The Lavender Hill Mob - Definition and Overview

The Lavender Hill Mob is a 1951 comedy film from Ealing Studios which tells the story of a mild-mannered bank clerk who masterminds the robbery of his bank. It stars Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sid James, and Alfie Bass.

The movie was written by T.E.B. Clarke and directed by Charles Crichton. It won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay and Alec Guinness was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Lavender Hill is a street in Battersea, a district of South London, in the postcode area SW11, near to Clapham Junction railway station. The railway plays a significant part in the film.

Audrey Hepburn makes one of her first film appearances in a small role near the start of the film. Reportedly, she was supposed to have had a major part in the film, but other commitments prevented this, so Guinness lobbied for her to be given a walk-on part. This was the first film featuring Hepburn to be given major distribution in the United States (most of her other early roles were in movies that were only distributed in Great Britain or Europe).