A classic comedy from the golden age of the Ealing Studios.
Mild mannered bank clerk 'Dutch Holland' (Alec Guinness) concocts a daring gold bullion robbery. Engaging the help of souvenir maker Al Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway) they execute the crime and disguise the gold in the form of miniature Eiffel Towers. However, things do not go to plan when a casement of the souvenirs is accidentally opened and sold to group of British schoolgirls.
1951 was a vintage year for Ealing comedies; with both this and The Man in the White Suit (Alexander Mackendrick) hitting UK cinemas in summer of that year. Like that film, The Lavender Hill Mob is a masterpiece. It is less satirical, but equally humorous as it gleefully sends up Ealing’s own popular crime dramas such as The Blue Lamp (Basil Dearden, 1951) and Pool of London (Basil Dearden, 1951). Director Charles Crichton effortlessly apes the quasi-documentary realist approach of those movies. The heist itself is as thrilling as it is humorous and makes excellent use of its real life London backstreets and warehouse locales. Crichton also manages to out Hitchcock Hitchcock with a vertigo inducing sequence which sees Guinness and Holloway make a dizzying descent down the steps of the Eiffel Tower. Reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty climax of Saboteur (Alfred Hitchcock, 1942) but a full seven years before a similar scene in Vertigo (A. Hitchcock, 1958).
Significantly for a British film of the era, it was rewarded by the American Academy with two Oscar nominations, winning Best Original Screenplay for TEB Clarke’s excellent script. Alec Guinness was unlucky not to win in the Best Actor category, losing to Gary Cooper for High Noon (Fred Zinnermann, 1951). As the criminal mastermind with the meek exterior he delivers another excellent performance; eliciting audience sympathy for a character which could have easily evoked apathy. Guinness would eventually win an Oscar for The Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean, 1957), but it is detrimental to the Academy that they never rewarded him for one of his superlative comedy roles. Stanley Holloway is equally effective in the less showy role of co-conspirator. Surprisingly this was Guinness' and Holloway's only collaboration, although both appeared in numerous Ealing Studios productions. They make for a winning comedy team here, supported by Sidney James and Alfie Bass as fellow Mob members. Making a brief appearance in the opening sequence is future Hollywood legend Audrey Hepburn.
The Lavender Hill Mob made more impact internationally than any other Ealing film. Its theme of longing to escape from day to day drudgery is clearly a universal one. Like the best of the Ealing comedies it has hardly dated, despite its obvious post-War trappings. I would argue that The Man in the White Suit is the greatest of Ealing comedies but this movie is almost its equal. Excelling in all areas: writing, directing and acting, The Lavender Hill Mob is another Ealing masterpiece.
Significantly for a British film of the era, it was rewarded by the American Academy with two Oscar nominations, winning Best Original Screenplay for TEB Clarke’s excellent script. Alec Guinness was unlucky not to win in the Best Actor category, losing to Gary Cooper for High Noon (Fred Zinnermann, 1951). As the criminal mastermind with the meek exterior he delivers another excellent performance; eliciting audience sympathy for a character which could have easily evoked apathy. Guinness would eventually win an Oscar for The Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean, 1957), but it is detrimental to the Academy that they never rewarded him for one of his superlative comedy roles. Stanley Holloway is equally effective in the less showy role of co-conspirator. Surprisingly this was Guinness' and Holloway's only collaboration, although both appeared in numerous Ealing Studios productions. They make for a winning comedy team here, supported by Sidney James and Alfie Bass as fellow Mob members. Making a brief appearance in the opening sequence is future Hollywood legend Audrey Hepburn.
The Lavender Hill Mob made more impact internationally than any other Ealing film. Its theme of longing to escape from day to day drudgery is clearly a universal one. Like the best of the Ealing comedies it has hardly dated, despite its obvious post-War trappings. I would argue that The Man in the White Suit is the greatest of Ealing comedies but this movie is almost its equal. Excelling in all areas: writing, directing and acting, The Lavender Hill Mob is another Ealing masterpiece.
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