Sammy Rice Kathleen Byron as Susan Jack Hawkins as R.B. Waring Leslie Banks as Colonel A.K. Holland Michael Gough as Captain Dick Stuart Cyril Cusack as Corporal Taylor Milton Rosmer as Professor Mair Emrys Jones as Joe Walter Fitzgerald as Brine Renée Asherson as A.T.S. corporal Henry Caine as Sergeant Major Rose Sid James as "Knucksie" Moran, barkeeper and ex-boxer Sam Kydd as Private Crowhurst Michael Goodliffe as Till Geoffrey Keen as Pinker June Elvin as Gillian David Hutcheson as Norval Robert Morley as the government minister (credited as "A Guest") Roddy Hughes as Welsh doctor Bryan Forbes as Peterson, the dying gunner (credited as Brian Forbes) Roderick Lovell as Captain Pearson James Dale as Brigadier Elwyn Brook-Jones as Gladwin Anthony Bushell as Colonel Strang (Royal Engineers OC) Julian Somers as Dr Bryan James Carney as Sergeant Groves Ted Heath's Kenny Baker Swing Group as Hickory Tree Band Kenny Baker as Trumpeter Frederic Lewis as Fred Lewis (credited as Frederick Lewis) Patrick Macnee as a committee member (uncredited) Production The Small Back Room marked the return of Powell and Pressburger to Alexander Korda after a profitable but somewhat contentious time at the Rank Organisation that culminated with The Red Shoes. The film was shot at a number of studios: Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire; Worton Hall Studios in Isleworth, Middlesex; and Shepperton Studios in Shepperton, Surrey. Location shooting took place at Chesil Bank and St Catherine's Chapel, Abbotsbury in Dorset; Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain; on the Victoria Embankment in London; and at Abbotsbury station. In his autobiography, A Life in Movies, Michael Powell acknowledged the influence of German expressionist films such as Nosferatu in leading him towards making films such as The Red Shoes, Tales of Hoffmann and The Small Back Room. Critical reception The review for Variety said that although the film lacked "the production tricks usually associated with [Powell and Pressburger]" it was nevertheless "a craftsmanlike job". It praised the performance of David Farrar as "his best role", and lauded the careful casting of the "lesser roles." The Small Back Room was nominated for a 1950 BAFTA Award as "Best British Film". DVD The Region 2 DVD was released in May 2004 by Studio Canal / Warner Home Video. In Region 1, The Criterion Collection released the film in August 2008. The release included an essay, an interview with cinematographer Christopher Challis, an audio commentary and excerpts from