Classic Movie Wednesday

The Ladykillers (1955)

When Mrs. Wilberforce (Katie Johnson) advertises a room to let little did she know that the man who showed up on her door, Professor Marcus (Alec Guinness) was there just for the room. He and his band of cohorts (Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Danny Green, and a young Peter Sellers) are there to pull a heist and they pull unsuspecting Mrs. Wilberforce right into the scheme. Hilarity ensues as the scheme is successful...at first but slowly deteriorates into a morass that the gang can not easily extract themselves from.

Trivia: The producers originally rejected director Alexander Mackendrick's choice of 80 year old Katie Johnson for the role of Mrs. Wilberforce on the grounds that she might be too frail for the project, and so they cast a younger actress - who died before filming began. The picture of Mrs. Wilberforce's late husband above the fireplace is actually a painting of Alec Guinness in his role as "The Admiral" in the earlier Ealing Studios comedy, Kind Hearts and Coronets. Mrs. Wilberforce's husband died when he "remained at the salute on the bridge" when his boat was going down. This is how The Admiral, played by Alec Guinness, died in Kind Hearts and Coronets. According to both Alexander Mackendrick and Alec Guinness, Mrs. Wilberforce's birds in the film were voiced by Peter Sellers.

I can only claim to have seen two of the Ealing Studios comedies, this one and Kind Hearts and Coronets, but both have been great little comedies and I plan to see some of the others soon. Just like yesterday, this movie was remade recently. In the remake Tom Hanks takes over for the Alec Guinness part. Guinness was great in this as a mousy mastermind with a soft heart for Mrs. Wilberforce. It is rare to see an actor that can play such diverse parts. Professor Marcus is one of his comedic roles, with others from movies like Kind Hearts, and Murder By Death. Compare this to his parts in movies like Lawrence Of Arabia, The Bridge On The River Kwai, and Doctor Zhivago and you will see what I mean. It is also one of Peter Sellers' first parts and you can see some of his future brilliance.