I was surprised that this 1955 film was in colour. The other big surprise was at the beginning when elderly Mrs Wilberforce visits the police station. And who does she meet but the Superintendent played by Jack Warner. An in-joke by the producers as the actor was famous for playing humble PC George Dixon in the BBC series Dixon of Dock Green that ran between 1955 and 1976. That was after Jack's police officer was shot dead by Dirk Bogarde in 1950's The Blue Lamp. However, on with the film. Mrs Wilberforce has advertised for a lodger and who turns up but Alec Guinness in his creepiest role of all time. She agrees to his friends joining him to rehearse their music.
But obviously this is all a front for a robbery that becomes the chaotic thread of the whole movie. The vehicle they use is actually a 1951 Studbaker Champion, an American car would you believe. Well the whole film has this air of craziness. The robbery makes use of some wonderful London locations. (I was ten and living in West Kensington when the film was made in 1955). In fact the website REELSTREETS has a complete run down of the exterior shots. I was amazed at just how deserted the roads were in those days.
Back at Mrs Wilberforce's house there are so many twists and turns in the plot, with an ending about which I had no idea. It's here that the railway behind the house comes into play. I had seen so many scenes of this movie on different programs, but never the last reel. See other posts on this blog for producer Michael Balcombe and director Alexander McKendrick. They have a starry cast that also includes the crooks: Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom and Danny Green. All outplayed by Katie Johnson as Mrs Wilberforce. My overall impression was that it does become a little repetitive in the second half as well as a bit sinister. A black comedy, certainly.
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