Director: Roy Boulting
Cast: Wilfrid Lawson, Nova Pilbeam, Seymour Hicks, Marius Goring, Brian Worth, Percy Walsh, Lina
Barrie, Eliot Makeham, Peter Cotes, Edmund Willard, Hay Petrie, Bernard Miles, Manning Whiley
Synopsis
When the quiet German village of Altdorf is taken over by an SS platoon which proceeds to enforce Hitler’s ideals upon its inhabitants, a kindly pastor questions the agenda of ;’The New Order’; while members of his parish turn a blind eye to the insidious indoctrination. Before long, he is punished for his vocal opposition and is sent to Dachau, where, despite the abuse and brutality which he suffers, he refuses to give in to the madness and inhumanity of National Socialism.
Adapted from Ernst Toller’s 1939 play of the same name, and based on the true story of Protestant minister Martin Niemöller, Pastor Hall is the impressive third feature from the Boulting brothers (Brighton Rock). Starring Wilfrid Lawson (Pygmalion) as the iconic pastor, and Nova Pilbeam (Young and Innocent) as his formidable daughter, the film was one of the first anti-Nazi dramas ever made and had its original production delayed by British censors who were not yet ready to be openly critical of Hitler’s regime.
A bold and stirring tribute to the universal power of faith, courage and personal conviction, Pastor Hall has been newly restored from 4K scans of the nitrate duplicate negative by Powerhouse Filmsand is finally available on Blu-ray for the first time in the world.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
• New restoration from a 4K scan of the nitrate duplicate negative by Powerhouse Films
• Original mono audio
• Matthew D Hockenos on Martin Niemöller (2022): the author of Then They Came for Me: Martin
Niemöller, the Pastor Who Defied the Nazis discusses the life and legacy of the German pastor
• Richard Falcon on ‘Pastor Hall’ (2022): the ex-BBFC examiner discusses the film’s history with the
British Board of Film Censors
• Newsreel footage (1946): extract from Welt in Film featuring Niemöller speaking about post-war
German guilt
• The Dawn Guard (1941): short film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Pastor Hall actors Percy
Walsh and Bernard Miles as members of the Home Guard
• Minefield! (1944): documentary short film produced by Roy Boulting for the Army Film Unit
• New and improved subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
