Inflation may have dented the allure of its £1m bullion heist, but this 1951 Ealing comedy is still 24-carat gold.
Alec Guinness is the lowly bank clerk turned master criminal with a plan to smuggle a truckload of stolen bullion out of the country in the shape of Eiffel Tower paperweights.
Cocking a snoot at the stuffy Establishment mores of ’50s Britain – all claustrophobic boarding rooms and straight-backed coppers – it’s a worm-that-turned classic from a bygone era.
Best bit? The smirk on Guinness’ face as he grabs a gun and lives the gangster dream: “Call me Dutch.”
