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 | Souvenir | France | Irony

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 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
William Fox	...	Gregory
Michael Trubshawe	...	British Ambassador
Ann Hefferman	...	Kiosk Girl (as Ann Heffernan)
Jacques B. Brunius	...	Customs Official (as Jacques Brunius)
Eugene Deckers	...	Customs Official
Paul Demel	...	Customs Official
Andreas Malandrinos	...	Customs Official (as Andrea Malandrinos)
Cyril Chamberlain	...	Commander
Tony Quinn	...	Deputy Commander
Moultrie Kelsall	...	Detective Superintendant
Christopher Hewett	...	Inspector Talbot
Meredith Edwards	...	P. C. Williams
Patrick Barr	...	Divisional Detective Inspector
David Davies	...	City Policeman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alanna Boyce	...	June Edwards (uncredited)
Johnny Briggs	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Peter Bull	...	Joe the Gab (uncredited)
Jacques Cey	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Joe Clarke	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Jacqueline Curtis	...	Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Richard Davies	...	Police Driver (uncredited)
Patric Doonan	...	Craggs (uncredited)
Archie Duncan	...	Chief Cashier (uncredited)
Frank Forsyth	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Fred Griffiths	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Charles Lamb	...	Mr. Richards (uncredited)
Desmond Llewelyn	...	Customs Officer (uncredited)
Arthur Mullard	...	1st Man in Police Identity Parade (uncredited)
Marie Ney	...	School Headmistress (uncredited)
Frederick Piper	...	Cafe Owner (uncredited)
Robert Shaw	...	Chemist at Police Exhibition (uncredited)
John Warwick	...	Police Inspector at Squad Car Headquarters (uncredited)
Richard Wattis	...	Opposition MP (uncredited)
Neil Wilson	...	Squad Car Headquarters PC (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Crichton

Writing credits
T.E.B. Clarke		(original screenplay) (as T. E. B. Clarke)

Produced by
Michael Balcon	....	producer
Michael Truman	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Georges Auric		(music by)

Cinematography by
Douglas Slocombe		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Seth Holt

Casting by
Margaret Harper Nelson		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
William Kellner

Costume Design by
Anthony Mendleson

Makeup Department
Ernest Taylor	....	make-up
Harry Wilton	....	make-up (as H. Wilton)
Barbara Barnard	....	hairdressing supervisor (uncredited)
Daphne Martin	....	assistant hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Slim Hand	....	unit production manager
Hal Mason	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Norman Priggen	....	assistant director
John Meadows	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Jim O'Connolly	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
G. Beavan	....	floor props (uncredited)
Bert Davey	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Wally Hill	....	floor props (uncredited)
Fred Lacey	....	production buyer (uncredited)
Andrew Low	....	set dresser (uncredited)
George Speller	....	construction manager (uncredited)
Bob Tull	....	property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Stephen Dalby	....	sound supervisor
Leslie Hammond	....	recordist
R. Healy	....	assistant boom operator (uncredited)
Eric Stockl	....	sound camera operator (uncredited)
Cyril Swern	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Sydney Pearson	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Geoffrey Dickinson	....	special processes
Bryan Langley	....	special processes

Camera and Electrical Department
Geoffrey Faithfull	....	additional photography (as Geoffrey Faithful)
Jeff Seaholme	....	camera operator
Jack Dooley	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Jack Ford	....	chief electrician (uncredited)
Bob Penn	....	floor stills (uncredited)
Michael Shepherd	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Bert Spurgeon	....	floor electrician (uncredited)
Hugh Wilson	....	focus puller (uncredited)

Casting Department
Muriel Cole	....	crowd casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ernie Farrer	....	wardrobe master (uncredited)
Ben Foster	....	wardrobe assistant (uncredited)
Lily Payne	....	wardrobe mistress (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Harry Aldous	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Barbara Bennett	....	assembly editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Ernest Irving	....	music conducted by

