The Powell & Pressburger Pages Dedicated to the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and all the other people, both actors and technicians who helped them make those wonderful films. A lot of the documents have been sent to me or have come from other web sites. The name of the web site is given where known. If I have unintentionally included an image or document that is copyrighted or that I shouldn't have done then please email me and I'll remove it. I make no money from this site, it's purely for the love of the films. [Any comments are by me (Steve Crook) and other members of the email list]

Submitted by Roger Mellor

Contraband (1940)
"Radio Times" film guide

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Director - Michael Powell
Starring - Conrad Veidt & Valerie Hobson
Running Time - 85 mins
Country of Origin - UK

Directed by Michael Powell from a story by Emeric Pressburger, this is a neat Second World War espionage thriller that depicts a London crawling with spies, rather in the manner of Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage and The Man Who Knew Too Much. Powell makes brilliant use of the blackouts and includes one cheeky sequence when hundreds of unwanted plaster casts of Neville Chamberlain get shot to pieces. This would have been Deborah Kerr's first feature film, but all her scenes were left on the cutting room floor.

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