The Small Back Room

+ intro by Josephine Botting, BFI National Archive Curator

Dark, compelling exploration of the psyche of the alcoholic.

Unfortunately, Elena Nepoti, Film Conservation Manager, BFI National Archive, will no longer be able to attend the introduction.

  • Directors

    Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

  • With

    David Farrar, Kathleen Byron, Jack Hawkins, Leslie Banks

  • UK 1948. 106min

  • Digital 4K

  • Certificate

    PG

Following a series of Technicolor extravaganzas, Powell and Pressburger turned to a suitably low-key presentation for this Nigel Balchin adaptation, chiming with the darker post-war mood. David Farrar gives perhaps his best performance as the embittered bomb disposal expert driven to drink, while Christopher Challis’ black and white cinematography looks especially stunning in this new restoration – the shadowy, surrealist sequences giving a compelling insight into the mental anguish of the alcoholic.

Jo Botting

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Also available on BFI Player