Felicia Manheim

アレック・ギネス、ピーター・セラーズほか、キャラクター豊かな役者陣の名演が光る傑作ブラック・コメディー。 舞台はロンドン。キングスクロス駅近くに住むウィルバーフォース夫人の家に、ある日5人の奇妙な男たちが部屋を借りた。彼らは楽団員で、ここで練習をさせてほしいと言うが、じつは現金輸送車を狙う強盗団だった。ありがた迷惑なおせっかいやきの夫人に悩まされながら、5人は計画を練り、ついに行動を開始するが…。

When British Railways announce the closure of the Titfield to Mallingford branch line a group of local residents make a bid to run it themselves, backed by a monied member of the community who is attracted by the complete lack of licensing hours on trains. Unfortunately the local bus company starts to use methods that can hardly be seen as fair competition.

The unassuming, nebbishy inventor Sidney Stratton creates a miraculous fabric that will never be dirty or worn out. Clearly he can make a fortune selling clothes made of the material, but may cause a crisis in the process. After all, once someone buys one of his suits they won't ever have to fix them or buy another one, and the clothing industry will collapse overnight. Nevertheless, Sidney is determined to put his invention on the market, forcing the clothing factory bigwigs to resort to more desperate measures...