Technically, how difficult can it be for 5 hardened criminals (posed as a string quintet with the whole combo of its instruments) to liquidate a petite old lady like Mrs. Wiberforce (Johnson), who lives alone in her lopsided manse in the vicinity of London’s Kings Cross railway station, a perfect locality for planning their well-organized robbery of a security van loaded with cash?
Surely it looks like a cinch, but in Alexander Mackendrick’s cracking Ealing black comedy THE LADYKILLERS (later would be remade by the Coen Brothers in 2004), this ill-sorted cohort will eventually be hoisted by their own petard, because Mrs. W is protected by an armor of her ironclad integrity, she is good-natured, hospitable, righteous (even to a fault), albeit slightly loopy and garrulous, but not without a keen judgement of right and wrong. Her new lodger is Professor Marcus (a fake-teeth-sporting Guinness, flawlessly mimicking Alastair Sim with pitch-perfect gesticulations and nuances), the ringleader of the quintet, which also includes the gentlemanlike Major Courtney (Parker), a surly killer Louis Harvey (Lom, likened to a more malevolent-looking Yul Brynner, is a spot-on villain), the gormless muscle “One-round” Lawson (Green) and a mousy sidekick Harry Robinson (a corn-fed Sellers in his major celluloid introduction), so as per the descriptions, it is pretty obvious who is the aptest candidate for that particular dirty deed, after they succeed in their heist but is stuck with Ms. W, who is bent on tackling the issue in the straight and narrow.
Nope, they must do it in a democratic way, ergo, the unfortunate, soft-centered Major takes the shortest stick, and from that moment on, their racket has slumped on a slippery slope until each of them ending up a stiff lying on the passing railway wagons, is it a thinly veiled joke on the impracticality of democracy? Meritocracy could have solved the matter in a heartbeat!
On the strength of William Rose’s BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated script, the criminals’ downfall principally is caused by their internal disintegration, which makes sense that they must deal with each other first, before getting shot of the defenseless Ms. W, yet, serendipity is on her side this time, not only she finds out in the morning all the men have vanishingly disappeared without a trace, but also, thanks to her predisposition of frequently hobnobbing with the police department, her tall tale is habitually dismissed and she even gets to keep the swag!
