The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)

He stole $3,000,000 in gold and that's a lot of BULLion!
alt: The men who BROKE the bank - and LOST the cargo.

Directed by: Charles Crichton
Written by: T.E.B. Clarke
Starring: Alec Guinness as Henry "Dutch" Holland, Stanley Holloway as Alfred Pendlebury, Sid James as Lackery, and Alfie Bass as Shortie Fisher
Music by: Georges Auric

This is just another example of the comedic largesse of Alec Guinness. He plays Henry Holland, a mild and meek bank clerk who supervises the transportation of gold buillion and dreams of stealing it and running off to live the life of adventure. His only problem is how to get it out of the country - easily solved when Holland meets the owner of a foundry, Alfred Pendlebury. They whip up a plan in less than a week when Holland finds out he is about to be transferred. Together, they con two seasoned crooks into helping them steal the contents of the truck - although immediately things begin to go wrong. And things go even more haywire when some of the gold (now in the shape of Eiffel Tower paperweights) is lost and falls into the hands of the British police.

There were several points in this film where I thought, "this is absolutely ridiculous!" The men find themselves in and out of trouble so many times it's amazing they got as far as they did. And all of their capers are not through any mistake of theirs! Holloway plays the perfect foil to Guinness - one being meek and exacting, the other bumbling and loudmouthed but well-meaning. It was very reminiscent of a Laurel and Hardy comedy (but with a more developed plotline). And Audrey Hepburn makes an appearance early in the film as Chiquita - this was her first film to be distributed in the US. She was one of Guinness's favorite actresses.

Overall, I would highly recommend this comedy, as it highlights the wonderful talents of both Holland and Guinness in the roles of well-meaning thieves. And watch for my favorite scene - with the bobby officer singing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" at the top of his lungs (complete with animal sounds!) I give this one four golden eiffel tower paperweights out of a possible five. (4/5)