Sorry for the long silence readers. The start of a new semester has brought with it both exhilaration and a cramped schedule. Still, I’m glad to continue writing, and particularly happy to be reviewing this gem. Charles Crichton’s The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) is another delightful farce from London’s Ealing Studios. Like so many Ealing comedies, the film stars Alec Guinness, and here, in an Oscar nominated performance, he proves to be worth his weight in gold as an actor who can disappear into a role. Guinness once noted that he often attended his own films at theatres, and was never once recognized. Here his undistinguished features prove valuable as he takes on the role of a meek bank clerk looking to retire high on the hog after years of thankless service. Even his name, Henry Holland, seems to suggest a life of anonymity that would suit him for crime.
And what a crime it is! As a supervisor of gold bullion transfers, Holland knows the ins and outs of every delivery route. What he could do with all that gold, if only he had a way to smuggle it out if the U.K. Enter the boisterous Alfred Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway), a professional smelter specializing in French souvenirs who moves into Holland’s flat on Lavender Hill. The two men become fast friends and formulate a plan for early retirement. They recruit two career criminals, Shorty and Lackery, to assist with the heist but soon find out that neither could steal his way out of a paper bag. Still, the plan is set, and has to be enacted soon, before Holland is transferred to another division of the bank. When the capper goes awry, Holland is mistaken by the media as a hero, having appeared to escaped the hardened thieves and prevented some of the bullion from being taken. This turn of events makes it difficult for him to arrange transfer of the gold, which has been formed into statues of the Eiffel Tower, out of the country, as he’s often busy searching through Scotland Yard’s catalogue of criminal faces, ostensibly trying to identify his own accomplishes.
When he finally does get away to France with Pendelbury things get even more out of hand, as a miscommunication has caused some of the miniatures to be distributed to tourists atop the genuine Eiffel. This sequence includes some of the picture’s best cinematography and editing, raising the bar for each in studio comedy. While this scene is brilliant from a technical standpoint, it is Guinness’ function within it that makes it a standout. He simply exudes the idiosyncrasies of a bookish imp forced into extreme circumstances as he rapidly descends a spiral staircase, trying in vain to catch up with a parade of English schoolgirls intent on taking his booty back across the channel.
There are plenty of surprises and fine sequences in this film, most of which I’ll leave to be discovered, but I’d be remiss not to note Audrey Hepburn’s major film debut in the picture’s opening sequence and the blink and you’ll miss it appearance of Robert Shaw as a forensics cop. The Lavender Hill Mob is a joy, and watching it you should have no trouble seeing why it garnered an Oscar nod for Guinness and a statue for its screenplay. It doesn’t quite top Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), but it would serve as a great introduction to anyone looking to delve into the Ealing Studios’ catalogue.
Language: English
Runtime: 78 Minutes
Available through TCM.com
Grade: 3.5 Hats Off
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