Editing Passport to Pimlico (section)

==Production==
''Passport to Pimlico'' was produced by [[Michael Balcon]], the head of [[Ealing Studios]]; he appointed [[Henry Cornelius]] as director.{{sfn|Sellers|2015|pp=140–141}} The film was one of three comedies to be produced simultaneously, alongside ''[[Whisky Galore! (1949 film)|Whisky Galore!]]'' and ''[[Kind Hearts and Coronets]]''; all three were released into UK cinemas over two months.{{sfn|Barr|1977|p=80}}{{refn|[[Brian McFarlane (writer)|Brian McFarlane]], writing for the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', states that although it was not an aim of releasing the three films together, together they "established the brand name of 'Ealing comedy'".<ref>{{Cite ODNB|id=93789|title=Ealing Studios (act. 1907–1959)|first=Brian|last=McFarlane| author-link=Brian McFarlane (writer)}}</ref>|group= n}}

The plot was an original story by [[T. E. B. Clarke]], a writer of both comedy and drama scripts for Ealing; his other screenplays for the studio include ''[[Hue and Cry (film)|Hue and Cry]]'' (1947), ''[[Against the Wind (1948 film)|Against the Wind]]'' (1948), ''[[The Blue Lamp]]'' (1950), ''[[The Lavender Hill Mob]]'' (1951) and ''[[The Titfield Thunderbolt]]'' (1953).{{sfn|Barr|1977|p=81}} Clarke was inspired by an incident during the Second World War, when the maternity ward of [[The Ottawa Hospital|Ottawa Civic Hospital]] was [[Extraterritoriality of Princess Margriet's birth|temporarily declared extraterritorial]] by the Canadian government so that when the then-[[Juliana of the Netherlands|Princess Juliana of the Netherlands]] gave birth to [[Princess Margriet of the Netherlands]], the baby was born on Dutch territory, and would not lose her right to the throne.{{sfn|Sellers|2015|p=135}} The airlift of food supplies into the Burgundian enclave was influenced by the flights of food and supplies during the [[Berlin Blockade]] of June 1948 – May 1949.{{sfn|Wilson|2004|p=109}} 

The music for the film was composed by [[Georges Auric]], who had been involved in several other productions for Ealing Studios.{{sfn|Sellers|2015|p=138}}

The lead part of Pemberton was initially offered to [[Jack Warner (actor)|Jack Warner]]. He turned down the role because he was committed to another film, and so the part was instead offered to [[Stanley Holloway]].{{sfn|Sellers|2015|p=137}} [[Alastair Sim]] was offered the role of Professor Hatton-Jones, but after he turned it down, [[Margaret Rutherford]] was cast instead.{{sfn|Barr|1977|p=95}}

===Filming===
''Passport to Pimlico'' is set during a [[heatwave]] that occurred in Britain in 1947, but, despite this, filming took place during 1948's abnormally wet summer.<ref name="Guard photo">{{cite news|title=Passport to Pimlico: a behind the scenes tour – in pictures|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2012/may/28/passport-to-pimlico-in-pictures|access-date=1 October 2016|work=The Guardian|date=28 May 2012}}</ref> The poor weather caused delays in production, which led to the film being over-time and over-budget.{{sfn|Sellers|2015|p=140}} Shooting started early each day, in an attempt to get the first successful shot completed before 9:00 am. An average of ten takes a day were taken, in an attempt to get two and a half minutes of usable film per day.{{sfn|Sellers|2015|p=145}}{{refn|By comparison, commercial filming practice in 2015 was to take an average of 40 takes a day with 10 seconds a day of usable film recorded.{{sfn|Sellers|2015|p=145}}|group= n}} There were arguments between Cornelius and Balcon throughout the production, because Balcon was unhappy with what he saw as poor direction. Cornelius left Ealing Studios after working on ''Passport to Pimlico'' and did not work for the studio again.{{sfn|Sellers|2015|p=141}}

The outdoor scenes were not shot in Pimlico, but about a mile away in [[Lambeth]]. A set was built on a large Second World War [[bombsite]] just south of the [[Lambeth Road]] at the junction of [[Hercules Road]]. At the conclusion of filming, the site had to be returned to the same bomb-damaged state as before, to enable the locals to claim [[War Damage Commission|war damage compensation]].<ref name="Guard photo" /> The site has since been built on, and now features 1960s municipal flats.{{sfn|Mitchell|2011|p=18}}