Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25860 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-06-21
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Black & White, PAL
• Original language: English, French, Portuguese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 77 minutes

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.

Customer Reviews

A little gem from Ealing Studios
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.

Truly a "Classic" Comedy
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."

Fun throughout
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!