The Blue Plaque next door

London is famous (ok, not really) for it's "blue plaques", which are circular signs on buildings commemorating famous people who lived in a house for a period.  They look like this:

So on the building next to mine, there is a plaque commemorating the residence of "Alexander McKendrick, Film Director."  Who???

Being something of a film buff, I got curious about McKendrick, and learned that he was the director of  The Sweet Smell of Success, The Man in the White Suit, and The Ladykillers, three all-time great films.  If you haven't seen these films (I've been trained not to use the term "movies", which they don't use here in the UK), put them on your NetFlix list, you will not regret it.

Trivia point: in Barry Levinson's Diner, one character's dialogue is nothing but lines from Sweet Smell of Success.