The Ladykillers (2004)

An eccentric, if not charming Southern professor and his crew pose as a band in order to rob a casino, all under the nose of his unsuspecting landlord: a sharp old woman.

Directors:

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Writers:

Joel Coen (screenplay), Ethan Coen (screenplay),

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall, Marlon Wayans

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hanks	...	Professor G.H. Dorr
Irma P. Hall	...	Marva Munson
Marlon Wayans	...	Gawain MacSam
J.K. Simmons	...	Garth Pancake
Tzi Ma	...	The General
Ryan Hurst	...	Lump Hudson
Diane Delano	...	Mountain Girl
George Wallace	...	Sheriff Wyner
John McConnell	...	Deputy Sheriff
Jason Weaver	...	Weemack Funthes
Stephen Root	...	Fernand Gudge
Lyne Odums	...	Rosalie Funthes (as Baadja-Lyne Odums)
Walter K. Jordan	...	Elron (as Walter Jordan)
George Anthony Bell	...	Preacher
Greg Grunberg	...	TV Commercial Director

Storyline

A remake of the 1955 comedy, the story revolves around a Southern professor who puts together a group of thieves to rob a casino. They rent a room in an old woman's house, but soon she discovers the plot and they must kill her, a task that is more difficult than it seems.

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Plot Keywords:

professor | casino | remake | heist | landlady | 

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Taglines:

Winner takes all. Spring.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Touchstone [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Vietnamese

Release Date:

26 March 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ladykillers

Filming Locations:

Colonial Street, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$462,395 (Australia) (20 August 2004)

Gross:

$788,764 (Australia) (27 August 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Jacobson Company, The, Mike Zoss Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Plans to remake The Ladykillers date back to 1998 when Robert Harling was attached to direct.

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Goofs

Shadow of boom mic on the door as Dorr leads Munson into the kitchen after the poetry recital.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sheriff Wyner: Unh... Oh! Afternoon, Miss Munson.
Marva Munson: Afternoon, Sheriff. You know the Funthes boy?

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks to ... the residents of Natchez, Mississippi

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Connections

Edited into The Clock (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Come, Let Us Go Back to God"
Written by Thomas A. Dorsey (as Thomas Dorsey)
Performed by The Soul Stirrers
Courtesy of Specialty Records, Inc./Fantasy, Inc.

User Reviews

Not an adequate remake, but rather a reinterpretation

Certainly, the Cohens have enough decency to know when a task should be left undone, and when that task is the re-creation and improvement of a comedy classic,they know better than to regurgitate old gags infused with modern flair, or do they?

I will admit that I did enjoy this novel retelling of the Mackendrick classic. I enjoyed Hank's brilliant, earnest, and flawless delivery. I also enjoyed Irma P. Hall's sincerity. I enjoyed the score, the locale, the warm-lazy essence of Mississippi, and the mythological progression of events that is so common in the Cohens' films. Most of all, I enjoyed the charm of this film more-so than its predecessor.

Of course, in deference, the originators deserve their due praise, but this is certainly no simple remake--it's a retelling. Retellings don't need to improve, dazzle, or impress by comparison--they simply are what they are, and this was enjoyable.