We were
looking for something to watch last night so I asked Jay to pick a movie off mylist. He suggested The Ladykillers (1955) adding, “The last time I saw
this movie, you weren’t even born yet” – a brutal reminder that there are
thirteen years between us. Jay continued by saying that he could have only been
about ten when he first saw The Ladykillers which, he said, proved how
good the movie is because getting a kid that age to sit through anything,
much less a heist movie, is damn near impossible.
Though… to
be fair, calling The Ladykillers a heist movie does it a disservice. It
does center around a robbery, but the robbery takes place very early on and the
majority of the movie deals instead with the fallout. It’s either a comedy with
sinister undertones or a humorous crime drama. Either way, it works.
The
Ladykillers works
because it’s gentle and easy to watch. Sure, loads of people die… but
that mostly happens off-screen or is obscured by perfectly timed train smoke.
The worst of the on-screen violence comes from the would-be victim, Mrs. Wilberforce
(Katie Johnson) – who, by the way reminds me of Granny from Looney Tunes
– when she batters a disgruntled fruit seller (Frankie Howerd) for mistreating the
horse noming on his produce.
Life
goals, right there. Lol.
Except the
whole getting-anywhere-near-a-horse thing. ‘Cause, you know… death.
This one
really is a who’s who of 1950’s British cinema, including an uncredited cameo
from ‘Allo ‘Allo’s Monsieur Alfonse (Kenneth Connor) as a frazzled taxi
driver. The main baddie, Alec Guinness’s Professor Marcus, was unrecognizable
with his wispy hair and fake teeth. I swear Guinness looked older in this than
he did twenty-two years later in Star Wars: A New Hope! And not
forgetting, of course, Pink Panther’s Peter Sellers and Herbert Lom
starring in their first feature film together.
While
there are some brilliant actors in The Ladykillers (and I adore Mrs. Wilberforce’s
dottery chaos,) my favourite of all is Danny Green’s One-Round, the too-big, bumbling,
surprisingly sweet criminal who flat-out refuses to kill “Mrs. Lopsided” but is
happy enough to kill anyone who hurts her. Probably because he reminds me of my
own too-big, bumbling, oh so sweet Khaaaan.
Having
seen it, I can see why Jay enjoyed it as a kid. It’s light-hearted enough to
keep youngsters entertained with silly expressions and a little slapstick, but is
entertaining enough, with a strong plot and likeable characters that draws in adults
too. Although it’s obviously dated (but not in that “Remember, it was a
different time” way that makes me want to throw things,) I’d still consider it
a good family movie for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
