The Ladykillers

2/20/19561h 31m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ Who was that lady I saw you outwit last night? That was no lady … That was ‘Mum’ Wilberforce, … ~

Overview:

Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.

Director:

Alexander Mackendrick

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

widow
dark comedy
parrot
gang of thieves
money
criminal
old lady
landlady
planning
steam locomotive
octogenarian
quintet
armored van robbery
rented rooms
bumbling crooks
comforting

Cast

Alec Guinness

~ as ~

Professor Marcus

Cecil Parker

~ as ~

Claude, alias 'Major Courtney'

Herbert Lom

~ as ~

Louis, alias 'Mr. Harvey'

Peter Sellers

~ as ~

Harry, alias 'Mr. Robinson'

Danny Green

~ as ~

'One-Round', alias 'Mr. Lawson'

Katie Johnson

~ as ~

Mrs. Wilberforce

Jack Warner

~ as ~

The Superintendent

Philip Stainton

~ as ~

The Sergeant

Frankie Howerd

~ as ~

The Barrow Boy

Madge Brindley

~ as ~

Large Lady (uncredited)

View full cast & crew

Reviews (2)

CinemaSerf
Written 3 year(s) ago
7
I always felt that Herbert Lom had a wonderful face for comedy; and here I think he stands out alongside Cecil Parker - always underrated, but who could be relied upon to deliver a standard of comedy haplessness consistently well on screen. Guinness and Sellers are doing what we know they are good at, so I was less impressed by them in this one. Katie Johnson gets many plaudits as "Mrs Wilberforce", though I wonder how much acting she was actually doing? Any interviews I have seen with her seem to suggest she was pretty much playing herself in this slightly more sinister of the Ealing comedies that sees Guinness and his cohorts pretend to be practicing musicians in her rickety old house whilst secretly planning a daring heist that could net them a massive £60,000. What follows is a classy mix of near-misses and precise comedy timing that actually can have you on the edge of your seat at times; but this is not, in my view, as good as the output from the late 40's - it sacrifices some of it's charm and humour to achieve the more ominous tone prevalent over the last half an hour, and I don't quite love that effect. It is a classic nonetheless that well deserves it's recent 4K restoration that brings the colours to life most vividly.
r96sk
Written 1 year(s) ago
9
A film of real quality!

'The Ladykillers' is amusing viewing. It's style of comedy is very fitting of its era, but I only mean that positively as the slapstick is undoubtedly fun to watch unfold. The cast are all worthy of a mention, though the standouts for me are Alec Guinness, Herbert Lom and Katie Johnson. The flick looks splendid too, love the set of Wilberforce's home.

Entertainment from start to finish, ya can't ask for more than that.