Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.
Acting
Katie Johnson's terrifying sweetness; Guinness's dental nightmare
Writing
William Rose's perfect clockwork of escalating absurdity
Production
The crooked house set that physically leans into the comedy
Director
Alexander Mackendrick
Alec Guinness
Professor Marcus
Cecil Parker
Claude, alias 'Major Courtney'
Herbert Lom
Louis, alias 'Mr. Harvey'
Peter Sellers
Harry, alias 'Mr. Robinson'
Danny Green
'One-Round', alias 'Mr. Lawson'
Katie Johnson
Mrs. Wilberforce
Jack Warner
The Superintendent
Frankie Howerd
The Barrow Boy
Kenneth Connor
Cab Driver (uncredited)
Harold Goodwin
Parcels Clerk (uncredited)
Fred Griffiths
Junk Man (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Katie Johnson was 77 and had mostly played bit parts; her Oscar-nominated performance here made her the oldest competitive nominee at the time.
The 2004 Coen brothers remake relocated the story to the American South and replaced the delicate social satire with broad caricature—proving some comedies are truly rooted in national temperament.
GB