Character actress Katie Johnson is bestowed a precious leading role in her seventies, which she runs away with copious alacrity and amity while obliviously maundering smack in harm’s way, for which she wins a BAFTA! A handsomely made jewel that never goes beyond the pale in juggling with materials both macabre and jocose, and reaches that sought-after equilibrium which points up its filmmakers’ all-around comedic facility.
referential entries: Mackendrick’s THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT (1951, 7.6/10); Henry Cornelius’ GENEVIEVE (1953, 6.9/10).
英国喜剧也可以如此好看
首先是喜欢这种老彩色电影的色调,温暖、祥和、明亮。
配乐直接表达角色情绪,比如,老太太第一次给贼头开门时的犹疑。这让老夫直接想到了猫和老鼠,哈哈。
片中悬疑气氛也不输希区柯克,例如,老太太的房子孤零零杵在街道尽头,左右两边无邻居,背后则是几条运输铁道,这就是希电影中常用的旷野恐惧症。
另外,贼头明明自称是教授,而中文片名却是贼博士,不妥,应该叫贼教授。
正因为经典,才有翻拍,04年好莱坞就翻拍了此片,还是汤姆汉克斯主演。
头一回看伊林喜剧,剧作真是精妙圆融啊。偷盗结束后好戏才上演;以弦乐演奏作为掩护恰到好处地在喜剧片中中和了盗贼身份的邪气(吉尼斯完全呈现了这两个字);又安排一个最传统的老太太作为对手,一对五的数量落差和形象上的巨大反差不仅完美营造了戏剧张力,也为喜剧效果的落地打好了基础。在这之上,再添上五个老太太登场、五个贼相继“消失”、钱财的最终归属、首尾的完美呼应等精彩的处理,怎能不叫人看得尽兴而归。
相比科恩兄弟的翻拍版,这个显然更有趣。尤其是那个可爱的老太太,亚利克·基尼斯也有很好的表演,哦,还有彼得·塞勒斯
“没有一个好计划会包括怀博菲丝太太。”这真是一部非常英国的电影,抢劫只是一个无关重要的铺垫,真正的故事发生在成功之后,发生在每一个劫匪和老太太之间剪不断理还乱的纠葛上。仿佛冥冥之中自有主宰,最后上帝将幸福赐给了善良的老太太,也便是间接地赐给了世人。
部分网站对本片的描述是黑色喜剧,但电影表现出来的气质却是Cartoon的。这倒不是说电影幼稚,而是其手法尽可能回避了死亡的具象,并且夸大了人身上的某些因素。进一步说,这些死亡是寓言的,而蒸汽恰如来自冥域的幽灵。正因我看不见这些死亡,我才反复咀嚼它们,而那一瞬间正是自我训斥的瞬间。
@美琪 满是英式笑梗,第二部《曲终梦回》片尾的“英国制造”章应该加盖在本片嘛!不黑警察就像是少了cup of tea,心疼警察叔叔这次别想破案了,急煞个人,整体的情节推动力来自于这帮子笨贼还算有人性;剧本赞,连已经沉降的老房子,周边环境,每个细节都能发挥作用;以及未免太正能量,一个人礼貌、善良、正直、信任别人,便能发财了doge
黑色荒诞喜剧,Alec Guinness装假牙自黑是最大亮点,收场草率,可能编剧也不清楚该怎样编写合理的结局解释。Peter Sellers彼时还是新人,戏份不多,且虚胖像二愣子。
8.0/10 分。初看,重制版OAR蓝光。1955年的片子,可圈可点。精致巧妙的英式冷幽默,和现在美国人的粗俗野蛮吵闹完全不同。。。导演和编剧却是美国人。。。汤姆·汉克斯主演了2004年的翻拍版。
#重看#叙事极为精简高效,开场短短几场就勾勒出人物性格、奠定行事动机、暗示因果联系,堪称圆融的小体量剧本,90分钟内起承转合自如,将一个小团体内部的内讧描摹得趣味十足。 这样一个故事发生在英国就自动赋予了某种“现实”感,暗埋的细节在不动声色间生效。秉持典型英式喜剧特征,自黑功力一流,富于黑色幽默,笑点又冷又迷,轻巧而不失优雅;万不可小觑任何一个(英式)老太;群像精彩。火车场景在福尔摩斯中用过。
满怀希望的以为会比科恩版好很多,结果完全没笑,。。我笑点太高了?
结构分配有些不合理,导致后面节奏太拖。可以看出编剧和导演很看重单场戏的处理,反而有些忽视转场的作用 with yy
coen的翻拍原版。画面有些凌乱,故事如果是原创就很有趣,但是相比coen我总觉得不够黑色幽默。有些细节交代得很粗糙,鹦鹉也不如黑猫来得更具有诡异的喜感。最后大家相继死去,coen讲得很靠谱又很好玩,相比老版有点让人担心。
11th BJIFF No.14@小西天。4k修复版。第一部伊林,还是看不来这种笨贼一箩筐式喜剧。睡了最近在影院最长的一觉,得有近十分钟吧,不过比左邻右舍还差点意思。这火车一趟趟的,够多少个白日焰火开场啊。
老版的《贵妇杀手》,伊林公司出品的经典犯罪喜剧,科恩兄弟曾进行过一次不太成功的翻拍。这是导演亚历山大·麦肯德里克在英国拍的最后一部作品,之后他来到好莱坞拍摄了《成功的滋味》。影片入选了《Time Out》杂志评选的“史上最佳100部英国电影”,值得一看。亚利克·基尼斯确实迷人啊。
太Brit太黑了哈哈哈。粉红老太太絮絮,敲起水管来梆梆震天。我想rua鹦鹉。Guinness可爱。诶没有看过科恩版🤔 真·蒸汽朋克感max @美琪
三星半。世界倒置的荒诞,加上黑色幽默。精心密谋的坏蛋一直在摔倒,被困,寸步难行,蠢得没边儿。而无心插柳的老妇人,似乎手握上帝正义的法杖,用一杯热茶,三只鹦鹉,生活琐事碎碎念,就把几个人耍的团团转。想法很好,就是坏人太弱,不够蠢也不够曲折,让这场游戏总是失衡。
这一定是影史上最最诡异而又最最神奇的一团蒸汽!麦肯德里奇拍出了他眼中的典型英国与英国人,这个美国人的视角精准而又怪诞。据说影片拍摄之时吉尼斯正闹牙痛所以他用那种咬着半边牙的方式诠释了教授这个人物,且不说这个说法是不是真的至少吉尼斯这次又塑造了一个经典的银幕形象并且被很多后人模仿。
你拍一我拍一,老妇说稀奇,五个贼儿来,一个烟囱摔下去;你拍二我拍二,老妇爱音乐,四个贼儿来,一个篱笆敲下去;你拍三我拍三,老妇把门串,三个贼儿来,一个匕首捅下去;你拍四我拍四,老妇打瞌睡,两个贼儿来,一个悬梯倒下去;你拍五我拍五,老妇喂鹦鹉,一个贼儿来,一个不剩火车摔了去
那个年代的坏人,比现在的好人都好。。。
alec guinness is class.
8。科恩兄弟翻拍片的原版,Alec Guinness太猥琐样了,汉克斯比之还是有差距的,Sellers想不到当时长的这么胖。小老妇也比科恩版里的大黑妇出色。