Cottage to Let
Director: Anthony Asquith
Year: 1941
Rating: 7.0
Aka - Bombsight Stolen
As soon as I saw the iconic Gainsborough
logo at the beginning of the film, I was assured of a quality product and
so it is. Shot in London (though set in Scotland) towards the end of the
Blitz with a fine cast of English actors. Among them are John Mills, Leslie
Banks, Alastair Sim, Michael Wilding and George Cole. It doesn't get much
more British than that. It was Cole's debut film at 12-years old with a large
role and he was to go on to a lengthy career. Sim took such a liking to him,
that he invited Cole and his mother to stay with his family. For 15-years.
This is a fine espionage film that plays out more like a whodunit than your
typical spy film. It does a fine job of keeping you guessing who the spy
is.
It takes place almost entirely in an estate
in Scotland owned by John Barrington (Leslie Banks) and his ditzy wife (Jeanne
De Casalis). They have a small cottage on their land that they rent out but
also acts as a hospital for troops. Barrington is a brilliant scientist working
on developing a bomb sight that is perfectly accurate. He is eccentric as
well as his wife and refuses to have any security. His is a two-man shop
along with his assistant (Wilding). The house is chaos - Dimble (Sim) rents
a room, Lt. Perry (Mills) is shot down into a loch and ends up at the hospital
and soon falls for the Barrington daughter (Carla Lehmann),
There is also a butler who was recently
hired. Finally, Ronald (Cole) is evacuated from London and put up in the
house. He thinks of himself as a junior Sherlock Holmes. One of them is a
Nazi spy trying to either steal the bombsight or kidnap Barrington. The film
keeps you on your toes as everyone appears suspicious and up to no good.
A trilling ending with a shoot-out in a tent of fun mirrors. Directed by
Anthony Asquith (Pygmalion, The Browning Version) who keeps it constantly
on the move. 90-minutes.
