See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

21 used & new from £1.46
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Lavender Hill Mob [DVD] [1951]
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images

The Lavender Hill Mob [DVD] [1951]

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

Available from these sellers.


11 new from £2.50 10 used from £1.46
Learn about Lovefilm
Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Lavender Hill Mob [DVD] [1951]
41% buy
The Lavender Hill Mob [DVD] [1951] 4.6 out of 5 stars (5)
£4.98
The Lavender Hill Mob [DVD] [1951]
33% buy the item featured on this page:
The Lavender Hill Mob [DVD] [1951] 4.6 out of 5 stars (7)
The Ladykillers [DVD] [1955]
18% buy
The Ladykillers [DVD] [1955] 4.4 out of 5 stars (7)
£4.78
Two For The Road [DVD] [1966]
5% buy
Two For The Road [DVD] [1966] 3.8 out of 5 stars (12)
£3.98
Explore similar items

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, PAL
  • Language English, French, Portuguese
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: U
  • Studio: Warner Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: 21 Jun 2004
  • Run Time: 77 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000260OXU
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 42,739 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Reviews

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
In Ealing Studio's classic crime caper THE LAVENDER HILL MOB, Alec Guinness plays Mr. Holland, a fussy and unnecessarily overprotective bank supervisor. However, unbeknowst to his employers the Bank of England, he is the leader of the titular crime gang. So, on the day that a gold bullion lorry is robbed, Mr. Holland is the last person to be suspected. Winning an Oscar for Best Story & Screenplay THE LAVENDER HILL MOB is an Ealing delight that sees Guinness revelling in his scheming character. Look out for the fleeting appearance of a young Audrey Hepburn in the opening scene.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Ladykillers [VHS] [1955]

The Ladykillers [VHS] [1955]

VHS ~ Alec Guinness
4.6 out of 5 stars (10) 
The Man In The White Suit [VHS] [1951]

The Man In The White Suit [VHS] [1951]

VHS ~ Alec Guinness
4.2 out of 5 stars (5) 
The Ladykillers [DVD] [1955]

The Ladykillers [DVD] [1955]

DVD ~ Alec Guinness
4.4 out of 5 stars (7)  £4.78
Passport To Pimlico [DVD] [1949]

Passport To Pimlico [DVD] [1949]

DVD ~ Stanley Holloway
4.2 out of 5 stars (9)  £4.98
Passport To Pimlico [VHS] [1949]

Passport To Pimlico [VHS] [1949]

VHS ~ Stanley Holloway
4.9 out of 5 stars (10) 
› Explore similar items

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
silver screen classics
alec guinness

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
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 review is from: The Lavender Hill Mob [VHS] [1951] (VHS Tape)
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.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
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)   
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."

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
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)   
This review is from: The Lavender Hill Mob [VHS] [1951] (VHS Tape)
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!

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
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 23 months ago 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

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

Beauty without the Beast

Olay Regenerist Daily 3 Point Treatment Cream
From au naturel to party glam, we have all the best names in cosmetics and skincare.

›Discover Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

  

Boys Smell

Lynx Africa Body Spray and After Shave Gift set
But we make sure they smell good...

›Discover male grooming at Amazon.co.uk

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates