Classic Films at The Cottage Road Cinema:  The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)

8.15 p.m. (Adults £5.00)

Comedy about a meek bank clerk who plans a theft from his own bank.  1 hours 17 minutes

Ealing Studios had quite a year in 1951. Not only did the company produce the witty satire The Man in the White Suit, it also released this superb and subtle crime-film spoof. The inimitable Alec Guinness stars as the mild-mannered bank agent who discovers he has a devious criminal mind, and decides to steal £1-million-worth of gold bullion. Guinness is well supported by the impressive Stanley Holloway, Alfie Bass and Sid James as members of the gang he recruits. Watch out too for a couple of blink-and-miss-them walk-ons from James (billed as William) Fox and Audrey Hepburn. Director Charles Crichton tips his hat at such genre staples as the studio's own The Blue Lamp and the more hard-boiled gangster movies produced by Hollywood in the film noir era, and TEB Clarke deservedly won an Oscar for his beautifully constructed story and screenplay. Guinness lost out to Gary Cooper in High Noon in the best actor category.

notes from 'Love Film'