Lavender Hill Mob

Yesterday afternoon we went to the movies with a DVD of “The Lavender Hill Mob”. The Fox chose the film.

 

At first I was disappointed, thinking it was “The Ladykillers”, another excellent Ealing comedy, starring Alec Guiness, but which I have watched so often I’ve got to the stage of being too familiar with it. However, as the film started in South America I realised I was on the wrong film. Even more so when a very young Audrey Hepburn appeared.

 

As the film went on I couldn’t help thinking how more realistically the film caught the feel of life in the 1950s in England. Even filming in black & white seemed appropriate. It was very monochrome time, with any colour being muted. Colour didn’t really arrive in this country until the 1960s. The film seemed a more realistic portrayal of the times than the many documentaries we’ve watched which have purported to give a feel of life in those days. I’ve sometimes ended up thinking they should consult with some of us who lived through those days rather than some of the young social historians they do consult who base their knowledge on books, documents etc. rather than actual experience. Those of us who had school meals then still shudder at what we were fed. In theory, on paper, they were well balanced meals. The reality was they used the cheapest ingredients they could find & then didn’t cook them well. I still wonder where the purple fluff arrived from that seem to pervade cooked cabbage at my school or how they managed to get raw potato to sit on some very watery potatoey liquid & call it mash.

 

As the two main characters, played by Alec Guiness & Stanley Holloway went off to Paris other memories arose. They went up the Eiffel Tower & I was reminded of my first visit to Paris when I had done the same. They descended down the steps rather than use the lift as I had done, both up & down. They seemed endless, a heady sensation.

 

As they tried for a hasty entry onto the ferry to England, they were stopped to go through all the procedures – passports, customs, & then the money. Some of these you still have to contend with as anyone queueing up to get through the formalities to get on a plane will know, as bags are searched for explosives, knives etc. some terrorist may carry. However, these days you no longer have to show how much cash you are carrying. In those days you did. I wonder if that will return now we are entering a post-Brexit world. Hopefully no, as we’ve never encountered such controls when we’ve visited countries out of the EU.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It was lovely to see a young, but unmistakable Sid James. I even recognised a young Alfie Bass.

 

Altogether I really enjoyed the film even though it was interrupted by a phone call, admittedly from a friend ringing to check we’d had a good Christmas. Or maybe it was more a case of getting some of the frustration off her chest as her nearly 90 year old husband had over-indulged over the Christmas period, causing her much anxiety. However, it did not stop us enjoying the film.