Probably the zenith of Ealing Studios comedies. Although almost equalled by The Ladykillers a few years afterwards, The Lavender Hill Mob has certainly never been surpassed for sheer inventive merriment. Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway revel in the witty script, bringing a feather-light comedy touch to the roles of a bank employee and his friend who plot a million-pound bullion robbery from their seedy boarding house - with a little help and hindrance from Sidney James and Alfie Bass. Even the small roles are immaculately played: we especially remember Meredith Edwards (27th on the cast list! ) as a harassed Welsh policeman. And there's a real bonus for star-spotters: the appearance of Audrey Hepburn (in her first year in British films) as a Brazilian señorita. Watch also for another British starlet, Heather Sears, as a schoolgirl. Directed at helter-skelter pace by Charles Crichton, this is pure delight.

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