Tougher than usual from Phi, but all understood as one expects from experience from this top setter.   Solving time, 37 mins.

* = anagram  < = reverse

ACROSS

9 PULSATE   Cunning as ’salute’ looked like the definition  (salute p first of policemen)*

10 STAUNCH   Double definition

11 N (UCLEAR F) RE E Z ONE    (careful)*

12 MOR (T) AL S  IN

14 CIDER   Hidden reversal

15 SP LODGE

16 M (ART I) AN

17 RUN ON   cf Runyon

18 CORP(s) U LENT

23 CA (S SI) US      (Is s)<    Caus(e)

24 ALL EGRO   cf egro

DOWN

1 E PONY M    me<

2 BLOC   First letters

3 CASE-HARDEN   (search Dean)*

4 REFRESHER COURSE     Clue of the puzzle for me

5 ASTRONOMER ROYAL

6 WA(s) KE(pt)

7 IN GOOD TIME  beat (music)

8 SHEEP RUN  (pure hens)*

13 RELI N QUI(p) SH

14 CORPUSCULE   (cures couple)* less e

15 S (U R P) LICE   r = rector

19 TAT TOO

21 HAIL  “hale” = sound (healthy)

22 (s) URGE

Another fantastic puzzle from Bannsider with a crop of great clues. My favourite was 21d but there are probably half a dozen others equally as good. I don’t understand 1d though and I couldn’t get 25d.

Pleasant mid/easy puzzle - certainly much less work than the Don-Monster yesterday.

1 CA-LI-GULA
5 BOXCAR : Didn’t quite get the Spoonerism – “Rocks Cab ?”
9 PO-CHARD-S : had to look this up – these are indeed ducks
10 A-C-CORD
11 EC-STATIC : “EC” is the postcode range for the City of London.
12 CO(S)MIC : Sagan’s origin is “S” – nice clue
14 IM-MATERIAL : “I’m” is a reference to Orlando himself. It’s possibly misleading – surely “Orlando’s” should be “My” rather than “I’m” but it’s an often enough used construction in clues.
18 M-ON(T)E-VERDI
22 URANUS : didn’t get the wordplay
23 IR(RIG)ATE
24 A-P(EM)EN
25 WORKS(H)OP
26 Omitted on purpose
27 BE-R-LINER

1 COPPER-NICK-(c)EL(l) : used in coins. Note that “mineral” can loosely refer to anything that is neither animal nor vegetable : it doesn’t have to be an ore or similar.
2 LOCUST : a type of tree and an insect
3 GOA-WA(s)-Y
4 LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE : Fortunately I was enough of a nerd to know there was an architect with this surname – but had to rely on the anagram to get the forename (DELIVERED WARM HOUSING)*
6 ON-C(E)OVER
7 Omitted on purpose
8 R(I-DIC)ULE
15 AM-BU(L-AN)T
16 IN CAME-RA
17 CERULEAN : Gorgeous word which I will find excuses to use often today – it’s a sky blue colour.
20 PATH-AN
21 PEPPER – reference to the “Sergeant Pepper” and the blow-your-socks-off chilli pepper called “Scotch Bonnet”

One of the Hihobas found a nicely shaped box on his doorstep this week, following Inquisitor 59, so a small celebration will be held!

The theme to number 61 stuck out a mile! The first two across clues contained “Grand Hotel” and “On the Waterfront”, hence we were looking for the Academy Award winners for “BEST PICTURE” (24A), the ceremony being the day after the crossword’s publication. 

The answers to the film titles in the across clues were very obvious but some of the clues were pretty turgid.  Some of the other clues had easy answers but difficult clues. This always seems a disadvantage in a prize crossword to me, as I guess there will be many people who are able to submit a correct grid without having fully understood all of the clues. I could have sent it in with six or eight half-explained answers.

I have some points left for comments please!
What is the reference to “TRICKY” in the title?
I would welcome feedback on my comments on the clues to 3D, 33A, 36A, 18D and 35D.

The pictures in across clue order were:

1932: Grand Hotel
1954: On the Waterfront
1955: Marty
1984: Amadeus
1948: Hamlet
1968: Oliver
1980: Ordinary People
1928: Wings
1940: Rebecca
1933: Cavalcade
1961: West Side Story
1978: The Deer Hunter
1944: Going My Way
1949: All the King’s Men
1942: Mrs. Miniver
1970: Patton
1947: Gentleman’s Agreement
1931: Cimarron
1988: Rain Man
1960: The Apartment
1976: Rocky
1997: Titanic

Solving time : It was very easy to solve in about 1.5 hours, but sorting out the detail of the clues for this blog took an age and quite a few emails!