Settle in for a hoot and a half with Kino Lorber’s ‘The Ladykillers’

4K ULTRA HD REVIEW / HDR SCREENSHOTS

Alec Guinness is fantastic as Professor Marcus, a self-styled criminal mastermind masquerading as a classical musician. “The Ladykillers” was released in two different aspect ratios. (1) In an open matte ratio, 35mm prints were made available to theaters in the traditional, squarish 1.37:1 Academy ratio -- director Alexander Mackendrick’s intended specification. (2) Cinematographer Otto Heller framed the imagery with extra space above and below the actor; those areas were matted in theaters to create a slightly wider 1.66:1 aspect ratio.

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4K screenshots courtesy of KL Studio Classics/StudioCanal - Click for Amazon purchase

“THE LADYKILLERS”

4K UltraHD & Blu-ray, 1955, unrated

Best extra: The new commentary with film historians David Del Valle and Dan Marino

KINO LORBER could hardly have done better than recruit film historians and best buds David Del Valle and Dan Marino to talk about “The Ladykillers.” Their commentary is one of the best you’ll come across. It’s detailed, insightful and chatty – like sitting in on a spirited conversation.

But Marino (son of the NFL Hall of Fame QB) is off on one point. He says “The Ladykillers,” the last great comedy from West London’s storied Ealing Studios, is “sort of the perfect film.”

There’s no “sort of” about it. This comic-crime caper is flawless.

Alec Guinness (“The Bridge on the River Kwai,” the original “Star Wars” trilogy) plays Professor Marcus, a self-styled criminal mastermind masquerading as a classical musician who rents rooms in a grand old home on a cul-de-sac from sweet, elderly Louisa Wilberforce (the wonderful Katie Johnson, the TV series “The Quatermass Experiment”). He tells her he needs the space so he and his colleagues can rehearse, when what they’re really up to is planning is a 60,000-pound heist. When Mrs. Wilberforce knocks on the door – which is often – they keep up appearances by popping on a warped recording of Boccherini’s Minuet in E major.

And what colleagues. They constitute a who’s who of British character actors: the veteran criminal Claude (Cecil Parker, “The Man in the White Suit”), the homicidal Louis (Herbert Lom, “A Shot in the Dark”), the punch-drunk One-Round (Danny Green, “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad”) and the aging Teddy Boy Harry (Peter Sellers, “Dr. Strangelove,” in one of his first starring roles).

(1) “The Ladykillers” was released in gorgeous three-strip Technicolor; 33 reels of the original negatives were restored and the color separations were digitally aligned. (2) Mrs. Wilberforce’s grand old home dominates a London cul-de-sac. (3&4) Katie Johnson was 76 when she played the sweet widow, who visits The Superintendent (Jack Warner) daily. (5&6) Who’s that knocking at her door? Why, it’s Professor Marcus.

Del Valle points out that Ealing was a “character-driven company,” that it wasn’t about “movie stars.” Having already starred in the studio’s “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” “The Lavendar Hill Mob” and “The Man in the White Suit,” Guinness was by far its biggest name, but he’s all in on this ensemble. “Everyone works in concert,” he says. “That’s why it works so well.”

There’s another reason it clicks: This dry, dark, most “British” comedy was directed and written by a couple of Yanks. Alexander Mackendrick (“Sweet Smell of Success”) and Oscar nominee William Rose (“It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”) crafted the story with an unfiltered lens.

Needless to say, the Professor’s plan doesn’t exactly go according to plans.

(P.S. If the film rings a bell that’s because the Coen brothers remade it 20 years ago, reset the story in the Deep South and cast Tom Hanks as Professor G.H. Dorr. It’s OK, but doesn’t hold a candle to the original.)

(1) The Professor explains his plan to Claude (Cecil Parker, left), Louis (Herbert Lom), Harry (Peter Sellers) and One-Round (Danny Green). (2) Their classical instruments are just for show.

VIDEO/AUDIO

“The Ladykillers” (1.37:1 aspect ratio) was one of the U.K.’s last three-strip Technicolor productions, and Kino Lorber’s new 4K master, struck from StudioCanal’s 2020 Dolby Vision restoration, positively pops. The colors, from Mrs. Wilberforce’s cheery parlor to the crooks’ crowded, red-hued rooms, are vibrant and natural. Detail and grain are also consistently good. Cinematographer Otto Heller (“Peeping Tom,” “The Ipcress File”) gives the proceedings a noirish feel and, with the home’s narrow halls and crooked pictures, a ring of German Expressionism. The bitrate averages a healthy 75 Mpbs compared to StudioCanal’s 65.

The original monaural track was upgraded to DTS-HD MA 2.0, and while the music leans toward thin and boxy, the dialogue is plenty clear and there isn’t a pop or scratch to be heard.

EXTRAS

As advertised, the new Del Valle-Marino commentary is one of the best. Definitely put it at the top of your list. Kino Lorber has also included a second, archival commentary with film historian Philip Kent that tends to be more scholarly. You’ll also find the 1.66:1 version of the film on the Blu-ray, as well as the documentary “Forever Ealing” and the short restoration feature “Cleaning Up ‘The Ladykillers’.”

All in all, really good stuff. Then, that’s no surprise. Kino Lorber continues to rack them up, just recently with Jean-Pierre Melville’s crime classics “Bob le flambeur” and “Le Doulos.” Add “The Ladykillers” to the list – and to your collection.

– Craig Shapiro

The Heist

(1-6) The holdup goes off like clockwork, netting the gang a tidy 60,000 pounds. (7) When Mrs. Wilberforce begins to suspect that something isn’t kosher, Professor Marcus tries to assuage her concerns.