Too Many Crooks

One of British film comedy's most indispensable and improbable talents, the Italian expatriate Mario Zampi (1903-1963) had spent a generation after he first emigrated behind the scenes as an editor and then producer. With the advent of the '50s, he hit his stride as a director, guiding the cream of the U.K.'s comic talent through memorable, fast-paced farces with a marked English sensibility, including Laughter in Paradise (1951), Happily Ever After (1954) and The Naked Truth (1957). His final effort of the decade, Too Many Crooks (1959), was the last such film to reflect Zampi at the top of his game, marked as it is by the efforts of a delicious comic cast and its brisk, merry clip. The narrative opens with a hilariously botched smash-and-grab burglary that introduces the audience to a singularly inept cadre of hoodlums. The nominal brains of this sorry lot, the feckless Fingers (George Cole), is well aware that his crew--the surly veteran Sid (Sidney James), the hulking knucklehead Snowdrop (Bernard Bresslaw), the scrawny Whisper (Joe Melia) and the statuesque blonde Beryl (Delphi Lawrence)--are on the cusp of mutiny. Fingers, however, believes he's got the can't-miss scheme that will secure a big payoff. The gang's next target will be Billy Gordon (Terry-Thomas), a self-made entrepreneur whose very public dispute with the tax authorities makes it a certainty that he's got plenty of cash sequestered away. After Gordon handily foils the gang's attempt to crack his office safe, however, they switch to Plan B--the abduction and ransom of his beloved 17-year-old daughter Charmaine (Vera Day). Disguising themselves as undertakers, the crooks, in a very amusing sequence, pull off the snatch, but discover to their horror that their victim is Billy's neglected wife Lucy (Brenda De Banzie). Gordon, who'd heretofore proved to be a lecher and shady businessman in addition to a tax cheat, proves to be a thorough rotter when he laughs in the face of the gang's ransom demands, in the realization that any harm to Lucy means more time with his mistresses. Initially broken-hearted, Lucy quickly proves out that hell hath no fury, muscling Fingers out of the driver's seat and informing the gang that she'll lead them to all of Billy's caches for a 50-50 split. The balance of the film follows the new alliance as they make Billy's life a living hell as the now-efficient criminals systematically clean him out. Too Many Crooks is well-served by the players, with Terry-Thomas in a lead tailored to his talents, exquisitely smarmy when he holds the upper hand, hilarious in his meltdowns as his world collapses around him. Cole, whose long and fruitful performing career began with mentoring by Alistair Sim when he was a teenager and continues to this day, is equally amusing as the purported mastermind fooling no one with his half-baked schemes and dialects. Cole's career high points have been marked from similarly shiftless characterizations, from Flash Harry in the St. Trinian's comedies to his fifteen-season starring run as the conniving Arthur Daley in the TV series Minder. As the slighted-then-vengeful spouse, De Banzie brought obvious relish to her improbable transformation, and flavorful turns were also provided by James and Bresslaw, who'd soon be veterans of the voluminous run of the Carry On comedies that would mark the next generation. The carpetbag-countenanced James brought a nice slow burn to Fingers' least patient compatriot, and the 6'7" Bresslaw effectively portrayed the thick, good-natured brute to which he was frequently typed. Producer: Mario Zampi Director: Mario Zampi Screenplay: Michael Pertwee, based on a story by Jean Nery & Christiane Rochefort Cinematography: Stanley Pavey Art Direction: Ivan King Music: Stanley Black Film Editing: Bill Lewthwaite Cast: Terry-Thomas (William Delany Gordon), George Cole (Fingers), Brenda De Banzie (Lucy Gordon), Bernard Bresslaw (Snowdrop), Sid James (Sid), Vera Day (Charmaine Gordon), Delphi Lawrence (Beryl), John Le Mesurier (Magistrate). BW-85m. by Jay S. Steinberg