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]

Donostia/San Sebastian Film Festival, Spain
19th - 28th September 2002

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Reports on the films seen:

All seen at Screen 3 at the Cines Principe unless stated otherwise.

Notes on film quality take account of the age. Where I say "good quality" for an older film, read it as "good quality for its age".

Numbers for the audience size are just estimates from looking around from my seat. The measures of screen size and theatre capacity are also just estimates until I can get more certain figures from the people at San Sebastian.

His Lordship (1932)

19th 18:30 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA (National Film and Television Archive) print
20+ people

Good quality print. Well appreciated by the audience even though they acknowledged it was no masterpiece. Lots of laughter (in the expected places).
Oddities: Chorus line of cleaning girls. Aeroplane at end - what was it? A short plane with an (unpowered?) rotor on top.

The Fire Raisers (1934)

19th 20:30 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
20+ people

Good quality print, appreciative audience.
Oddities: Models very poorly done, especially ship & collapse of burning building at the end. Fire in building at beginning was done much better, had they run out of money by the end?

Rynox (1932)

20th 16:30 - Salas Astoria, screen 5
BFI NFTVA print
20+ people

Reasonable quality print.
Also present were Charles Doble and Susan, his wife.
Oddity: Interesting use of overlapping shots of office windows.
Note: I had to leave at the end of Rynox (& not see Hotel Splendide (1932) which was the other half of the double bill) as I had to get to the Principe at the other end of town by 18:00 to see Something Always Happens (1934), one of the films I'd never seen before.

Something Always Happens (1934)

20th 18:00 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
20-30 people

Good quality print. Well appreciated by audience.
My first time of seeing this film.
The young boy (John Singer as Billy) was very good. He's also seen as the cabin boy on the ship in The Phantom Light (1935)
A very good, fast paced comedy.

Oddity: The reflection in the big window in Hatch's office looked odd. It had what is obviously a photograph of a London skyline behind it, but the window itself was very reflective, almost mirror like.

The Love Test (1935)

20th 19:30 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
30-40 people

Good quality print, well received.
Plenty of laughs for Googie Withers as the scatty secretary.

Lazybones (1935)

20th 21:00 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
50+ people

Very well attended, shame about the print quality. Quite a bit of scratching and juddering as if it was slipping in the drive sprockets.
This was the first one where I made a note about the long pauses while they changed reels. This seemed to be a particular problem in the Principe, screen 3.

The Phantom Light (1935)

20th 22:30 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
40+ people

Good print.
Lots of laughter, mainly where it was intended (mainly for Binnie Hale). Applause at the end.

Her Last Affaire (1936)

21st 16:00 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
20-30 people

Some confusion over the tickets. The Press Centre ticket office said it was sold out. The Cinema box office said it wasn't but gave us tickets for Luna de Miel at 17:30 - but those tickets admitted us to Her Last affaire at 16:00.
Good quality print. Well appreciated.
John Laurie played the dour/calvinist landlord. He had already played the crofter in hitchcock's 39 Steps.
Googie Withers in another good comedy role as Effie, the maid.
The story was based on the play S.O.S. by Walter Ellis. Towards the end, when the hero is about to be exposed, he taps out "S O S" in morse code on his plate. At they same meal they are served soup but nobody drinks any. See article about Soup in P&P movies.

Luna de Miel/Honeymoon (1959)

21st 17:30 - Cines Principe
Super new restoration by Charles Doble
20+ people

New print, new restoration, wonderful! See fuller review
Premiere of new restoration by Charles Doble. Charles introduced the film and gave some of the background to the film and to the restoration (translated into Spanish by Idoia)
There was a slight delay between each reel, but it was fresh from the processors.
I have done a full review of this film and the restoration.

Crown v. Stevens (1936)

21st 19:30 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
~30 people

Reasonable quality print.
Averagely interesting film, nothing outstanding.

The Lion Has Wings (1939)

22nd 16:30 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
~30 people

Good quality print.
Odd, the flashback to Queen Elizabeth I speaking to her forces before they went to defeat the Spanish Armada (from Fire Over England (1937))_ being seen in Spain with a mainly Spanish audience. No complaints from them but they were oddly silent.
All the compass bearings given are wrong. If the bombers followed the course given they'd finish up in Switzerland, not Keil.

Contraband (1940)

22nd 18:30 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
40+ people

It's always been a favourite of mine of all of the early work. A very funny spy thriller with a fair amount of flirtation & sexiness there for good measure. It seemed to be equally appreciated by most of the others who saw it as well.

Oh... Rosalinda!! (1955)

22nd 19:30 - Cines Principe, Screen 5
Super new print by Charles Doble
30-40 people

Charles gave a brief introduction, explaining the film and Idoia translated again.
The film really must be seen on a big screen if at all possible. They really played with the widescreen of CinemaScope, especially on scenes like the balcony with the 3 characters in 3 different rooms. The colours of the new print are bright & sharp. The sound is lovely. The audience really seemed to enjoy it all despite the sound being set a bit too high in the theatre so that it distorted on the high notes.

