The Lavender Hill Mob Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Lavender Hill Mob Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 4, 2019

Charles Crichton's "The Lavender Hill Mob" (1951) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage introduction by director Martin Scorsese; archival interview with writer T.E.B. Clarke; excerpts from the BECTU history project interview with director Charles Crichton; and exclusive new audio commentary by film historian Jeremy Arnold. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The bank clerk

Henry Holland (Alec Guinness, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago) is a quiet bank clerk who works in a gold bullion office in downtown London. For over twenty years, he has been dreaming about being rich. He is in his early fifties and single.

Convinced that it is time for a change, Henry decides to rob his bank. He invites amateur sculptor and paperweights designer Alfred Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway, Brief Encounter, My Fair Lady) to assist him after he realizes that he is just as disillusioned with life as he is. Shortly after, the two are joined by a duo of professional gangsters -- Lackery (Sidney James, The Glass Tomb, Too Many Crooks), a safe cracker, and Shorty (Alfie Bass, The Bespoke Overcoat, Come Play With Me), a man with an unlimited arsenal of special skills.

The plan is to hijack a truck full of gold bullion, with Henry in it, and have Alfred melt the gold into souvenir models of the Eiffel Tower which will be shipped to Paris. Once in France, the gold will be sold on the black market. The money from the sale will be evenly distributed between Henry, Alfred, Lackery, and Shorty.

A day after the gang is formed, however, Henry is told by his boss that he is getting promoted -- which means that he will no longer have to work in the gold bullion office and sign off deliveries. This puts his plan in jeopardy because without him around it would be impossible to hijack the truck. Afraid that they might miss their chance to get rich, Henry, Alfred, Lackery, and Shorty agree to expedite things.

The heist goes according to Henry’s plan. While Scotland Yard is looking for the robbers, the gold is quickly melted and shipped to Paris. Unfortunately, a few British schoolgirls visiting the city end up buying a couple of the souvenirs. When Henry and Alfred go after them and try to recover the souvenirs, all hell breaks loose.

Based on an original script by T.E.B. Clarke, an Ealing Studios regular, Charles Crichton’s The Lavender Hill Mob is a charming, highly energetic film, one of the very best in the caper genre. It is also a refreshingly politically incorrect film, which is why it is so irresistibly funny.

The film is loaded with terrific one-liners that effectively neutralize its minor plot inconsistencies. The tempo is steady and the camerawork surprisingly strong (the entire production was funded by a limited budget, but it never shows).

Guinness and Holloway make a great pair of crooks. After their trip to Paris -- the highlight of which is the wonderfully edited Eiffel Tower sequence -- the film switches gears and also delivers a series of effective satirical blows.

The long chase on the streets of London during the final third of the film is done with a great sense of style. Additionally, where in so many similarly themed films a chase would be used to show off various techniques or locations, here it actually enhances the satire.

There is a surprising cameo in The Lavender Hill Mob. Very early into the film the beautiful Audrey Hepburn appears as Chiquita, a supposedly good friend of Guinness’ character.

*In 1951, The Lavender Hill Mob was nominated for Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival. In 1953, it won Oscar statuette for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay (T.E.B. Clarke).

The Lavender Hill Mob Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Charles Crichton's The Lavender Hill Mob arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a 2K restoration that was completed early into the high-definition format's cycle. In the United Kingdom, this restoration was initially released on Blu-ray via StudioCanal's defunct partner Optimum Home Entertainment. (You can see our review of this release here).

I like the restoration quite a lot because it is very easy to tell that it was done with the right type of awareness. What I mean by this is that in certain areas where time has left an indelible mark the visuals are not excessively manipulated with digital tools, which is the main reason why the end product has a nice organic appearance. Yes, with current technology there is room for improvement, but I think that virtually all of the adjustments that would be made will be cosmetic. For example, assuming that there are superior elements, a higher-quality scan will deliver stronger density levels that will help depth. However, the main density inconsistencies that are very obvious now will remain because a mixture of raw footage and other uniquely lensed footage are responsible for them. In other words, these inconsistencies are part of the original cinematography. Additionally, if a proper budget is available, this film can benefit from additional manual cleanup work, though the improvements will again be cosmetic. In terms of clarity and especially fluidity, I think that what is on the 2K restoration is already very good and convincing. A new grading job can be beneficial as well, but it will have to be very carefully tuned up to preserve existing nuances. All in all, I think that the current technical presentation is convincing and makes it really easy to enjoy the film. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Lavender Hill Mob Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I think that the audio is as good as one can expect it to be for a film from the early 1950s. Yes, there is some unevenness and minor dynamic fluctuations, but it is easy to tell that they are on the original soundtrack. Clarity and depth are very good, though because there are a few thicker accents the optional subtitles can be quite helpful. If any additional improvements can be made, I think that they will be quite insignificant.

The Lavender Hill Mob Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction - an archival video introduction by director Martin Scorsese, a big fan of The Lavender Hill Mob. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 480/60i).

• Good Afternoon: Mavis interviews T.E.B. Clarke - a wonderful, very informative interview with writer T.E.B. Clarke, who wrote the script for The Lavender Hill Mob and a number of other Ealing Studios films. In English, not subtitled. (26 min, 480/60i).

• Interview with Director Charles Crichton - excerpts from the BECTU history project interview with director Charles Crichton. The interview was conducted by Sidney Cole on December 15, 1988. Audio only. In English, not subtitled. (13 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - in this new audio commentary, film historian Jeremy Arnold, a huge admirer of The Lavender Hill Mob, discusses in great detail the production history of the film, its placement in the Ealing catalog (and how it compares to the other great comedies in it), the specific nature of the humor and the manner in which it is blended with the action that make the film so attractive, some of the key locations where memorable scenes were shot, the perfect chemistry between its leads, etc. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Kino Lorber.

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for The Lavender Hill Mob. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following releases from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. Kind Hearts and Coronets
  2. The Man in the White Suit
  3. The Captain's Paradise

The Lavender Hill Mob Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are a number of great comedies in the Ealing catalog but The Lavender Hill Mob is the one that I enjoy the most. I just think that the humor and the action in it are extra-special, plus the political incorrectness that glues the two together makes the entire film irresistibly delightful. In the early days of the high-definition format, the first Region-B release of The Lavender Hill Mob that emerged in the United Kingdom was one of my favorite 'imports'. Kino Lorber's new release is sourced from the same good 2K restoration that was used to produce the Region-B release and retains all of the legacy bonus features. It also adds a wonderful exclusive new audio commentary by film historian Jeremy Arnold. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.