Movie Review: The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)

The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) directed by Charles Crichton

Henry Holland (Alec Guinness) is a meek and fussy bureaucrat in 1950s London whose job is to escort gold bars from the refinery where they are shaped to the bank where they are stored. He has a very precise routine which gets eye-rolls from the guard and the driver. Every trip he thinks some vehicle is following them, rings the alarm bell, and has the guard check around the next corner to see if the car is waiting. The still water of his facade hides a plan he has been thinking about for twenty years. He has a fortune literally within his grasp but how can he steal it and get away with the crime? He lucks out when Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway) moves into the boarding house where Holland lives. Pendlebury is an artist, mostly sculpting and painting, though his day job is making touristy knick knacks, including lead Eiffel Towers that are painted gold. They are sold at the real Eiffel Tower. Holland recruits Pendlebury though they need some extra accomplices to make the scheme work. 

The movie is a charming con-game anchored by Guinness's excellent performance. He's able to switch convincingly between Holland's nebbish self and Holland's scheming self. Even though what he is doing is clearly wrong, the viewer still roots for him to succeed. The plan is well thought out and the complications are natural and lead to lots of comic moments. The movie is a comedy and gives everyone in the cast a chance to shine. The script is very clever and delightful.

Highly recommended--if you've only seen Alec Guinness in the Star Wars stuff, you need to watch this or Kind Hearts and Coronets to see what a phenomenal actor he is.

I watched this on Kanopy, a stream service available from most American public libraries. Ten free streams a month!