An Airman's Letter to his Mother (1941)

22nd 22:45 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
20-30 people

Short but effective propaganda piece, not quite "Dulce et decorum est" but along those lines. But still held their attention and led to some interesting discussions with other members of the audience.

49th Parallel (1941)

22nd 22:45 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
20-30 people

A good print, well received. Some people saw it as pure popaganda for Canada & didn't realise it was aimed at the then neutral America. Some amazement at the stars in cameo roles (& at Olivier's accent) but a lot of praise for Eric Portman.

One of Our Aircraft is Missing (1942)

23rd 16:00 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
20-30 people

A few speckles & scratches on the pint which showed up on dark backgrounds, but generally very good.
One of the Germans present queried the stamp on the passes saying "Kommando von Holland". He thought that if it was German it should have said "Kommando von Niederland". He also thought he had heard the voices of the Germans in the cellar at the end in an earlier scene, but he wasn't sure which one. That sort of level of discussion means that the film itself was accepted as it was with no problems.

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

23rd 18:00 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
30-40 people

The projectionist seemed to have more trouble with this one than with most of the other films. Maybe it was the number of reels that went to make up the 163 mins. There were longer than usual delays when the reels were changed and worse, there was a terrible noise between reels. I think that most of my complaints about the screenings were really with the projectionists. They seemed to have some very odd equipment in screen 3. They had a gap between reels on a lot of films. They were often set too loud or too quiet. They were often slightly out of focus. Does anybody want a job as a projectionist? I know where there will be one available soon (or there should be).

Apart from the problems changing the reels, the film itself was very good and well appreciated.

The Volunteer (1943)

23rd 20:30 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
30-40 people

Nice quality print.

Laughter as Larry Olivier did his fish impersonation.

A Canterbury Tale (1944)

23rd 20:30 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
20-30 people

Good quality print.

Small crowd, dissapointing for such a great film. But those that were there seemed to like it.

I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)

23rd 23:00 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
40+ people

Good quality print.
All of these films were shown with Spanish subtitles projected onto the bottom of the screen. I noticed that they didn't translate the Gaelic into Spanish :)
A word of praise for the subtitlers. They were usually very good, a few mistakes with real names as is common in subtitles. They kept pace with the dialogue very well, not putting too much in the subtitles on screen at any one time and thus giving away the plot.

Audience very appreciative. Laughter at gags on trip to Scotland. Lots of nice comments afterwards.

A Matter of Life and Death (1946)

24th 16:30 - Cines Principe, Screen 5
BFI NFTVA print
80+ people

Reasonably good quality print. A bit of bad colour registration in a couple of shots (Dr Reeves at US Army hospital - only 1st 2 shots facing Frank) Bad matte on court coming down staircase. Bad colour registration when Peter & June stand before court at foot of staircase.

Large crowd in larger theater seemed to really appreciate it. It still works for me - tears were shed. Laughter from audience at gags at start of trial and at various other places ("We are starved for Technicolor ..." etc).

Black Narcissus (1947)

24th 18:30 - Cines Principe, Screen 5
BFI NFTVA print
80-100 people

Got in a bit late, Natacha spotted some empty seats, I asked the gent at the end of the row to stand so we could get past. It was only as he stood I realised it was Francis Ford Coppola!!

Not a great quality print. Dodgy colour registration & out of focus sometimes. Quite scratched in places, I thought it might be an older print. But it still had the dreaded Blue out of Sister Ruth so it can't be that old a print.

But even at that poor a quality it still had the power to amaze and enthrall the audience.

The Red Shoes (1948)

24th 20:30 - Cines Principe, Screen 5
BFI NFTVA - National Heritage Memorial Fund print
120+ (nearly full) people

Very good quality pint although the focus drifted occasionally.

Very appreciative audience although one person laughed (delightedly) when Vicky jumped into the shoes - I assume they'd never seen it before. Applause at end of film.

The Small Back Room (1949)

24th 22:45 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
30+ people

Good quality print.

Reasonable sized audience. Some mentioned being pleasantly surprised by it, never having seen it before.

Gone to Earth (1950)

25th 16:15 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA - National Heritage Memorial Fund print
40+ people

Good quality print. Colour registration a bit off in a few scenes, and focus drifted off occasionally.

Audience seemed interested but not overly enthralled.

The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)

25th 18:30 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA - National Heritage memorial print
40+ people

Good quality print. Occasional colour registration & focus problems. The film was a bit too bright, Moira was clearly visible in her black body stocking as the doll Olympia was smashed.

Comments from audience: mainly preferred first two acts. Third act was too much pure opera for most people.

