Make Mine Mink (1960)
In a mansion block in Knightsbridge, a gang of middle-aged biddies decide to brighten up "the dullness of the tea time of life" by staging a series of robberies on furriers, then donating the proceeds to charitable concerns. Terry Thomas as a retired army officer leads the gang, which includes Athene Seyler and Hattie Jacques, on a series of capers that nearly go awry when their maid, Billie Whitelaw, an ex-con and also a resident of the block, falls for a police officer.
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Charming comedy about a bored group who board with Dame Bea (Athene Seyler) in an apartment. She supports many charities but has now run out of money. Through a series of events, they hit upon the idea of stealing fur coats and selling them to a fence so that she can continue to support her charities. The others are all bored so they go along ...since it's for charity. Implausible plot makes little difference as this disparate group of oddballs start their series of robberies. Subplot has Dame Bea's maid (Billie Whitelaw) who has a prison record, falling for a cop (Jack Hedley).The robberies are masterminded by the Major (Terry-Thomas) who calls on his military experience to plan the robberies, including all manner of disguises. Because they have no police records, they rob shops and gambling joints right under the cops' noses.The cast is uniformly excellent is this bit of craziness. Terry-Thomas and Athene Seyler turn in star performances, matched by Hattie Jacques as Nan and Elspeth Duxbury as the hapless Pinkie--their cohorts. Others in the cast include Raymond Huntley as the inspector, Irene Handl as Spolinski, Penny Morrell as Gertrude, Sydney Tafler and Joan Heal as the neighbors, and May Hallatt as the old lady. Kenneth Williams also shows up as the fence.The ending is priceless.
It's just as well the charming and beguiling Billie Whitelaw is included in this rather knockabout farce, as well as a number of other expert players who can similarly overcome both the over-talkative dialogue and the rather long time it takes for the movie to actually start moving! In fact, it's chiefly the cast that makes this entry worth watching. Even the minor roles are expertly filled. You can spot Kenneth Williams giving one of his typically fruity portrayals. Hattie Jacques, as always, is a delight. Alas, Robert Asher's director, while it does have some inventive touches here and there, tends to be slow and heavy-handed. However, other credits are serviceable and production values are well up to "A" standard.
As another reviewer stated this story is just too unbelievable to be even funny.4 eccentric rooming house characters decide to rob furs and donate the money to charity.There is such a thing as suspending disbelief but this story requires something beyond the pale in that category. Stores with thousands worth of furs with no credible security etc...I enjoy humor that is unexpected this movie has very little of that. I did find the heavy set roommate humorous. Also, I don't like formula films that much--if you do maybe this one is OK.I don't recommend it.
A warm view of the criminal temptation as seen through the eyes of the comic displaced. Fine team performances, particularly from the female cast members, topped off by a Terry-Thomas character out of his own flawed top-drawer. A real treat for those who like their view of the British as slightly off-centre, warm and hypocritical...which is not a bad summary of the national character. Kenneth Williams in an early appearance shines as a character that he never really succeeded in developing for the screen but which points to a keen comic enjoying himself in very good company. Billie Whitelaw playing against type is also a revelation in a role that hints strongly at the type of role that she made her own in films later in the decade