Alec Guinness minces through The Ladykillers as if it were his own personal playground, as well it should be. As the toothy, grinning leader of a gang of bumbling crooks – he only looks like a half-wit because the rest of them have no wits at all – he’s a loony treat, a comic bright spot no matter how dark the humor gets. And things get pretty dark, as the criminals find a sweet little old lady standing between them and the loot. Murder becomes the obvious option, but not the easiest one. With Katie Johnson as the foil to their plans ó she nearly steals the movie from Guinness with little more than a wonderfully blank face.
