The Ladykillers (1955) - Dated humour, but effortlessly charming!

Following the release of 1953's The Titfield Thunderbolt, Ealing Studios brought back cinema legend Alec Guiness and gave us the concept of criminals using an old lady and a music group as the cover for a dastardly crime. This already sounds more appealing to a general audience, and Ealing do a sublime job at creating a suspenseful and entertaining comedy.

Guiness continues to ooze charisma and charm in every scene he's in, and the interactions with the rest of the gang are equally entertaining whilst uneasy as they continuously question one another's intentions. Katie Johnson is suitably dim witted, but strong headed as Mrs Wilberforce, perfectly playing the clueless fall person for the film's first half, before giving the character more depth as the narrative takes many twists in the second half.

With the film being from 1955, the humour is very much of that time, which doesn't harm it too seriously. However, some of the dry wit can be hard for some modern audiences to stomach. The humour isn't laugh your head off funny, like we would think of with some of today's offerings. But it is still thankfully charming, and can easily get a chuckle out of it's audience at least. And since most films of this calibre nowadays try to be more serious than comical, this is still one of the best examples of a comical crime film. And with examples such as the 2004 Americanised remake of this film floating around since the turn of the century, it seems like many film makers have lost the ability to give the layered humour to a dramatic narrative, that this film could effortlessly accomplish.

Thanks to the film's plot line, this production required far less front projection and green screen work, compared to what was seen in Titfield Thunderbolt. The film still looks brilliant today, especially following a very well done restoration. And thanks to it's unpredictable narrative, the second half will keep the audience guessing right up to the end. Even as the ending approached, my predictions were completely wrong. Films that can keep the audience guessing are really rare today, so it's great to see classic films of the past still holding up so well. With projects like The Ladykillers, it's clear why Ealing Studios have such an amazing reputation in the world of Britain cinema!

SCORES

Story - 4.5/5

Characters - 4/5

Production - 5/5

Acting - 4/5

Music 4/5

Overall - 8.6/10