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The Lavender Hill Mob [VHS] [1951]
 
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The Lavender Hill Mob [VHS] [1951]

VHS ~ Alec Guinness
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Actors: Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sid James, Alfie Bass, Marjorie Fielding
  • Directors: Charles Crichton
  • Writers: T.E.B. Clarke
  • Producers: Michael Balcon, Michael Truman
  • Format: Black & White, HiFi Sound, PAL
  • Language English, French, Portuguese
  • Classification: U
  • Studio: Warner Home Video
  • VHS Release Date: 6 Jul 1998
  • Run Time: 77 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004CJE5
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 7,382 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

    Popular in these categories:

    #22 in  Video > Classic Films > Actors > Guinness, Alec
    #66 in  Video > Classic Films > Comedy > 1950s

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Directed by Charles Crichton, who would much later direct John Cleese in A Fish Called Wanda (1988), 1951's The Lavender Hill Mob is the most ruefully thrilling of the Ealing Comedies. Alec Guinness plays a bowler-hatted escort of bullion to the refineries. His seeming timidity, weak 'r's and punctiliousness mask a typically Guinness-like patient cunning. "I was aware I was widiculed but that was pwecisely the effect I was stwiving to achieve". He's actually plotting a heist. With more conventionally cockney villains Sid James and Alfie Bass in tow, as well as the respectable but ruined Stanley Holloway, Guinness' perfect criminal plan works in exquisite detail, then unravels just as exquisitely, culminating in a nail-biting police car chase in which you can't help rooting for the villains. The Lavender Hill Mob depicts a London still up to its knees in rubble from World War II, a world of new hope but continued austerity, a budding new order in which everything seems up for grabs; as such it could be regarded as a lighter hearted cinematic cousin to Carol Reed's 1949 masterpiece The Third Man. The Lavender Hill Mob also sees the first, fleeting on-screen appearance of Audrey Hepburn in the opening sequence. --David Stubbs


Synopsis

A timid bank clerk, schemes to get back at his employer, the Bank of England, by masterminding a foolproof heist. Not everything goes according to plan however.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A little gem from Ealing Studios, 12 April 2001
By A Customer
This is Alec Guinness at the peak of his career. Both Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway make a great team. Sid James and Alfie Bass also appear and make this film a joy to watch. It is a film which is all too obvious of the era in which it was made but it is still a timeless piece of entertainment. There are some excellent nailbiting chase scenes especially the one in France. The Lavender Hill Mob is a film which makes you feel good after viewing it. It has a light hearted storyline which makes you sympathise with the crooks and it makes you route for them all the way by keeping your fingers crossed that they get away with it - do they get away with it? - Watch the film and find out. For any Alec Guinness fan this is a must have video for your collection and I would also recommend adding The Ladykillers to your film library which, although it has a rather sinister plot line for a comedy it keeps you laughing.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly a "Classic" Comedy, 27 Sep 2005
By Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Lavender Hill Mob [DVD] [1951] (DVD)
I recently purchased The Horse's Mouth (1958) from Amazon as well as "The Alec Guinness Collection" which includes The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) plus four others: Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Captain's Paradise (1953), and The Ladykillers (1955). Frankly, I was amazed how well each of the six films has held up since I first saw it.

This film was directed by Charles Crighton. Noteworthy in the first scene is a brief appearance by Audrey Hepburn, identified in the credits as "Chiquita." After she departs, Henry Holland (played brilliantly, as always, by Guinness) begins to recount the Lavender Hill saga to his companion. As he explains, he was a mild-mannered fellow who supervised the transportation by van of gold bullion. His boss, the armed guards who accompany him, and those who receive the shipments all respect his fastidious (albeit anal retentive) attitude toward his duties. Holland seems to have no private life except for his friendship with Alfred Pendlebury (played by Stanley Holloway) who owns a company which manufactures paperweights. For reasons which will not be revealed here, Holland and Pendlebury decide to steal a shipment worth (in 1951) several million pounds. They realize they will need help so they recruit two smalltime Cockney crooks, Lackery Wood (Sidney James) and Shorty Fisher (Alfie Bass), and thereby create the Lavender Hill Mob. In my opinion, how they plan and then complete the heist is far less entertaining than what happens afterward. T.E.B. Clarke received an Academy Award for his script which, paradoxically, is quite simple and yet wholly unpredictable. The acting is consistently first-rate. Also, while recently seeing this film again, I enjoyed the exterior shots London and Paris more than 50 years ago. This comedy is indeed a "classic."

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun throughout, 7 April 2005
By Mr. Graham R. Dudley "graham1382" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
A fine cast, an excellent story and a fun film throughout.

One couldn't ask for much more, out of a fine comedy and, in this film, the only thing one wants more of is the film itself.

What an inspired idea; the quiet bank clerk (Alec Guinness), a new lodger (Alfie Bass) and, of course, not forgetting our favourite Syd James! One wouldn't have thought such a trio could possibly become daring master criminals, but through sheer brilliance, they are made into just that. Alec Guinness changes from his role as a quiet, meek little bank clerk, into the brains behind a daring and ingenious gold bullion robbery. It's almost a pity they didn't get away with it!

Definitely one for the collection!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily Ealing's masterwork
This is far superior to the unsubtle Ladykillers and more sympathetic than the very good K.H.A.C. It is subtle, clever, and masterfully played by Guinness. Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2007 by Lou Knee

4.0 out of 5 stars Revenge of the Little Man
"The Lavender Hill Mob" is another classic Ealing film ; why don't they make 'em like that any more ? Read more
Published on 3 Jan 2006 by L. Davidson

4.0 out of 5 stars Ealing brilliance
Ealing studios are famous for making very dry and witty comedies; they're probably most famous for the excellent 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' and darkly comic 'The Ladykillers', but... Read more
Published on 10 Jun 2005 by Nick Brown

4.0 out of 5 stars Alec Guinness decides to steal some Bank of England gold
"The Lavender Hill Mob" is the brainchild of Henry Holland (Alec Guinness), a long suffering bank employee who is responsible for sitting in the back of the armored car and keep a... Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2003

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