A mixed bag today with some old chestnuts (eg 12a, 2d & 22d), a relatively modern reference (4d) and some clues that are typical Cinephile (eg 1d & 6d).
I have a question mark against a couple of anagram indicators (27a & 19d), and I believe there is an error in 21a (made up for by the definition), but the anagram fodder in 9d made me smile. Overall an enjoyable, but in places challenging, solve.
Across
1 MURMANSK MANS (humanity’s) in MURK (obscurity)
5 SACHET ACHE (suffering) in ST (a way)
10 SLEEPER dd
11 ROBINIA ROBIN (bird) I (one) A
12 ROUEN ROUE (rake) N (northern)
13 REMINISCE RE (about) MINIS (small cars) CE (church)
14 WEDDING BELLS if said by Spooner could become ‘bedding (blankets) wells (sci-fi writer, H G Wells)’
18 STAFF COLLEGE STAFF (stick) LEG (walker) in COLE (king)
21 ALEXANDRA ALE (drink) X (unknown) AND (with) RA (sun) – the wordplay for the last element should have been ‘sun-god’ rather than simply ‘sun’ but I liked the definition ‘palatial girl’
23 INCUR IN (fashionable) CUR (dog)
24 LORELEI LOREL (Hardy fellow) EI homophone of ‘I’ (crossword setter)
25 ASPHALT ASP (snake) HALT (stop)
26 DETEST DE (of, in French) TEST (exam)
27 FEARSOME *(FROM EASE) – ‘removing’ as an anagram indicator?
Down
1 MISERY dd – for the ‘being like Scrooge’ the answer needs to be pronounced as if one were saying ‘like a miser’, not a real word but typical Cinephile
2 RHESUS dd
3 ASPEN LEAF AS (when) PEN (writer) LEAF (page)
4 SIR FRED GOODWIN *(FERRIS) D (‘d) GOOD WIN (deserved success)
6 ALBAN hidden in ‘royAL BANk’
7 HONESTLY L in HONESTY (Lunaria)
8 TRAVERSE ART (painting) reversed VERSE (poetry)
9 CRIMINAL DAMAGE *(MARMALADE ICING)
15 BIG DIPPER dd – another name for the constellation of the Plough
16 ASSAILED ASS (fool) AILED (was poorly)
17 WATER RAT TERRA (not in its element) in WAT (Tyler)
19 OCTAVO *(VOCAT[i]O[n]) – the paper size ‘octavo’ is 228mm x146mm which is close to that of A5 (210mm x 148mm) – ‘discovered’ as an anagram indicator?
20 WRITHE WRIT (summons) HE (man)
22 ATLAS dd
I think 27a can be read as ‘re-moving’. An easy puzzle, but an enjoyable one. I like 14a.