Cinema from the Rubble – The Post-War Politics of Ealing Studios
Benedict Morrison to give talk hosted by The Arts Society Ealing
A scene from Passport to Pimlico
April 13, 2026
Ealing Studios may be best remembered today for its warm, witty comedies, but a new lecture from The Arts Society Ealing invites audiences to look again — this time through the dust and debris of post-war Britain. On Monday 27 April, film scholar Benedict Morrison will explore how the studio’s most celebrated films emerged not from cosy nostalgia, but from a landscape still marked by bombsites, rationing and profound social change. The talk takes place at St Barnabas Church Hall, Pitshanger Lane (W5 1QG), with doors opening at 6.45pm and the lecture beginning at 7.30pm.
Under the long stewardship of Sir Michael Balcon, Ealing Studios reached its creative peak in 1949, releasing Passport to Pimlico, Whisky Galore! and Kind Hearts and Coronets — films now cherished for their charm, eccentricity and gentle subversion.
Morrison’s lecture, Cinema from the Rubble: The Post-War Politics of Ealing Studios, reconsiders these works in the context of the new cinematic movements emerging across Europe at the time. Like the masterpieces of Italian neo-realism, he argues, Ealing’s films were shaped by the physical and psychological aftermath of war, documenting the lives of ordinary citizens navigating a country still visibly scarred.
Seen this way, the comedies take on a deeper resonance: stories of community resilience, shifting identities and the quiet determination to rebuild. Morrison will guide audiences through this alternative reading, revealing how the familiar humour of Ealing’s films sits atop a more complex political and cultural terrain.
A lecturer in Literature and Film at the University of Exeter, Morrison has recently published Complicating Articulation in Art Cinema with Oxford University Press and is currently researching post-war British comedy, cultural responses to Covid-19 and narratives of extinction.
Visitors are warmly welcomed. Tickets are £10 per lecture (£3 for students) and can be purchased by card on the evening.
The Arts Society Ealing belongs to the large umbrella organisation, The Arts Society, previously known as the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS), which was founded in 1968. The local Society has a membership of around 140.
The Arts Society Ealing holds 10 lectures a year and more information can be found by visiting its web site.
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