Killer comedy over tea and crumpets

"The Ladykillers" has aged remarkably well over the past 59 years, in this humble CineVerse moderator's opinion. Last night, our film gab group gathered to hash out the merits of this mirthful comedic romp and came away with these observations:

HOW IS THIS MOVIE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU EXPECTED, ESPECIALLY FOR A HEIST FILM?

·       It’s not really concerned with the heist at all; we don’t see the planning, or the gathering of the individual experts. Instead, it’s focused on the colorful robber characters and their relationship with a little old lady.

·       The humor is decidedly British and satirical but transcends cultural boundaries and limitations by being universally funny. This is in contrast to many British comedies that are arguably more dry, snooty and inaccessible to many Americans.

·       The film benefits from spot-on ensemble casting, featuring even having the luxury of designating future comedic star Peter Sellers in an unrewarding small part that doesn’t yet display his full talents. This is also the first pairing of Sellers and Herbert Lom, who would play adversaries in the forthcoming Pink Panther pictures.

·       This is Technicolor film, which was kind of a rarity for Ealing Studios and British films of this period.

·       The film is imbued with ample dark elements for a comedy, including foreboding music, menacing shadows and silhouettes, talk of murder, etc.

WHAT ARE SOME INTERESTING THEMES THE FILMMAKERS PLUMB IN “THE LADYKILLERS”?

·       Ironic justice: the fact that these dangerous thieves are defeated by a little old lady and end up destroying one another.

·       The meek shall inherit the earth, in the form of Mrs. Wilberforce reluctantly inheriting all the stolen money.

·       Parody of and yet respect for the elderly: Mrs. Wilberforce is a stereotype of the naiveté and senility exhibited by many senior citizens, yet her character is ultimately depicted as a lot more resilient than she looks or than the thieves give her credit for; in the end, she’s been grossly underestimated and is the last one standing.

·       This film was actually crafted to be a statement on conservatism in postwar Britain. Mrs. Wilberforce and her peers symbolize the pervasive spirit of Victorian England blocking modernization and improvement.

o   Consider comments by Mackendrick, the director, given during a recent interview: “The fable of The Ladykillers is a comic and ironic joke about the condition of postwar England. After the war, the country was going through a kind of quiet, typically British but nevertheless historically fundamental revolution. Though few people were prepared to face up to it, the great days of the Empire were gone forever. British society was shattered with the same kind of conflicts appearing in many other countries: an impoverished and disillusioned upper class, a brutalized working class, juvenile delinquency among the Mods and Rockers, an influx of foreign and potentially criminal elements, and a collapse of 'intellectual' leadership. All of these threatened the stability of the national character.

o   "Though at no time did Bill Rose or I ever spell this out, look at the characters in the film. The Major (played by Cecil Parker), a conman, is a caricature of the decadent military ruling class. One Round (Danny Green) is the oafish representative of the British masses. Harry (Peter Sellers) is the spiv, the worthless younger generation. Louis (Herbert Lom) is the dangerously unassimilated foreigner. They are a composite cartoon of Britain's corruption. The tiny figure of Mrs. Wilberforce (Wilberforce was the name of the 19th-century idealist who called for the abolition of slavery) is plainly a much diminished Britannia. Her house is in a cul-de-sac. Shabby and cluttered with memories of the days when Britain's navy ruled the world and captains gallantly stayed on the bridge as their ship went down, her house is structurally unsound. Dwarfed by the grim landscape of railway yards and screaming express trains, it is Edwardian England, an anachronism in the contemporary world.

o   "Bill Rose's sentimental hope for the country that he and I saw through fond but skeptical eyes was that it might still, against all logic, survive its enemies. A theme, a message of sorts, one that I felt very attached to. But one that it took quite some time for me to consciously recognize and appreciate."

DOES THIS MOVIE REMIND YOU OF ANY OTHER FILMS OR WORKS OF LITERATURE?

·       The Ransom of Red Chief, a story by O’Henry

·       A Fish Called Wanda, another cinematic comedy about a band of thieves who, as a subplot, also try to off an old lady and her dog

·       Hitchcock’s early silent film The Lodger, which features a silhouetted title character who appears at the front door like Alec Guinness does in this picture

·       Arsenic and Old Lace

OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY ALEXANDER MACKENDRICK

·       The Man in the White Suit

·       The Sweet Smell of Success