieter port scenes. The movie listens to people on the edges of the action as closely as it follows the caper.
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Secret People (1952)
6.2/10on IMDb
Released
Audrey Hepburn turns up early in her film career in Thorold Dickinson's conspiracy drama. The performance fits a picture in which the political situation puts the characters' smallest personal choices under pressure. It gives you another route into Ealing beyond its familiar caper ensembles.
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The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)
7.0/10on IMDb
Released
A village tries to keep its branch railway running after the national operator decides to close it. Everyone's attachment to the line helps the comedy feel specific, as if this service really did connect these people to somewhere they needed to be. It's an affectionate option after the sharper Man in the White Suit.
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The 'Maggie' (1954)
6.9/10on IMDb
Released
A skipper persuades a wealthy American to trust his cargo to an elderly Scottish boat. The trip is an extended contest over who gets to decide how things are done. Try it if you like the coastal mischief of Whisky Galore! and want a smaller story with less certainty about whose side to take.
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The Ship That Died of Shame (1955)
6.7/10on IMDb
Released
Former crew members rescue their old motor gunboat to make money in the postwar black market. The flip from wartime service to smuggling gives the film its bitter pull. Watch it after The Cruel Sea for a version of Ealing's seafaring camaraderie that has lost its bearings.
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