A comedy from another place and another time, that right now seems so long ago and far away, `The Ladykillers,' directed by Alexander Mackendrick, stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Peter Sellers and Herbert Lom, and stands as a perfect example of how charming, delightful, civilized and yes, `funny,' a film can be when approached with intelligence and respect for the audience. Guinness plays Professor Marcus, who puts together a gang to pull off the `perfect' robbery he has concocted. But, as it always is with all things `perfect,' it quickly goes awry for the gang, thanks to the involvement of an old lady (Katie Johnson), in whose house Marcus has taken rooms. And as the situation in which the gang finds themselves escalates as they try to put things to rights, the audience is treated to an exemplary piece of truly humorous and memorable cinema. Guinness anchors the farce with a superb characterization (even to altering his appearance with false teeth) of the Professor. It's a prime example of just how great a character actor Guinness was; as in all of his films, he creates a total character of Marcus, inside and out, beginning with the attitude and right on down to the smallest details that many actors would deem insignificant. There is a studied consistency he maintains throughout the film that would stand up to the closest scrutiny; it is not by accident that he is considered by many to be one of greatest actors of our times. And how great to see the youthful Peter Sellers in one of his earliest roles. Watch closely and you can see traces of the unique mannerisms that would mark his career; the slight hesitations, the inward, subtle consideration of the status quo and the sense he conveys in a split second that Murphy's Law is about to go into effect. He makes Harry, a member of the hapless gang, a memorable character. Herbert Lom (as Louis, in this precursor to his pairing with Sellers some twenty years later in the `Pink Panther' movies), Parker (Major Courtney) and Danny Green (One-Round) round out the gang, the likes of which you have never seen before, nor in all probability will ever see again, because-- as the saying goes-- they just don't make em like this any more. The supporting cast includes Jack Warner (The Superintendent), Philip Stainton (Sergeant), Kenneth Connor (Cab Driver) and Ewan Roberts (Constable). Clever and sophisticated, `The Ladykillers' is a testimony to just how grand and uplifting comedy can be, without resorting to the gross and often unpalatable `humor' upon which so many of today's contemporary comedies seem to depend. Not to say that today's comedies are no good; it's just that they so often lack the esteem and the `humanity'-- not to mention the longevity-- which lends itself to a film such as this one. Movies like this will be around long after most of the addle-brained Saturday Night Live induced fare is gone and forgotten. With the added bonus of having Guinness and Sellers together, this is a true classic in every sense of the word. This is what the magic of the movies is really all about. I rate this one 10/10.
Review of The Ladykillers
