The Lavender Hill Mob (Blu-ray) <small>by Stuart Galbraith IV</small><hr /> Many critics consider Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) to be Ealing Studios' finest comedy, but I much prefer The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), a marvel of understated magic. Everything about the picture works: its gold bullion heist plot is imaginative yet believable; its execution funny but also suspenseful; the performances are exemplary; even the special visual effects, used extensively for one sequence, are nearly flawless. Told in flashback, the film concerns Henry Holland (Alec Guinness), a mild-mannered but fussy London bank clerk entrusted to oversee shipments of gold bullion, a task he's performed without incident for nearly 20 years. At the bank Holland is regarded as something of a joke: emphatically trustworthy but unambitious and positively obsessi...Read the entire review »