As black comedies go, The Ladykillers (remade in 2004) is neither terribly black nor terribly comedic. The centerpiece performance by a sunken-eyed Alec Guinness doesn't ever raise the film above its simple beginnings, involving a band of crooks (led by Guinness) who use an old woman's home as home base for a heist. The crooks scheme to kill the old lady when she stumbles upon their plan. Slow and unbalanced, the movie doesn't make much of an impression, though some moments (like the crooks posing as a string quartet) are priceless.

Aka The Lady Killers.