A number of years ago, I was visiting my brother and watched the back half or so of the Coen Brothers’ remake of The Ladykillers. It was a very Coen-esque sort of movie, with Tom Hanks in a rare villain role as a thief looking to use his boarding house room to rob a casino without the elderly woman in the house finding out, only for him and his various henchmen to die one by one as they try to silence her when she does. It’s a dark comedy, the sort the Coens always make when they go for laughs, and it had some striking imagery, but I never felt the need to go back and see the rest of it.
That said, the British original popped up on The Criterion Channel this month, and that I was curious about.
Mrs. Wilberforce (Katie Johnson) is the sort of sweet little old lady who the police would rather not deal with since she tends to go complaining to them frequently any time she thinks anyone is breaking the law. That doesn’t stop one Professor Marcus (Alec Guinness, looking particularly sketchy) from renting her upstairs room. He claims he’s using it so he and his string quintet can practice their music, but that’s not quite right. Instead, he’s the leader of a criminal gang looking to rob an armored car. How the group manages to initially fool the kindly old lady is something else since many of them, particularly Herbert Lom’s Louis, look a lot like the sorts of criminals someone might see in a movie. But Mrs. Wilberforce buys it, allowing the men to “practice” in her rented rooms. She only occasionally asks for help with one of her pet birds.
The crime actually goes off without a hitch with Mrs. Wilberforce being an unwitting accessory to the theft. The problem is Mrs. Wilberforce herself is maybe a little too trusting, but she could find out if these men (many of whom don’t seem particularly bright) don’t watch out. If she were to find out, they might have to resort to drastic measures. That probably won’t go very well. The only question is who will it not go well for.
I think I can see why the Coens opted to remake this movie: it’s incredibly clever and charming. Granted, it’s more understated than their version from what I can remember. Guinness’s first appearance shows him concealed in shadows as he follows Mrs. Wilberforce home, provoking a sinister feeling. Then his face pops into view with those obviously bad teeth and cadaverous look that makes him look both suspicious and a lot less dangerous. He looks more like a mad scientist’s hapless assistant than someone who might pose a real threat to anyone. Factor in the gang, including Peter Sellers in his first major film role, and what’s left over is a gang that may be able to rob an armored car, but they can’t handle an old lady who insists on being an honest citizen.
Now, just because this movie is understated compared to the Coen Brothers’ version doesn’t mean it also isn’t that same sort of dark comedy. There’s still the idea these hardened criminals will at least try to murder an old woman if they have to. There are some broad laughs to be had here, such as watching Sellars and the large Danny Green try to first give a parrot its medicine and then trying to catch it when it gets out of its cage. Guinness’s whole appearance seems geared towards getting a laugh, and there’s something to be said for career criminals being so inept when it comes to dealing with one naive old woman. I may have to rewatch the Coens’ version, but for now, I am just really glad I watched this one.
Grade: B+
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