In The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), which actor plays bank clerk Henry Holland?

Alec Guinness plays bank clerk Henry Holland in The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), the British comedy about a gold-smuggling scheme.

Holland works at the Bank of England and helps supervise shipments of gold bullion. He secretly conspires with Alfred Pendlebury, a souvenir manufacturer played by Stanley Holloway, to steal gold bars and disguise them as Eiffel Tower paperweights. The plan depends on moving the disguised bullion out of Britain before the criminals can sell it.

The film was directed by Charles Crichton and written by T. E. B. Clarke. Its humor comes from the contrast between Holland’s mild, respectable appearance and the elaborate criminal plan he helps organize. Guinness’s performance earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor, making the film one of the best-known British caper comedies.

The title refers to Lavender Hill, the south London street where Holland lives. The film is also often grouped with Ealing Studios comedies such as Kind Hearts and Coronets, though its central crime is unusually elaborate for a comedy.