P&P Campaigns
Blue Plaques
We have begun a campaign to honour Powell & Pressburger in various ways.
These are long term plans, but we're in no rush :)
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2002 - An
English Heritage Blue Plaque
for Emeric Pressburger
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In December 2002 Emeric would have been 100 so he becomes eligible for
an English Heritage Blue Plaque.
So I made a submission for one.
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2005 - An
English Heritage Blue Plaque
for Michael Powell
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In September 2005 Michael would have been 100 so he becomes eligible for
an English Heritage Blue Plaque.
So I made a submission for one.
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17 February, 2014 - It happened!
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See the story for how we got here
See the English Heritage press release
Steve's report on a great day
Wow! I mean, really, WOW!
What a great day. C'est un grand jour. Was für ein toller Tag.
What a turn out. Martin Scorsese, Thelma Schoonmaker, Columba Powell, Andrew & Kevin Macdonald's wives, Andrew's son (and thus Emeric Pressburger's great grandson) Archie, Sir Christopher Frayling, Stephen Fry, Prof. Ian Christie and of course, The Lovely Natacha. Plus many, many other lovely and wonderful people plus people from English Heritage, the BFI and from many other interested and interesting organisations - everyone gathered outside a 1930s apartment block near Baker Street to celebrate and commemorate two of the finest film-makers ever.
The weather was kind to us. It wasn't too cold, for February, and the rain held off.
After a very nice little ceremony introduced by Christopher Frayling, Thelma Schoonmaker spoke, Martin Scorsese spoke, everyone applauded and then Archie pulled the chord and revealed the Blue Plaque.
Dorset House, Gloucester Place, London NW1 5AG
17th February 2014, 1pm |
Thelma & Marty |
Well that was quite an amazing thing to witness, but it didn't end there
After everyone had posed for a few photos and Marty & Thelma had been interviewed for tonight's "Front Row" arts round up programme on BBC Radio 4, we all made our way down the road to the Tower Suite in the Landmark Hotel where I had hired a room for a reception and celebration. Chatting away, posing for some photos, a wonderful time.
But it didn't end there either
My youngest brother Stan had come to join us, all the way from north Devon, braving the floods. So a few of us moved the party on to an Italian restaurant in Fitzrovia and then on to a pub before we all said some fond farewells and wended our way home.
There are some news reports out already:
English Heritage
BBC News
The Guardian (Thanks Xan)
"Front Row" on BBC Radio 4 (first item)
BBC Radio 4 "Front Row" daily arts round-up
A report in Veteran magazine, the magazine for British Cinema and Television Veterans, their Spring 2014 issue. Sent by Thelma Schoonmaker via Pamela Francis (Freddie's widow)
What a wonderful event
Steve - the one with the big soppy grin on his face :)
Some photos from Michael Shipster
Martin Scorsese
Thelma Schoonmaker (Michael Powell's widow & Scorsese's triple Oscar winning editor)
Columba Powell (Michael's son)
Sir Christopher Frayling (English Heritage Blue Plaques committee)
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The crowd of onlookers included some interesting people, like Stephen Fry
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At the reception with Marty, Columba, Archie Macdonald (great grandson of Emeric Pressburger), Thelma and The Lovely Natacha
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Some photos from Brigitte Lacombe, Martin Scorsese's photographer
Marty, Steve, Columba, The Lovely Natacha, Archie & Thelma
Having a wonderful time
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The gang's all here! P&P admirers gathering
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The photos in this section are © Brigitte Lacombe, 2014
Some photos & videos from Greg Ogarrio
Steve chatting to Prof Ian Christie as Thelma passes behind us.
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Columba & Thelma
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Greg's videos, on YouTube |
Video #1 - Sir Christopher Frayling's introduction |
Video #2 - Sir Christopher, continued |
Video #3 - Thelma Schoonmaker |
Video #4 - Martin Scorsese |
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Video #5 - Martin, continued + the unveiling |
Video #6 - Thelma & Marty in front of the plaque |
Video #7 - Stephen Fry & Columba Powell |
Video #8 - Thelma, Marty & Stephen Fry |
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Some photos from Jaume Escofet
Some photos from my brother Stan
Photos from Stéphane Launey
Stéphane Launey visits the plaque, March 2014 |
Some photos from The Lovely Natacha, or taken by others with her camera
The VIPs, Marty, Columba, Archie & Thelma |
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A gathering of the clan |
Stan & Eddie |
Thelma & some of her boys |
A light supper |
Next day, on the Millenium Bridge |
Wednesday: Neal's Yard Dairy in Borough Market |
The Lovely Natacha and I continued the celebration in our own way with a tour of London the next day (Tuesday 18th) and a visit to the Paul Klee exhibition at Tate Modern. Then we relaxed over a lovely meal at Rules in Covent Garden. Check their history, and their menu (varies with the seasons).
It's a tough life, but somebody's got to do it :)
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Then on the Wednesday morning we visited Borough Market to pick up some lovely comestibles and had a quick look around Southwark Cathedral.
Then after some fond farewells I packed her off back to Paris - until our next adventure.
"The Veteran", the magazine of the British Cinema & Television Veterans, ran a piece on the Blue Plaque on Dorset House.
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Back Cover Story
The "Secret" of Dorset House
During the Second World War, scripts for some of the period's most important and influential films - by The Archers, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger - were developed in a three-room flat at Dorset House near Baker Street in central London. While based there between 1942 and 1947, Powell and Pressburger turned out a sequence of cinematic treasures: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Canterbury Tale (1944), I Know Where I'm Going! (1945), A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948), all filmed for Rank with studio work at Pinewood.
On Monday 17 February, an English Heritage blue plaque was unveiled at Dorset House in the presence of Powell's widow, the editor Thelma Schoonmaker, the director Martin Scorsese, a great and vocal enthusiast of the team's work from his days as a student in New York, Powell's son Columba Powell and Pressburger's great-grandson Archie Macdonald.
In 1947, the Archers linked up with Alexander Korda's London Films and took up space in the company's opulent new head office at 148 Picadilly, Hyde Park Corner.
In his 1994 book, Emeric Pressburger - the Life and Death of a Screenwriter, Pressburger's grandson Kevin Macdonald noted: "Joan Page and Betty Curtis owned the secretarial company which had typed and duplicated the scripts for Contraband and The Spy in Black. They got on well with Emeric and Michael, and when The Archers were formed came to work for them full time. They ran the office at 120 Dorset House, Gloucester Place (a hastily converted service flat - there was a wartime shortage of office space) acting as secretaries, script editors and general assistants.
Michael Powell recalled, in the second part of his auto-biography, Million-Dollar Movie (1992): "During the war, The Archers had offices at Dorset House, Baker Street, near the station, a large block of modern flats with an entrance in Gloucester Place. The block was considered reasonably bomb-proof and when there was an air-raid warning we had some camp beds, so we could sleep there if necessary. We never bothered to furnish it properly or hang pictures or posters - the war was on, and austerity was a way of life - and somehow Betty and Joan made it look efficient and comfortable. We kept these offices on when we moved to Pinewood, for we needed a base in town, but our wartime lease was up and the move to Hyde Park Corner came in very handy." - Allen Eyles
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