- Film Review
- Reviewed By David Parkinson
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5 out of 5
A supreme blend of the seedy and the sinister, this was Ealing's last post on the comedy front - indeed, the studio was shutting up shop as this film went on release. Directed by a mischievous Alexander Mackendrick, it has a gang of ruthless thugs being stymied by a dotty innocent (the fabulous Katie Johnson as their landlady). This is British comedy at its best, with eccentric characters never for a second seeming out of place in the most everyday locations. Alec Guinness and his minions (among them Herbert Lom and Peter Sellers) are a marvellous collection of misfits, but they lose every scene to the Bafta-winning Johnson.
Plot Summary
Classic Ealing black comedy starring Alec Guinness and Cecil Parker. A gang finds its plans for an audacious robbery hindered by an eccentric old landlady.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Professor Marcus
- Alec Guinness
- Major Courtney
- Cecil Parker
- Louis
- Herbert Lom
- Harry
- Peter Sellers
- One-Round
- Danny Green
- Mrs Wilberforce
- Katie Johnson
- Police superintendent
- Jack Warner
- Police sergeant
- Philip Stainton
- Barrow boy
- Frankie Howerd
- Cab driver
- Kenneth Connor
- Lettice
- Edie Martin
- Detective
- Jack Melford
Crew
- Director
- Alexander Mackendrick
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