The Small Back Room

media release: UK | 1949 | DCP | 106 min.

Director: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Cast: David Farrar, Jack Hawkins, Kathleen Byron

This suspenseful character study, an influence on The Hurt Locker, tells of a neurotic and alcoholic munitions expert (David Farrar) during World War II. The climax of the story, a long tense scene of bomb disposal, is a virtuoso suspense sequence that is one of the most memorable in the filmography of Powell & Pressburger (The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus). The Small Back Room, which will be screened in a new 4K restoration, also offers a uniquely atmospheric evocation of the British wartime home front.