Other crew
Phyllis Crocker	....	continuity
Baynham Honri	....	studio manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• J. Arthur Rank Organisation (presents) (as The J.ARTHUR RANK ORGANISATION)
• Ealing Studios (as An Ealing Studios Production)

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1951) (UK) (theatrical) (released through) (as General Film Distributors Ltd.)
• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1951) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1956) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Thorn EMI Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Studio Canal (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Parvisfilmi (1952) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1970) (Finland) (TV) (as MTV1)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1965) (1978) (2000) (2008) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Crest National  DVD coding (uncredited)
• Philharmonia Orchestra, The  music played by (as the Philharmonia Orchestra)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

UK:81 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French | Portuguese

Color:

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) | UK:U (tv rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Bank Underground Station, London, England, UK

Company:

J. Arthur Rank Organisation

Trivia:

First feature film of Frank Forsyth.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Henry Holland flees to Rio as is implied here there's no way the British police would be able to extradite him because the two countries have no agreement. However, he could have agreed to return voluntarily once his money was all spent.

Quotes:

Henry Holland:I said leave it.
Lackery:A ruddy waste! There's many a starving bloke'd be glad of that lot!

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

The Eton Boating Song

Funny, at times hilarious.

Ealing Studios turned out a series of comic gems in the late 40s and early 50s and this is a good example. Only a curmudgeon would not laugh aloud during some of the scenes.

The plot, briefly, involves a clever bank clerk (Guiness) developing a plan with a die caster (Holloway) to steal several million pounds of gold bullion, recast it into tourist knicknacks in the shape of Eiffel Tower paperweights, and ship it to Paris to sell on the black market. They recruit two professional thieves to help them.

It may not be Ealing's best comedy (my vote would be for "The Lady Killers") but it's more than funny enough. I'll just give three scenes as examples.

(1) Holloway and Guiness, two honest men, need to recruit what they call a "mob" but have no idea how to go about it. What I mean is -- how would YOU go about recruiting criminal assistants? What they do is go to crowded places of low repute -- saloons, prize fights, the underground -- and shout at each other through the noise about the safe being broken at such-and-such an address and all that money having to be left in it. Then they hole up at the address and wait for the burglars to arrive.

(2) A scene at the Eiffel Tower in which they discover that half a dozen of the gold paperweights instead of the usual leaden ones have been sold to some English schoolgirls. They watch horrified as the door closes and the elevator carrying the girls begins its descent, and they decide to rush down the tightly spiraling staircase to ground level, trying to beat the elevator. By the time they reach the street they've been spun around so many times that they can't stop laughing and are unable to stop twirling around until they fall down.

(3) After the robbery, in an empty warehouse soon to be searched by the police, Guiness must be tied up, gagged, and blindfolded with tape. Then his clothes must be torn and dirtied so that it appears he put up a fight before the gold was taken. But the police arrive too soon, and the others beat it, leaving Guiness standing alone, tied up, and blindfolded, but not dirty. He stumbles about blindly, trying to blow the tape from his mouth, getting his feet caught in discarded bicycle wheels, until he falls into the Thames.

Probably the weakest part of the movie is near the end, when police cars wind up chasing one another because of confusing messages. The scene could have been lifted from Laurel and Hardy. It's a little silly. (Why didn't Guiness and Holloway park the stolen car, get out, and walk away?) But that's a minor consideration.

What surprises me about some of these comedies is that they're able to make us laugh despite the dreary atmosphere. The streets of London look awfully dismal in this grainy black and white film. Some of them were still charred wrecks left over from the Blitz. But it doesn't dampen the comedy at all. Following the successful robbery a drunken Guiness and Holloway return to their boarding house to be chided by their landlady for being "naughty". One pulls the other aside, chuckling conspiratorially, and the two agree to call each other "Al" and "Dutch" -- two REAL BIG gangsters for you.

If you need to use up some neuropeptides this is your movie.