This is a review for the 4K, DVD, Blu-ray restoration of 1950s British comedy crime caper “The Lavender Hill Mob“. Re-released in cinemas from 29th March and on home entertainment from April 22nd
Originally released in 1951, Ealing Studios’ veteran Charles Crichton with a script by T.E.B Clarke and starred Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway and Sid James as the most unlikeliest of gold bullion robbers.
Guinness plays Henry Holland, a faithful bank transfer agent of 20 years who has never put a foot wrong and is non-descript to his employers. He dreams of the perfect gold bullion heist, yet does not know what to do with the bullion when stolen.
Holland befriends new housemate Pendlebury (Holloway) who as a smoulder, they happen upon the idea of forging the gold into miniature Eiffel tower paperweights smuggling it from England to France.
The pair hire two professional criminals Lackery (James) and Shorty (Alfie Bass) and together the foursome put the plan into place full of unexpected twists and turns.
To think this film is over seventy years old, it is remarkable how swift and economical the script moves so it is not surprising that the film won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Yet the x factor of this film is Alec Guinness, whose chameleon-like ability to become a character he inhabits is to the fore again in the role of Henry Holland.
When we first encounter Holland he is in some Caribbean island flaunting his wealth and fame around the resort, flirting with a young Audrey Hepburn and giving money to the help around the hotel. He promptly tells the story to someone sitting with him and so the story is told in flashback as all good heist films tend to be.
Guinness up to this point had been the supporting player in such works as Oliver Twist and Kind Hearts and Coronets, yet this was the launching pad for his leading man career garnering a Best Actor nomination from the Academy Awards.
He subsequently starred in Ealing’s The Man in the White Suit which gained huge acclaim. In 1957 he would win the Oscar for his portrayal as Capt. Nicholson in David Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai.
Shot at Ealing Studios but also embracing the post-war London with real-life locations for chases near London landmarks, the film is a breath of fresh air throughout.
One note of criticism would be that once the heist is completed halfway through the film, the film does follow the hapless pair of Holland and Pendlebury running around Paris chasing paperweights purchased by schoolgirls. This is not required for the most part, but that is merely a slight note of critique to be forgotten.
The moral integrity remains by the film’s end and all you can remember is that the smiles elicited by the cast are real, the story is well told and Crichton deploys an even hand across proceedings.
When is the 4K restoration available?
The new 4K restoration is being released in cinemas from 29th March (Easter weekend) and will garner a 4K UHD and digital release from 22nd April. Kind Hearts & Coronets will be released on UHD from 22nd April.
The release offers a treasure trove for the British film lovers. Essays and Q&A’s by Benedict Morrison and Paul Merton. An introduction by Martin Scorsese, audio commentary by film historian Jeremy Arnold, stills, two posters, four pop-art artcards by Art and Hue. Pre-order here
My thanks to Studiocanal UK for the review copy.
Visit the NextToTheAisle website for more articles written by Jamie Garwood.