Rent Cottage to Let (1941)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Working in secret for the Air Ministry at his remote country house laboratory, John Barrington (Leslie Banks) is key to the ongoing war effort against the Nazis. Barrington's household, however, has been infiltrated by enemy agents who plan to take him back to Berlin as prisoner.
- Actors:
- Leslie Banks, Alastair Sim, Jeanne De Casalis, Carla Lehmann, John Mills, George Cole, Michael Wilding, Frank Cellier, Muriel Aked, Wally Patch, Muriel George, Hay Petrie, Catherine Lacey, Annie Esmond, Peter Gawthorne, Arthur Hambling, Roddy Hughes, Sydney King, Brefni O'Rorke, Charles Rolfe
- Directors:
- Anthony Asquith
- Producers:
- Edward Black
- Writers:
- Geoffrey Kerr, Anatole de Grunwald, J.O.C. Orton
- Aka:
- Bombsight Stolen
- Studio:
- Network
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- Films to Watch If You Like..., Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: John Mills, Top 10 British War Films (1939-45), Top Films, What to Watch Next If You Liked Scrooge
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 16/03/2020
- Run Time:
- 90 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 1.0, English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Image Gallery
More like Cottage to Let
Reviews (3) of Cottage to Let
Retorts - and Retorts - Cottage to Let review by CH
Made at much the same time as Went the Day Well?, Cottage to Let turns around German agents undercover in a remote part of the United Kingdon. In this case, somewhere in Scotland - beside a Loch into which Spitfire pilot John Mills has baled out. No mention is made of the aeroplane's remains, and we are left to assume they fell unobserved beneath the water but it is equally easy to realise this dapper figure is not all he appears (certainly by thr time he speaks into a telephone he has disconnected)..
Which can be said of several, even many among those gathered in and around the manor house where Leslie Banks (who was also memorable in Went the Day Well?) works in a retort-laden laboratory while his flightly, well-meaning wife is givien to malapropisms when tending to such matters as a fund-raising fête and the double booking of Alastair Sim as tenant of the nearby cottage which had meanwhile been requisitioned as a hospital. Canniest of all is twelve-year-old Cockney evacuee George Cole who smells sufficient rats to justify a visit by the sanitation department. As it is, Scotland Yard and MI5 have taken an interest in this curious outpost - but, enough! The plot is preposterous but sufficiently controlled to be this side of plausible as accusation brings retort.
A slow start sets rewarding snares. There is comedy along the way, not to mention a love interest which brings the invitiation to close eyes and make a wish beneath the New Moon which yields a dangerous snog ("that's not what I was wishing for!").
A few moments are tense enough, but the abiding memory is of fun to a purpose - something much needed at a time when Spitfires were not only visible in darkened matinée cinemas but, without a ticket, when glancing up at the afternoon skies.
Lovely film in many ways. - Cottage to Let review by CB
Beautifully played out drama. Serious subject in 1941 given a comedic first half, the second half a serious note to the bitter end.
The film was anchored by star turns by 15 yr old George Cole and Alastair Sim.
Quaint but looked its age - Cottage to Let review by CP Customer
Interesting war film from1941 with a cast of classic British actors and a twist in the tail as to who plays the villain! Regretfully at times the filmed looked very dated along with some of the acting, but is still still worth a watch in view of the talent that was to blossom from it!