The Elusive Pimpernel (1950)

25th 20:30 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA - Piper Heidsieck print
40-50 people

Mainly good quality print, bright & sharp but a bit yellow in some reels. Low rhythmic whoosing on soundtrack of reel 2. Breakdown 5 minutes before the end - took 5 minutes to recover & show the last 5 minutes.

A fun romp. Generally enjoyed by most.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1955)

25th 22:45 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
20-30 people

Good enough quality but only 13 minutes, a 30 minute version is rumoured to exist.

Just a short, but I'd not seen it before. An interesting retelling of the story of the Sorcerer's Apprentice by the Frankfurt Opera. No details given on screen of who danced any roles apart from the Apprentice, also no credit givn to the narrator.

Black Narcissus (1947)

26th 16:30 - Kursaal 1
BFI NFTVA print
50-60 people

Press screening: Guests of honour, Jack Cardiff, Ian Christie and Rosita Segovia.

Oddly a much better quality print than the one seen earlier in the week at the Principe (when Francis Ford Coppola was there). Still had the Blue out of Sister Ruth.

Standing ovation for Jack, Ian and Rosita as they were introduced. More applause as Jack's name appeared on screen. Applause at the end even though Jack, Ian & Rosita had gone by then.

Ill Met by Moonlight (1957)

26th 18:30 - Cines Principe
Missed credits so unsure of print details
20-30 people

Good quality print. A bit too bright in daylight scenes, set to show more in night-time scenes. Slighly out of focus occasionally.

Audience seemed to quite like it.

Peeping Tom (1960)

26th 20:45 - Cines Principe, Screen 5
BFI NFTVA print
100-120 people (theatre over 90% full)

No restoration details at start of film (original print?)

Obviously a very popular film, best attendance of all the films in the retrospective. It must have been all those film students :)
Applause at the end.

Luna de Miel/Honeymoon (1959)

26th 22:45 - Cines Principe
Super new restoration by Charles Doble See fuller review
30+ people

Lovely sharp & bright print. Had to suffer the gaps during the reel changes again but apart from that it was great.

In the audience were P&P scholar Ian Christie and Rosita Segovia who starred in the film. Rosita really liked it. Lots of gasps of delight as she saw herself and all her old friends in their prime. As it was a mainly Spanish audience (we assume) they particularly enjoyed the "travelogue" showing the sights around Spain on the wide screen and the flamenco sequence.

The Queen's Guards (1961)

27th 16:00 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
20-30 people

Good quality print. See fuller review.

I'd never seen this one before - it's certainly not a hidden masterpiece.

Bluebeard's Castle/Herzog Blaubarts Burg (1964)

27th 18:30 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
20-30 people

Good quality print. At the first attempt they didn't have it aligned to the size of the screen & there was a large overlap outside the bottom of the screen. There was also an odd squiggle of light in the top centre of the screen so they stopped & started again. The second attempt was better. Sung in German, with the usual Spanish subtitles projected onto the bottom of the screen. There were also English summaries on the print (I don't have those on my video).

The audience seemed to quite like it but we (those I spoke to) agreed that it was very 1960's, very Hein Heckroth, and very German.

They're a Weird Mob (1966)

27th 19:45 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
30-40 people

I missed any print/restoration details.
Good quality print. A few flickers & scratches in a few places.

Well received, lots of laughter (in the right places).

Age of Consent (1969)

27th 22:15 - Cines Principe
BFI National Film Archive (older than NFTVA?) print
40+ people

Good print.

Gasp as people recognised the young Helen Mirren.

The Boy Who Turned Yellow (1972)

28th 16:00 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
~30 people

Good quality print. The projector was way out of fous as they showed the festival titles (shown before every film). They had just about got it into focus by the start of the film. But not quite in focus. Afterwards I offered to pay for an eye-test for the projectionist :)

Pauses between reels. Well received by the audience.

Return to the Edge of the World (1978)

28th 16:00 - Cines Principe
BFI NFTVA print
~30 people

No festival titles or certificate, straight into the film (it was made for BBC TV). They never quite got the focus right. The sound was too high so it distorted during the loauder passages.

There was no pause or title saying where the original film was inserted. Well received but everyone was a bit sad as it was the end of the retrospective.

Screen details:

Theater	Screen size	Capacity	Notes
Cines Principe, Screen 3	~10ft / 3.5m	~100	Older projectors
Cines Principe, Screen 5	~15ft / 5m	~150-200
Salas Astoria, Screen 5	~10ft / 3.5m	~100	Seats further from screen that at Principe 3
Kursaal, Screen 1	~20ft / 7m	~500	Main theatre for screenings & award presentations

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• Full program of films shown in the Michael Powell retrospective
• Details of films seen, quality, audience reaction etc

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The San Sebastian Festival