Cottage to Let Bombsight Stolen (1941)

This was probably one of the better made movies of this decade for this genre (there will be some disagreement over that statement).  Maybe even some other decades as well.  This was the first movie of this century of spy movies that had the feel of an ensemble cast.  At points, the actors felt so much like characters instead of line-readers that the story gets a bit crowded.  But there’s this wonderful ability of the director and actors to give the events/relationships appropriate importance as they happen.  There wasn’t a sense that anyone was trying to hijack the movie.  If you’re a cheater like me who reads the plot summary and tries to figure out who the spy was then you won’t be disappointed.

I normally hate stage actor style movies but for some reason this one resonated.  The actors that stood out are numerous: George Cole and Leslie Banks of course, Alastair Sim, Jeanne De Casalis, then John Mills with Carla Lehmann and Michael Wilding.

There was a lot going on in this movie and I think it’s worth watching a couple of times.

Keep in mind that it was a movie made 72 years ago, that there were some already established movie tropes and it was meant for a different audience.

–Kryptosfan