The Ladykillers (1955) is probably the most famous of the Ealing comedies made in the decade after WW2 by Britain's Ealing Studios. The Coen Brothers moved the story to the American South in a remake (2004).

In both versions, a gang of crooks rents space with an elderly lady by pretending to be classical musicians. But they are actually planning a robbery that she will unwittingly play an important part in. She ultimately discovers the truth, and they have to decide whether and how to live up to the title of the film.

The original stars Alec Guinness with fat-period Peter Sellers and a few less familiar (to me) faces. It's a good slice of British comedy, but feels rather arch and stagy to me. (I've got half an eye on Sullivan's Travels at the moment, and despite the fact that Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake would do well to play convincing mannequins, it feels sleek and precise.) The laughs are more Carry On... scale than Pythonesque, and the editing often feels clumsy and choppy. The characters are great, but the acting is lacking from everyone but Guinness and Herbert Lom (Inspector Clouseau's boss in the Pink Panther films). Who would have thought that Peter Sellers would underplay an aging Teddy boy Cockney crook? There's a bit too much climbing about on roofs, and the central caper itself is a little underwhelming, but it's fairly clever and not bad action for time.

On the whole, the film feels rather small and intimate and perfectly likeable, but also clunky. The Ealing comedies were known for their light satire, and it's this that makes it work to the degree it does.

The remake looks and sounds absolutely gorgeous (the Coens use gospel this time), but I felt it was kind of baffling and kept missing opportunities. Their old lady is better (the highlight of the film, really), but the crooks are mostly unfunny caricatures. I actually did like Tom Hanks' demented Colonel Sanders bit, despite the fact that he's so weird I thought he might be a ghost or something. JK Simmons and the others are fine, but Marlon Wayons is completely out of place. The expanded cast (a crook's girlfriend, the casino manager, and the sheriff) aren't used enough that they pay off. George Wallace as the sheriff is so good he really ought to have an early morning, low-speed chase with the crooks' hearse in which he's forced to let them go because they do indeed have a corpse in the coffin: the dead accomplice they're disposing of. Their very CRIME is their SALVATION. (Look, a theme!)

On the whole, the film feels smooth and almost grand, but also mushy. The Coens seem to have missed the satire of the original and replaced it with crass swearing and toilet humor. (Which is strange because Raising Arizona DID strike just that Ealing tone of light satire and works very well partly because of it.)