The Masters  
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.

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Submitted by Roger Mellor

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
"Radio Times" film guide


Director - Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Screenplay - Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Starring - Roger Livesey & Deborah Kerr
Running Time - 156 mins
Country of Origin - UK

Winston Churchill ordered this film to be banned from exportation during the Second World War for giving the wrong impression of the British fighting man. Based on the comic-strip character created by David Low, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's film does indeed take a pop at the complacency of the top brass, yet, thanks to Roger Livesey's astonishing performance in the lead, it is also a tribute to the more laudable peculiarities of the British character - honour, loyalty and a genius for making the most of a bad lot. Anton Walbrook also excels as Livesey's Prussian nemesis who becomes a lifelong friend, while a young Deborah Kerr makes her mark playing the three women in Livesey's life. One of British cinema's undisputed masterpieces.


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