Synopsis
Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.
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Cast
- Alec GuinnessProfessor Marcus
- Cecil ParkerClaude, alias 'Major Courtney'
- Herbert LomLouis, alias 'Mr. Harvey'
- Peter SellersHarry, alias 'Mr. Robinson'
- Danny Green'One-Round', alias 'Mr. Lawson'
- Katie JohnsonMrs. Wilberforce
- Jack WarnerThe Superintendent
- Philip StaintonThe Sergeant
- Frankie HowerdThe Barrow Boy
- Madge BrindleyLarge Lady (uncredited)
Recommendations
- 100
The Guardian
Near flawless. - 100
TV Guide Magazine
The last of the comedies produced by the Ealing Studios, and one of the finest, with a supremely dark tone which makes a climactic series of murders as hilarious as they are grotesque. - 100
The Guardian
It's a film with jazz in its bones and rhythm to its beats. - 90
The New Yorker
This sinister black comedy of murder accelerates until it becomes a grotesque fantasy of murder. The actors seem to be having a boisterous good time getting themselves knocked off. - 80
Variety
This is an amusing piece of hokum, being a parody of American gangsterdom interwoven with whimsy and exaggeration that makes it more of a macabre farce. Alec Guinness sinks his personality almost to the level of anonymity. - 80
Time Out
A finely wrought image of terminal stasis, national, political (Charles Barr suggests the gang as the first post-war Labour government), and/or creative (the house as Ealing, Johnson as Balcon?). Whatever, Mackendrick immediately upped for America and the equally dark ironies of Sweet Smell of Success. - 80
The New York Times
Perhaps it is slightly labored. Perhaps it does have the air of an initially brilliant inspiration that has not worked out as easily as it seemed it should. Still and all, Mr. Rose's nimble writing and Alexander Mackendrick's directing skill have managed to assure The Ladykillers of a distinct and fetching comic quality.
