The Ladykillers sequel
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A sequel to the 1955 film The Ladykillers was announced by Ealing Studios in 1957. To be directed by Alexander Mackendrick, the plot would have involved Mrs Wilberforce using the money she had received in the first film to buy a grander house. She would then have been targeted by a gang of conmen led by Reverend Marcus, who would have been played by Alec Guinness. Peter Sellers was also set to appear.
Mackendrick intended to shoot on location at Wester Drumlins, a mansion in London, which would have portrayed Mrs Wilberforce's new home. However, multiple tragedies beset the production even before the principal shooting began, including the abrupt disappearances of location managers and two crewmembers being badly injured by a lighting rig that fell from the ceiling in the living room. The disasters spooked insurance companies, and by late 1957 the film was scrapped.
In 1974, Sellers gave an interview on Parkinson where he revealed that Mackendrick and Guinness had been approached by a softly spoken man who urged them to abandon the project or film elsewhere. Sellers recalled that the young man had spoken "mumbo jumbo" about "killer statues", but his words had scared Mackendrick enough that he decided to halt the film. For the actor, the cancellation still rankled as he had gone on to shoot Up the Creek, which he described as being unremembered.
In 2021, journalist Rani Chandra wrote about the unfinished film in an article on the Into The Unknown blog. For her research, she found scripts and records in the British Film Institute Library, and also watched Sellers' interview. (PROSE: The Very Real Mystery of Wester Drumlins)
