The plot is wonderfully absurd: Professor Marcus (played with manic energy by Alec Guinness) puts together a gang of diverse criminals to pull off a bank heist. To do so, they take rooms in a lopsided, dreamy house near King’s Cross station in London, pretending to be an amateur string quintet practicing classical music.
The genius of the film lies in the friction between the criminals' desperate, professional plans and Mrs. Wilberforce’s bustling, domestic normalcy.
The only thing standing in their way? Their landlady, the sweet, elderly, and entirely-too-innocent Mrs. Wilberforce (Katie Johnson). The Perfect "Ealing" Chaos
If you love dark comedies, clever writing, and the "most English" of films, The Ladykillers is required viewing. It’s a polite reminder that sometimes, the sweetest people are the deadliest. the 2004 Coen Brothers remake?
All five hardened criminals end up squeezed into a tiny cupboard, unable to justify their presence.
