Holland (Alec Guinness)is employed as a bank clerk and is responsible for the shipment of gold bullion oversees, but has dreamed of living the high life for a long time. Pendlebury, an aspiring artist and maker of souvenirs also has the same dream in life as Holland. When the two men meet and discover they share this common ground, they hatch a plan to get rich quicker with the help of two ex-cons by smuggling the gold into France by smelting it down and marketing it is Eiffel Tower souvenirs. But have they bitten off more than they can chew?
Comedy films which focus their main plot as being about greed and dishonesty can be risky projects (after all, who is going to care for mean-spirited characters in a film with a mean-spirited plot line). The Lavender Hill Mob turns the mean-spiritedness slightly on its head by at least affording our protagonists some depth - they don't want to hurt anyone or cause any suffering to anyone, they just want to be rich. Of course I'm not condoning their actions (stealing is wrong), but with the characters set-up in this manner it does allow us to understand our characters motivations even though we all agree that what they're doing is wrong.
Holland and Pendlebury are responsible for the 'technical' aspects of the smuggling, but they are assisted by two ex-cons Lackery (Sid James) and Shorty (Alfie Bass). Straight away these guys do not seem to be your average ex-cons and don't possess a ruthless streak that we would expect to see from such people. I remember one part where Lackery says that he can't go to Paris with the others and when one of the mob asked him why he replied 'The missus won't let me'. I thought that was a stroke of genius and it just shows that some jokes never get old.
The plot is a relatively good one and when watching it I can see that The Lavender Hill Mob may have influenced other films (the likes of Oceans 11 and The Italian Job probably owe a bit to this film). It is a funny film, but it's one that I found amusing for the most part rather than hilarious. There are some parts that didn't work so well for me (the bit where Holland and Pendlebury are running down the stairs at the Eiffel Tower was more silly than funny) and the scenes in the Passport office were also a little repetitive and overdone.
Still for what it is it is funny and Crichton's tight-direction means that the film never really hits any lulls and thanks to its short running time it doesn't outstay its welcome. It's inoffensive and mostly amusing and is the sort of film that should prove to be generally pleasant viewing for all the family.
Comedy films which focus their main plot as being about greed and dishonesty can be risky projects (after all, who is going to care for mean-spirited characters in a film with a mean-spirited plot line). The Lavender Hill Mob turns the mean-spiritedness slightly on its head by at least affording our protagonists some depth - they don't want to hurt anyone or cause any suffering to anyone, they just want to be rich. Of course I'm not condoning their actions (stealing is wrong), but with the characters set-up in this manner it does allow us to understand our characters motivations even though we all agree that what they're doing is wrong.
Holland and Pendlebury are responsible for the 'technical' aspects of the smuggling, but they are assisted by two ex-cons Lackery (Sid James) and Shorty (Alfie Bass). Straight away these guys do not seem to be your average ex-cons and don't possess a ruthless streak that we would expect to see from such people. I remember one part where Lackery says that he can't go to Paris with the others and when one of the mob asked him why he replied 'The missus won't let me'. I thought that was a stroke of genius and it just shows that some jokes never get old.
The plot is a relatively good one and when watching it I can see that The Lavender Hill Mob may have influenced other films (the likes of Oceans 11 and The Italian Job probably owe a bit to this film). It is a funny film, but it's one that I found amusing for the most part rather than hilarious. There are some parts that didn't work so well for me (the bit where Holland and Pendlebury are running down the stairs at the Eiffel Tower was more silly than funny) and the scenes in the Passport office were also a little repetitive and overdone.
Still for what it is it is funny and Crichton's tight-direction means that the film never really hits any lulls and thanks to its short running time it doesn't outstay its welcome. It's inoffensive and mostly amusing and is the sort of film that should prove to be generally pleasant viewing for all the family.