Monday 13 May 2013

The Ladykillers (1955 Alexander Mackendrick)

scr. William Rose (he also wrote Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? and The Secret of Santa Vittoria).

Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers (one of his first), Danny Green, Katie Johnson ("Mrs. Lopsided") (BAFTA Best Actress), Jack Warner, Philip Stainton, Frankie Howerd, Kenneth Connor.

Shot by the great Otto Heller, whose first 150 films were in Czechoslovakia (since 1918), then he made a hundred more here.



The last great Ealing is almost text-book example of great direction. Note careful positioning of Lom, clouds of steam, scenes with doors opening.

Jack Harris, who cut Lean's early films, edited. Seth Holt has graduated to associate producer.

The crazy house was designed by Jim Morahan.

I had never noticed that as each member of the gang succumbs, the music on the background record has been rerecorded with their relevant instrument missing!

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