The Ladykillers
- 1955 film
Classic Ealing comedy starring Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers. A gang of robbers meet their match in a little old lady. Also features Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Danny Green, Jack Warner, Katie Johnson and more.
Streaming rank this week: 11,132
Press clippings
Review: Put on your crooked smiles for The Ladykillers
Whether or not The Ladykillers star Alec Guinness was fully aware of how horrifically funny his grotesque false teeth would come across when projected on massive movie screens after this last great Ealing Studios comedy reached theaters in 1955, the illustrious British actor's choice of choppers was nevertheless one for the ages.
Robert Abele, LA Times, 2nd July 2021BFI to launch US streaming service in May
The British Film Institute will launch BFI Player Classics as a stand-alone streaming service in the US featuring a curated roster of classic UK cinema on May 14. It will feature comedies including The Ladykillers, I'm All Right Jack, Whisky Galore! and many Carry On films.
Jeremy Kay, Screen Daily, 23rd April 2021Ladykillers: Nostalgic for era of great English films?
The Ladykillers is often overlooked, but Alec Guinness's 1955 black comedy has intelligence, morals and social critique.
Simon Heffer, The Telegraph, 21st November 2020Why The Ladykillers is an all time classic
This severely underrated comedy is about to become your new favourite.
James Oliver, Readers Digest, 18th November 2020DVD/Blu-ray review: The Ladykillers
The last great Ealing Comedy, in a pristine restored print.
Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk, 8th November 2020On the set of The Ladykillers - in pictures
The much-loved British caper starring Alec Guinness is being reissued, 65 years on, fully restored from the original negative. It was shot at Ealing Studios and around King's Cross in London, where photographers captured the stars relaxing on set.
Sarah Gilbert, The Guardian, 23rd October 2020The Ladykillers review - comic crime caper still kills
Sixty-five years later the classic from Ealing Studios is still subversive, hilarious and distinctly English.
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 23rd October 2020The Ladykillers returning to cinema & Blu-ray
Iconic black comedy The Ladykillers will return to cinemas in October 2020 with a new 4K remaster. A feature-packed, limited edition UHD Blu-ray box set is also available to order.
British Comedy Guide, 24th September 2020This last of the Ealing comedies is an exceptionally black specimen, with Alec Guinness as the sinister Professor Marcus, a fanged master-crook lodging at the home of sweet old Mrs Wilberforce (Katie Johnson). When his gang - including Peter Sellers's dim teddy boy and Herbert Lom's wannabe American gangster - swipe £60,000 in a raid, they decide the landlady has to go; but they are, of course, in the Ealing equivalent of the Bates motel and stand no chance against the dotty old girl. It's all vastly superior to the Coen brothers' misguided remake.
Paul Howlett, The Guardian, 27th June 2017The Ladykillers review - the greatest comedy caper
Ealing Studio's two greatest directors, Robert Hamer and Alexander Mackendrick, both made near flawless black comedies on the state of the nation starring Alec Guinness and involving multiple murders, and there is little to choose between the former's Kind Hearts and Coronets and the latter's The Ladykillers, a special edition of which is being released this week to mark its 60th anniversary.
Philip French, The Guardian, 25th October 2015