The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)

Director:

Charles Crichton

Writer:

T.E.B. Clarke (original screenplay)

Release Date:

10 September 1951 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

He stole $3,000,000 in gold and that's a lot of BULLion!

Plot:

A meek bank clerk who oversees the shipment of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country as miniature Eifel Towers.

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Bank | France | Souvenir | Exhibit

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Alec Guinness	...	Holland
Stanley Holloway	...	Pendlebury
Sid James	...	Lackery (as Sidney James)
Alfie Bass	...	Shorty
Marjorie Fielding	...	Mrs. Chalk
Edie Martin	...	Miss Evesham
John Salew	...	Parkin
Ronald Adam	...	Turner
Arthur Hambling	...	Wallis
Gibb McLaughlin	...	Godwin
John Gregson	...	Farrow
Clive Morton	...	Station Sergeant
Sydney Tafler	...	Clayton
Marie Burke	...	Senora Gallardo
Audrey Hepburn	...	Chiquita

Runtime:

UK:81 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French | Portuguese

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:Approved (MPAA rating: certificate #15054) | UK:U (video rating) (1988) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Bank Underground Station, London, England, UK

Company:

J. Arthur Rank Organisation

Trivia:

Robert Shaw's first film.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the raid we see the maroon (dark colored) bullion van being driven into an abandoned warehouse to be emptied (33mins 10 secs into the movie). In the next short shot of the van parking, the van has now become a light colored van. After that we see the dark colored van again.

Quotes:

Neighbor: Ah, Holland, heh heh, the man of millions! What'd you get away with today? Got any spare ingots for an old pal? Ha ha, you'll be the death of me, Holland!
Henry Holland: I sincerely trust so.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Batman: Louie's Lethal Lilac Time (#3.18)" (1968)

Soundtrack:

Music

Classic comedy

Ealing classic comedy. DVD review.

A meek bank clerk decides to rip off his employer by transporting gold to France as souvenir Eiffel towers.

Featuring one of Guinness' best performances as a supervisor in a bank vault. He plays an interesting character, someone who takes an opportunity but watches his back at the same time. Watch his face when inspecting the line-up of the suspected robbers - very funny. I've never seen Guinness enjoy himself as much in any other movie. And I've never seen so many helpful policemen in another picture. Here's my Star Wars link for this movie: Guinness says early in the movie "THX" and the registration number on the van carrying the gold bars is 238 - George Lucas' first movie was THX1138 - coincidence? Sid James and Alfie Bass appear as common crooks but the best best scene was the descent of the Eiffel Tower - like something from an Italian movie from the same era. That's Audrey Hepburn making a very brief appearance in the first scene. I predict the soon-to-be remake of this movie won't be a patch on this classic.

The Lavender Hill Mob is one of the best comedies from the 1950s.