film reviews

[brumdan]

Hello folks, new to the sight so just finding my way around , so here is my first question does anyone know where I can find film reviews of films from the 1940- 1945 in particular 'Cottage to Let' (1941) and They Met in the Dark (1943), heres hoping .

Dan

[batman]

IMDb is a good place to start ...



link: Cottage to Let



link: They Met in the Dark

[brumdan]

thanks that is helpful but how about reviews written at the time it was released do you have any suggestions, cheers.

[Joenoir]

BFI Screenonline: Cottage To Let (1941)

[will.15]

It's not just Michael Powell: British films of the 30s, 40s and 50s



Here is a fun website that lists British movies from the 1930s through 50s, but they aren't really reviews, just one or two lines of opinion. But fun to look at with a lot of movies you probably never heard of.



Some movies have fuller reviews.

[cornershop15]

name='brumdan']Hello folks, new to the sight so just finding my way around , so here is my first question does anyone know where I can find film reviews of films from the 1940- 1945 in particular 'Cottage to Let' (1941) and They Met in the Dark (1943), heres hoping .

Dan

Hello Dan,



Apart from Sight and Sound, which began in 1932, all the books and magazines I can think of originated after that period, literally post-War. The very first Film Review books, by the legendary F. Maurice Speed, were published around that time. I have a few of them and it's a retro film buff's dream, but you're best bet is to search newspaper libraries (some are online these days) or eBay, where you might find old copies of Picturegoer, for example.



This link might also be useful to you but I think the magazines included here were more for fans of movie stars than serious film students:

Vintage Movie Magazines



I hope you don't mind my asking, but what is your reason for wanting to concentrate on those few years, and those two films?



For the record, these were Leslie Halliwell's thoughts ...



Cottage to Let:



Evacuated to Scotland, a Cockney prevents spies from kidnapping his inventor foster-father.



Stagey but often amusing comedy-thriller which, after a shaky start, becomes agreeably Hitchcockian.



Among the cast were Frank Cellier (Peter's dad) and a teenage George Cole.



They Met in the Dark



A Blackpool theatrical agent is really a master spy!



Elementary spy romance with a richly villainous performance from Tom Walls.



Featuring James Mason

[will.15]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Pleasure-Dome-Collected-Criticism-1935-1940/dp/0192812866]Amazon.com: Pleasure Dome: The Collected Film Criticism, 1935-1940 (9780192812865): Graham Greene: Books[/ame]



If you are interested in reviews written when the movies were first released, you might find this interesting (but doesn't have the movies you requested).

[CaptainWaggett]

name='brumdan']thanks that is helpful but how about reviews written at the time it was released do you have any suggestions, cheers.

Assuming you live in Birmingham, why not join your local library. You'll immediately has free access to a 200 year run of The Times. Then you can read theatre reviews as well - looks like the stage version of Cottage to Let was slightly different from the film?

[brumdan]

Thanks for the help all, the reason I am looking is that I am carrying a piece of work for a History degree on Cinema and society (1940-1945) which is turning into a labour of love and I hace decided to examine slighlty obscure films such as Cottage to Let ,The Seventh Survivor and They met in the Dark. Who would have thought the Nazis could be hiding in the entertainment industry? So I am trying to get film reviews for the time, i will try Library but thanks again for the direction all.

[julian_craster]

Why not use your library membership to search the newspaper archives on-line for The Times, The Guardian etc...?



Most university libraries (esp where Film Studies is taught) should have the Monthly Film Bulletin on microfilm.....

[CaptainWaggett]

name='brumdan']Thanks for the help all, the reason I am looking is that I am carrying a piece of work for a History degree on Cinema and society (1940-1945) which is turning into a labour of love and I hace decided to examine slighlty obscure films such as Cottage to Let ,The Seventh Survivor and They met in the Dark. Who would have thought the Nazis could be hiding in the entertainment industry? So I am trying to get film reviews for the time, i will try Library but thanks again for the direction all.

If you are at a university then presumably you have an Athens account? Worth checking your college library website to see what periodicals they subscribe to on your behalf. There's a lot of stuff out there you won't find through Google