Classic Movies: The Story of The Ladykillers on Sky Arts

 

I had somehow remembered that The Ladykillers was in black and white, but no. It's in lovely colour set in a labyrinth of streets in the King's Cross area. We get lots of clips from the film including Argyle Street with Kings Cross Station in the background as it was in 1955. Ian Nathan stands outside the station as it is today. Where Alec Guinness appears at the door with "I understand you have rooms to let". Ian Nathan again introduces this in depth study of the film and calls it "a comedy of manners". Derek Malcolm adds that "it's so different to anything (he) had ever seen" and that it was "a comedy with a dark side". 

It was interesting to remember the London of 1955 as we were there. I was ten. A time of continuing Austerity, except that we ate well with dad being a grocer, but no heating in the bedrooms and very few clothes or entertainment. It was great to see those shots of how London was at the time, bomb sites being still in evidence. A mention of the polluted air. 

The Ladykillers was the last of what were called the Ealing comedies as the studio soon closed. we were told how Katy Johnson holds the film together, in a much larger role than she was used to, as the ancient 76 year old Mrs Wilberforce. A frail, kindly little lady but with a hidden tough streak. Alec Guinness is the leader of the gang who include Herbert Lom (apparently he always played the heavy), and Peter Sellers. There they are below. The most interesting fact was that the director, Alexander McKendrick,  and the screenwriter William Rose were both originally from the United States, the former from Boston and the later from Missouri. So this was their affectionate tongue in cheek version of Britishness which might not have been replicated by someone from home. McKendrick had worked his way up in the film industry until he made the leap to directing Whisky Galore. Rose had written the script for Genevieve (my first film?) and with this film both had writing nominations for the Oscar.

The story is interesting in that the gang mirrors one that might have inhabited the Kings Cross area at that time. Then there is the cluttered house where Mrs Wilberforce is so tiny compared the gang being so big. The interior almost seemed tilted. Steven Armstrong and Neil Norman thought it was a satire, a fairy tale and a masterpiece. One of the greatest ever British movies, the comic timing equally impressive. Derek Malcolm was convinced that British character actors were the best in the world. Lastly there was Ian Nathan on Frederica Street overlooking the railway that plays such an important part.