Two contrasting film stars allegedly said ‘1A’ (five words) and ‘49/27’ (six words in total). Remaining unclued lights (including one of three words and two pairs) give the birthplace of one and the place where the other died and the titles of two films in which they starred. Solvers must shade the two clued lights that give their surnames. Fifteen special clues include a definition and a hidden letter mixture of the light. Ignore two apostrophes and two accents.

Across

9 Chloe’s black hat (4)
11 Watt once sounded clearly ill (5)
12 Dunes being sandy (3)
14 Muddy bairns shower (4)
15 Lawmakers dined on Asian bread (6)
16 Flower wooden sword deadheaded (5)
17 Dress on Victoria’s dustman (5)
20 Dozen outlaws freed (4)
21 Bow before Macron (4)
22 Judge seemed fair (4)
25 Eliminate habit of Laurencin rudely blanking Curie (7)
26 Colleens squashing 200 insects (5)
28 French painter redecorated deficiently (5)
34 Spit seeped out (4)
36 Plant from Albania (4)
37 Papa visited Nantes (4)
40 Former VP maybe with ex-president in uniform (5)
42 Visitor thought aloud (5)
44 Crimson bird no longer crosses glen (6)
45 Review set point (4)
46 Win or lose (3)
47 Something of value Tracy rejected (5)
48 Stuff pharmacy sold (4)

Down

1 Possibly a Maltese maligner’s confession (8)
2 Major vessel capsized in anchorage with no depth (5)
3 Harmonite sprayed not one fungicide (6)
4 Hero caught killer (4)
5 Heartless fighter immature about conflict (7, two words)
6 Ancient gaoled for corruption (6, hyphened)
7 Flowers formerly close to Indian city (6)
8 Hitherto we pitched up outside US city (6)
12 Mean abode adapted for simplest creature (9)
17 Medusa’s sisters in a rage seething mid-ocean (6)
18 Turncoats agreed son needs sorting (9)
24 Sign of a cold hollow nature unknown in judge (6)
30 Gratiano’s wife coiling like mermaid (7)
31 Adult cat starts to intone childishly like a singing kitten? (6)
32 Hardly ever had infiltrating spies turned (6)
33 Extended family nearly all hit Oceanian island (6)
35 Nurse begins to work for workers’ champion (6)
39 Eliot finally into simple poetry (5)
41 Skene piercing skin (4)
43 Marine has eczema (3)

 
A first prize of £30 for the first correct solution opened on 1 March. There are two runners-up prizes of £20. Please scan or photograph entries and email them (including the crossword number in the subject field) to crosswords@spectator.co.uk. The dictionary prize is not available. We will accept postal entries again at some point. Apologies that there may be a delay in sending out prizes at present.