The Ladykillers - (StudioCanal Collection) (1955)

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In this gangster comedy to end all gangster comedies, the inimitable Alec Guinness (Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lavender Hill Mob) is Professor Marcus, ostensibly a musician and academic, who rents a London flat from a sweet old lady (BAFTA-winning Katie Johnson). He tells her that, from time to time, several other musicians will visit in order to rehearse. In truth, the professor can't play a note, nor can his visitors: he's a criminal mastermind, holding court over his gang of thieves, including the likes of punkish Harry (the first major film role for Peter Sellers, The Pink Panther), the homicidal Louis (Herbert Lom, A Shot in the Dark), veteran criminal Claude (Cecil Parker, The Man in the White Suit) and punch-drunk One-Round (Danny Green, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad). The gang use Professor Marcus's flat as headquarters as they conceive a daring 60,000-pound robbery in this killingly funny Ealing Studios classic directed by Alexander Mackendrick (Sweet Smell of Success) from a BAFTA-winning, Oscar-nominated script by William Rose (The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming). Co-Starring Jack Warner (It Always Rains on Sunday, The Quatermass Xperiment).

Called "one of the greatest comedies ever made" by Entertainment Weekly, The Ladykillers showcases Alec Guinness in one of his most unforgettable performances as Professor Marcus, mastermind of a gang of vicious bank robbers who rent a room from an elderly widow. But when the dear old woman begins to meddle in their "perfect crime," the crooks decide that she might pose the biggest threat of all. Co-starring Peter Sellers in his first major screen role, The Ladykillers remains one of the most ruthlessly black comedies of all time.