290. The Ladykillers (1955)

Directed By Alexander Mackendrick

Synopsis

A gang of robbers rent an old lady's room as a way to scope out a job, they decide to use the old lady as a convenient courier for their sting. She eventually finds out about the robbery and they decide that they have to kill her to get away with it.

Review

Talk about dark comedies, this is so dark that it almost moves away from the comedy completely. The main enjoyment of the film is simple schadenfreude and there is nothing wrong with that when it is done as well as it is here.

For me this is not the best of the Ealing Comedies, Kind Hearts and Coronets still holds that special place in my heart. It is, however, a very good one indeed, the way that all the events match together towards their inexorable conclusions is exciting and thrilling to watch.

The big stand-outs here are really Alec Guiness in a part that completely transforms him (this man seem to play old characters since he was born), and the old lady, who plays here part with an extreme naturalness. Peter Sellers shows up in one of his earliest parts but doesn't really shine. The script is also five stars. Great film.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

American William Rose wrote the screenplay, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay and won the BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay. He claimed to have dreamt the entire movie and merely had to remember the details when he awoke.

The Ladykillers: