Passport to Pimlico is one of the great Ealing Studio comedies.
The costs of the Second World War have resulted in rationing remaining in force in post-war England. One day, some London children roll a large wheel into a hole. It sets off a buried bomb, which then reveals a medieval treasure room. Expert Professor Hatton-Jones (Rutherford) is sent for; among the artefacts, she discovers a previously unknown royal charter ceding the district of Pimlico to the exiled Duke of Burgundy. The residents are shocked to learn that they are Burgundian, not English.
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At first, they try to figure out a way to remedy the situation. Then an enterprising individual realises that rationing doesn't apply in "Burgundy". Soon everyone is buying from and selling to the English without restriction. Then the government steps in, closing the "border" with Burgundy and imposing a blockade to apply pressure on the residents to rejoin England. The Burgundians, under the leadership of shopkeeper Arthur Pemberton (Holloway), resent the government's highhanded treatment of them and fight back in humourous ways. Eventually, everyone comes to their senses, and the Burgundians return to the fold (under favourable terms).
Best part of story, including ending:
I like the ingenious ways the Burgundians obtain the necessities, despite the government's attempts to stop them.
Best scene in story:
It's funny when ordinary people first discover they are "foreigners".
Opinion about the main character:
Pemberton is clever enough to fight the government to a standstill, but realistic enough to negotiate.