Cottage to Let (1941)
Directed by Anthony Asquith

Mystery / Thriller / War
aka: Bombsight Stolen

Film Review

Abstract picture representing Cottage to Let (1941)
The wartime propaganda and homeland defence messages are laid on a bit thick in this thriller mystery, but not enough to spoil its entertainment value.  In a remarkable film debut, 16-year-old George Cole manages to out-shine a cast which includes some of the finest British actors of the period: Alastair Sim, John Mills and Leslie Banks.  Cole went on to become a much-loved star of British film and television in a career spanning almost seventy years, but he is of course best remembered for the part of Arthur Daley in the hit TV series Minder.

Cottage to Let was adapted from a hit stage play, performed in 1940, in which most of the leads  in the film (notably Sim and Cole) had appeared.  The biggest surprise is that Mills, usually cast as the good guy, gets to play the principle baddie, and a nasty one at that.  Although the film is a little dated, marred by some clunky direction and cheap studio exteriors that singularly fail to evoke the Scottish setting, it still retains a great deal of charm.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Anthony Asquith film:
Rush Hour (1941)

Film Synopsis

When Mrs Barrington puts her cottage up for let she gets far more than she bargained for.  It is wartime and the cottage serves as a military hospital, although the only patient being treated on the premises is Flight Lieutenant Perry, who injured himself when he parachuted from his Spitfire.  Mrs Barrington had promised the cottage to child evacuees, but when Mr Charles Dimble turns up claiming to have let the cottage through an estate agent, the children have to go elsewhere.  One of these is a boy named Ronald, whom Mrs Barrington takes in at her own home.  Ronald learns that his hostess's husband, John, is an inventor working on a bombsight for the Royal Air Force.  Ronald isn't the only one interested in John Barrington's work however.  Nazi agents are operating in the area and intend to kidnap the inventor and take him back to Germany...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.


Film Credits

  • Director: Anthony Asquith
  • Script: Geoffrey Kerr (play), Anatole de Grunwald, J.O.C. Orton
  • Cinematographer: Jack E. Cox
  • Music: Louis Levy, Charles Williams
  • Cast: Leslie Banks (John Barrington), Jeanne De Casalis (Mrs. Barrington), Carla Lehmann (Helen Barrington), Alastair Sim (Charles Dimble), John Mills (Flt·Lieut. Perry), George Cole (Ronald), Michael Wilding (Alan Trently), Frank Cellier (John Forest), Muriel Aked (Miss Fernery), Wally Patch (Evans), Muriel George (Mrs. Trimm), Hay Petrie (Dr. Truscott), Catherine Lacey (Mrs. Stokes), Annie Esmond (Lady Wrapping Parcels For The Bazaar), Peter Gawthorne (Senior RAF Officer), Arthur Hambling (Scotland Yard Inspector), Roddy Hughes (German Agent), Sydney King (Ministry Offical), Brefni O'Rorke (Scottish Police Inspector), Charles Rolfe (German Agent)
  • Country: UK
  • Language: English
  • Support: Black and White
  • Runtime: 90 min
  • Aka: Bombsight Stolen

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