Review of Ladies Who Do

"Ladies who do" is a classic British comedy with a glorious cast of comedy greats. The plot deals with a cleaning lady who accidentally slips a stockmarket tip to another customer, a retired colonel. Clever use of the tip leads to a welcome windfall. Inspired by the success, the cleaning lady and the colonel create an information-gathering network spying on the movers and shakers of the economy.

The movie boasts some pretty funny characters, such as a devoutly Communist charlady who spouts effortless jargon about the blood of the workers and the blood of the bourgeoisie continuing their fight in the gutters.

In spite of its merry tone and zany plot, "Ladies who do" deals with a number of serious topics such as the darker side of urban development. Here, a group of hapless inhabitants get pressured into leaving their modest working-class neighborhood, which has been slated for demolition. They're supposed to abandon their "festering slum", so that rich investors and contractors can grow even more prosperous erecting luxury dwellings. On paper the plan is described as a triumph for social progress, but in reality it would mean the death of a harmonious and close-knit community.

Comedy highlight : the invasion of a street by a growing number of near-identical charladies.