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The Lavender Hill Mob

7.2

2,980

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Original title

The Lavender Hill Mob

Year

1951

Running time

81 min.

Country

United Kingdom

Director

Charles Crichton

Screenwriter

T.E.B. Clarke

Cast

Music

Georges Auric

Cinematography

Douglas Slocombe (B&W)

Producer

Ealing Studios, The Rank Organisation

Genre

Comedy | Crime. Heist Film

Synopsis

Henry Holland (Alec Guinness) is a shy retiring man who dreams of being rich and living the good life. Faithfully, for 20 years, he has worked as a bank transfer agent for the delivery of gold bullion. One day he befriends Pendlebury, a maker of souvenirs. Holland remarks that, with Pendlebury's smelting equipment, one could forge the gold into harmless-looking toy Eiffel Towers and smuggle the gold from England into France. Soon after, the two plant a story to gain the services of professional criminals Lackery and Shorty. Together, the four plot their crime, leading to unexpected twists and turns.

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Rankings Position

#102 Best British Movies

Awards: 1952: Oscar: Best Story and Screenplay. 2 Nominations

1952: Directors Guild of America (DGA): Nominated for Best Director

1951: BAFTA Awards: Best British Film. Nominated for Best Film

1951: National Board of Review: Best Screenplay

1951: Venice Film Festival: nominated to Golden Lion - Best Picture.

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Critics' reviews

"Clarke's script, Charles Crichton's direction, and Georges Auric's music contribute to what is probably the most nearly perfect fubsy comedy of all time. It's a minor classic, a charmer."

Pauline Kael: The New Yorker
"Though [Guinness's] performance may not immediately announce itself as his best, it's certainly one of his most representative, a thoroughly recognizable character of unseen depths and unexpected capabilities"

Keith Phipps: AV Club
"Except for a couple of places, there is no hilarity in The Lavender Hill Mob. But its humors are so ingenious and persistent that it is one big chuckle from beginning to end."

Bosley Crowther: The New York Times
"A hilarious tongue-in-cheek crime comedy, one of the finest to come out of the Ealing Studios during their most prolific years."

TV Guide
"Charles Crichton’s direction is subtle but inventive – check out the snaking, near-single-take opening in a Rio cabana – and the performances, writing and plotting are faultless."

Tom Huddleston: Time Out
"Alec Guinness shines in this hilarious British comedy."

David Parkinson: Empire
"Helped by a peerless script and a great team of actors, the film is both a joyous comedy and a tense thriller."

Sukhdev Sandhu: Telegraph
"One of British cinema's most evocative films."

Ben Walsh: The Independent

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The Lavender Hill Mob

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