Review of The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) by Max M — 27 Sep 2009

Wonderful madcap caper comedy about a nebbish banker (the great Alec Guinness) who job it is to oversee the transfer of gold bullion, then hits upon the idea to rob the armored car that makes the transport.

One of the many great comedies to come out of Britain's famed Ealing Studios (along with The Man in the White Suit, The Ladykillers, and Kind Hearts and Coronets, just to name a mere few) that typified England's post-WWII can-do spirit as well as showcased their unique wit and self-deprecating humor.

Stalwart Ealing director Charles Crichton (who also made the terrific The Titfield Thunderbolt and would go on to direct the very Ealing in spirit, A Fish Called Wanda) stages the action with a terrific comic breeziness that is almost child-like in spirit, all captured by cinematographer Douglas Slocombe's (who would go on to shoot the first three Indiana Jones pictures for Steven Spielberg) ideally placed camera, and expertly cut by editor Seth Holt, who would, several years later, become a fine director for another revered British studio, Hammer Films, helming such terrific suspense pictures as The Nanny, Scream of Fear, and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb.

Look for a young Audrey Hepburn in the opening scene.