• Home
  • News
  • Top Picks
    • Movies & Films: Top 25
    • Documentaries: Top 25
    • Films For Students: Top 10
    • Music Videos: Top 10
  • Categories
    • Film
    • Documentary
    • Shorts
    • Blog
    • Calendar
    • Links
    • About

Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World

Libertarian Movies, Films & Documentaries

All at Sea (1957)

Tagged: Eminent domain, Government enforced morality

A retired Royal Navy captain challenges corrupt local government after his property is condemned and seized. [ All at Sea credits: Dir: Charles Frend/ Alec Guinness, Irene Brown, Percy Herbert/ 82min/ Comedy/Britain/Eminent Domain, Government Enforced Morality] Note: film also listed as Barnacle Bill.

“All At Sea is a wonderful film — entertaining, and with strong libertarian content, focused as it is on both the misuse of eminent domain and attempts by government to control morality.”

During the 1950s, Britain’s Ealing Studios produced some of the finest comedies ever made. One of Ealing’s less well-known triumphs, All at Sea, is the story of a just-retired Royal Navy captain who intends to operate an amusement pier in his retirement, only to find, after he has already purchased the pier, that the local city council plans to shut it down.

The council sees the pier’s offerings—dancing, drinking, and games of chance—as stimulants to public immorality, and coincidentally a few corrupt members of the council are positioned to profit from the pier’s demise. But the captain, the proud descendant of a long-line of seafarers, is no pushover, and he knows something of maritime law and naval battlefield tactics!

All At Sea is a wonderful film — entertaining, and with strong libertarian content, focused as it is on both the misuse of eminent domain and attempts by government to control morality. Modern audiences will typically associate Alec Guinness with his dramatic persona as Obi-Wan Kenobi, but in his earlier years Guinness was one of the finest comedic actors of his time, and he shines in the lead role here; many supporting roles in this film are also played with wit and style.

How to See It

Amazon (DVD-US)
Amazon (DVD-Europe)
Amazon (Instant Video)
YouTube Video Search
Online Video Search

Links

IMDB
Wikipedia

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Featured Post

fbi lovebirds

FBI Lovebirds: Undercovers | Film Review

Two romantically-involved FBI agents assigned to “objectively and dispassionately” investigate possible crimes by the Trump presidency privately discuss their loathing of the president and his supporters. [ FBI Lovebirds: Undercovers credits: Dir: Richard Kuhlman/ 82 min/ Written by: Phelim McAleer/ Dean … Continue Reading

miss virginia

Miss Virginia | Film

A young mother (Virginia Walden Ford) fights a pitched, ultimately victorious, battle with educational authorities to create the District of Columbia voucher program. Based on a true story. [ Miss Virginia credits: Dir: R.J. Daniel Hanna/ Nadji Jeter, Matthew Modine, Aunjanue Ellis/ 102 min/ Biography, Drama/ … Continue Reading

snowden

Snowden (2016)

When a National Security Agency (NSA) employee discovers the agency is routinely spying on American citizens, in violation of the US Constitution, he risks all to tell the American public. Based on a true story. [ Snowden credits: Dir: Oliver Stone/ Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo/ 134 … Continue Reading

Themes

Abuse of power American revolution Anti-draft Anti-regulation Anti-slavery Anti-socialism Anti-taxation Anti-war Ayn Rand Corrupt government Creator as hero Democide Econ 101 Eminent domain Equality & law Escape from socialism Freedom of speech Free press as hero Government as bigot Government as torturer Government enforced morality Government healthcare Government schools Incompetent government Individualism John Stossel Law & liberty Legalize Drugs Libertarian heroes Libertarianism 101 Power corrupts Power worship Pro-capitalism Pro-immigration Propaganda Psychiatric coercion Resistance to tyranny Right to secede Search & seizure Second amendment Sexual liberty Social tolerance Unions & monopolies Voluntarism Working for government

Genres/Categories

Action-Adventure Animated Biography Blog Comedy Documentary Drama Family Featured Film Foreign History Horror Music-Dance Netflix News Romance SciFi-Fantasy Shorts Thriller Upcoming Western

About Miss Liberty

This site is a collection of films and documentaries of particular interest to libertarians (and those interested in libertarianism). It began as a book, Miss Liberty’s Guide to Film: Movies for the Libertarian Millennium, where many of the recommended films were first reviewed. The current collection has grown to now more than double the number in that original list, and it’s growing still.

  • RSS

© 2023 Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World. All Rights Reserved