The Ladykillers. The Most Befuddled Set of Assorted Thugs That Ever Fouled Up a Million Dollar Bank Robbery!!
The Production: 5/5
“It was a great plan, except for the human element. So many plans fail to take into account the human element. Mrs. Wilberforce will always be with us. A whole army couldn’t take her out. There were only 5 of us. Even with 50, 60, or even a whole orchestra…”
Ealing Studios is most remembered for its distinctive British comedies such as The Man in the White Suit, Whisky Galore!, and The Lavender Hill Mob. They also managed to produce some pitch black thrillers like the anthology Dead of Night and one that combines the dark and funny – Kind Hearts and Coronets. The Ladykillers is a comedy, thriller, and even heist film. Starring the lovely Katie Johnson (in one of her only starring roles) as the elderly widow Louisa Wilberforce, she attracts chaos wherever she goes. A brilliant criminal mastermind, Professor Marcus (played by Alec Guinness) seeks Mrs. Wilberforce to rent a spare room at her lopsided house. Marcus recruits a gang of four to help him pull off a bank truck robbery. Among his cohorts are Peter Sellers (in one of his earliest credited roles), Herbert Lom, Danny Green, and Cecil Parker.
It only makes sense that the director Alexander Mackendrick and screenwriter William Rose, both Americans, would make one of the greatest British comedies of all time. “British” isn’t even necessary, it’s a great comedy from anywhere. I think the first thing that makes this film special is the radiant performance by Katie Johnson, who is just so wonderfully likable and respectable. She was in her late 70s when the film was made and barely seems acting. I’m reminded of Scorsese’s casting of his mother in his films, without a hint of deliberate acting. This provides a contrast to the various shades of mania portrayed by the Professor and his gang.
Next, there’s the novelty of this being one of the last 3-strip Technicolor features. The look of the film has an almost noirish appearance, with shadows, greys, and pastels. I’ve seen comparisons to German expressionism, especially with the clever set design of the Wilberforce house, with crooked walls and staircases. It seems like nobody really handled Technicolor quite like the British. What’s also impressive is that The Ladykillers only runs a hair over 90 minutes including credits, though feels more like it’s only an hour long by how brisk it moves along. It had been a while since I viewed this film and I remembered being surprised by how compact the story was.
Mackendrick didn’t direct many films, though his next was the commercial failure Sweet Smell of Success (now an absolute classic) and Rose went on to write the screenplays for iconic comedies such as It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. The Ladykillers also features cinematography by Otto Heller (cinematographer of Laurence Olivier’s Richard III and Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom) and the first film score of composer Tristram Cary.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
Kino Lorber has imported StudioCanal’s gorgeous 4K restoration from the original 3-strip Technicolor negatives. Their Blu-ray and 4K UHD editions were released in 2020 and 2021, respectively. In the United States, the only Blu-ray edition was a 2010 release (handled by Lionsgate) from a passable HD master created from what I assume were later Eastmancolor dupe elements with a lot left to be desired in terms of image quality.
From the opening credits (which include the original Rank Organisation logo), the beautiful clarity and colors just pop off the screen. Kino Lorber has presented the restoration in 1.37:1 with Dolby Vision HDR. As this has a vastly unconventional color scheme from what you’d expect from 50s Technicolor, it almost looks like “black and white in color” with the criminals taking on a more pallid and gray look, while everything around Mrs. Wilberforce in shades of pink. There’s a fine mist of grain visible that matches the beautiful look of recent Warner and Paramount 3-strip remasters.
I didn’t notice even one speck or scratch throughout the film and the image is also rock steady. The encode is also strong, with an almost constant bitrate in the 70s.
As The Ladykillers was a 1955 release, it was likely exhibited in widescreen originally, but Kino Lorber has opted to present only the 1.37:1 version on its 4K UHD disc. The UK edition included both 1.37:1 and 1.66:1. However, they did at least include the 1.66:1 option on the accompanying Blu-ray. While I feel the 1.66:1 framing looks completely normal, the 1.37:1 framing also looks fine, with maybe a hair of excessive head room at times. Per Kino Lorber, the decision to include 1.37:1-only on the 4K disc had to do with StudioCanal only doing an HDR pass for that version and the 1.66:1 version on the UK edition used scaling to provide HDR. While it would have been nice to include both ratios in both formats, I don’t think anyone will be let down by the gorgeous presentations.
Audio: 4.5/5
The original monaural track has been encoded as DTS-HD MA 2.0. Music can be a little thin, but I didn’t notice any real problems with the audio. Voices are clear and there’s no unwanted artifacts. Just a good track overall.
Optional English SDH subtitles are included.
Special Features: 4.5/5
Both the 4K UHD disc and Blu-ray Disc feature two commentary tracks:
Audio commentary by film historian David Del Valle and Dan Marino. This is a fun, engaging track that digs into the production history, but also the talent involved. One of the best commentaries I’ve heard lately.
Audio commentary by film historian Phillip Kemp. Originally recorded for an earlier edition, this is a more scholarly take.
Both the 1.37:1 and 1.66:1 versions on the Blu-ray disc can be viewed with either commentary.
The Blu-ray Disc features the remaining supplements:
Forever Ealing feature-length documentary (49:38 SD)
Cleaning Up The Ladykillers (6:07 HD) – this is actually the restoration featurette that was on the original StudioCanal/Lionsgate Blu-ray, but it does provide a comparison of that problematic master to the excellent new restoration.
Interview with Allan Scott (20:29 SD)
Interview with Ronald Harwood (22:24 SD)
Interview with Terence Davies (13:52 SD)
New Trailer (1:39 HD)
Additional Trailers:
Kind Hearts and Coronets
The Lavender Hill Mob
The Man in the White Suit
The Captain’s Paradise
Overall: 4.5/5
One of the defining British comedies and one of Kino Lorber’s best 4K UHD releases this year. Extremely highly recommended.
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