Film Review
This classic British comedy brings together three comedy giants -
Terry-Thomas, George Cole and Sid James - to deliver one of the most
hilarious caper movies of the 1950s. Replete with comic
situations that can hardly fail to reduce an audience to hysterics,
Too Many Crooks showcases some of
the best British comedic talent of the time and is one of those rare
films that seems to get funnier the more times you watch it. It
was directed with gusto by Mario Zampi, who also brought us such
memorable comedies as
Laughter in Paradise (1951) and
The Naked Truth (1957).
The consummate king of the comedy cads, Terry-Thomas is at his absolute
best here, stealing every scene he appears in through his charisma and
innate flair for comedy. It helps that the script is absolutely
smothered in the juiciest one-liners, but without a comic performer of
the calibre of Terry-Thomas this would be a far lesser film. The
sequence where his character desperately attempts to rescue his
ill-gotten gains from his burning house is pure vaudeville, surpassed
only by the side-splitting courtroom scene.
In addition to the great Terry-Thomas, the film features several other
notable comedy performers. Foremost of these is George Cole, who
had recently become a star of British cinema through his appearance in
the
St Trinian's films.
Cole made a career of playing sympathetic rogues and swindlers, which
culminated in his portrayal of Arthur Daley in the long-running British
television series,
Minder.
Here, George Cole is partnered with two other icons of British cinema,
Sid James and Bernard Bresslaw, who would both achieve lasting fame as
stars of the Carry On films. Here,
these three comic talents form an unbeatable team, each playing on his
well-known film persona - Cole the dodgy dealer, James the irascible
scamp and Bresslaw the mentally deficient strong-arm man.
The ample supporting cast includes several familiar faces: John Le
Mesurier (hilarious as the magistrate who has to confront Terry-Thomas
three times in the courtroom), Nicholas Parsons (the future host of
Sale of the Century and the
long-running BBC radio series
Just A
Minute),Terry Scott (another
Carry
On regular and star of BBC TV sitcoms), amongst others.
Brenda De Banzie also gives great value as Terry-Thomas's vindictive
wife; she is perhaps best known today for her supporting role in
Hitchcock's
The Man Who Knew Too Much
(1956). With such a strong cast line-up,
Too Many Crooks could hardly fail
to be a classic. Laughter is easy and the minutes race by (even
faster than the driverless hearse) when you are in the company of such
masterful mirth merchants. This is pure comedy Heaven.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
A gang of small-time crooks are having a hard time making a dishonest
living, thanks to the ineptitude of their leader, Fingers. Sid
and his fellow gang members, Snowdrop and Whisper, are about to mutiny
when Fingers comes up with another brilliant plan: to rob the seriously
wealthy businessman Billy Gordon. Again, this proves to be
another disaster: Gordon catches the crooks in the act and scares them
off by pretending to have a surveillance system. In truth, the
businessman is loath to call in the police, fearing that his income tax
dodging may land him in hot water. This explains why he is none
too pleased when his daughter, Charmaine, affiances herself to a tax
inspector. Fingers is undeterred by this latest setback and comes
up with another foolproof plan. If the gang can break into
Gordon's house and abduct his beloved daughter, they will be able to
ransom her for a small fortune. Once more, the crooks bungle the
operation and end up kidnapping their victim's wife, Lucy, by
mistake. Gordon can hardly believe his good fortune. He has
been longing to get rid of his wife for years so that he can resume the
life of the carefree bachelor, so of course he refuses to pay the
ransom. Lucy is outraged by her husband's betrayal and decides to
join forces with her crooked abductors to rob Gordon of every penny he
possesses...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.