One Paragraph Movie Review: The Ladykillers

Three hundred and twelfth film: The Ladykillers, a heist comedy from 1955 that feels thoroughly like the kind of thing that played as a Sunday afternoon movie back when there were only four TV channels. An ensemble of stereotyped gangsters rent a room from a stereotypical little old lady, pretending they need it for string quintet rehearsals but actually using it to plan and execute an armoured car robbery. The old lady twigs and the gangsters realise they have to kill her, except they’re too British to do it. I’m certain this would have been described as madcap and hare-brained at the time, and its charm and sedate slapstick give it the legs it needs to stroll inoffensively towards its twisty, satisfying conclusion, with the only string left untied the inexplicable set of false teeth Alec Guiness wears throughout. The ending, in which an annoying, bossy old lady does rather well indeed is inspiring, as I hope to be one someday. Three cello cases full of cash out of five.