He invites them to spend a few days at Chalfont Castle. Dennis Price plays Louis D'Ascoyne, the would-be Duke of Chalfont whose mother was spurned by her noble family for marrying an Italian singer for love. 9 people found this helpful. Louis' only childhood friends are Sibella and her brother, the children of a local doctor. A major difference was that the main character was the half-Jewish (as opposed to half-Italian) Israel Rank, and Heffer writes that Mazzini's "ruthless using of people (notably women) and his greedy pursuit of position all seem to conform to the stereotype that the anti-semite has of the Jew". And simple faith than Norman blood." 8.0 1 h 46 min 1950 X-Ray PG-13. As scathing a critique of the British upper classes as the cinema has ever given us, disguised as a light comedy with a charming exterior. Louis wants to marry Sibella; however, she ridicules his marriage proposal but the pair become lovers nevertheless. and the Terms and Policies, The percentage of users who rated this 3.5 stars or higher. I for one would perhaps consider this film more pompous than witty, but rest assured that there are moments in which the film does, in fact, take on effective wit, particularly when it comes to the sense of humor that might not always work, - especially when being played up to the point of breaking a surprisingly consistency in this film's straight face with moderate silliness - but still has those moments of amusing effectiveness that give you a taste of what could have been. Louis is forced to work as an assistant in a draper's shop. Louis inherits the title but his triumph proves short-lived. Logo Imdb Outline. Drownings, explosions, and poisonings, their ethical status barely mentioned, let alone chastised, roll by like carriages in the park. Louis resolves to kill Ascoyne D'Ascoyne and the other seven people ahead of him in succession to the dukedom. [21], The British Film Institute see Kind Hearts and Coronets as "less sentimental" than many of the other Ealing films. [30] The unknown reviewer from The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that Guinness played his roles "with intelligence and restraint and show[ed] his power as a character actor",[31] while Crowther considered that Guinness acted with "such devastating wit and variety that he naturally dominates the film". True, it’s undeniably a comedy and was made by (though largely not at) Ealing. [47] The British distributor Optimum Releasing released a digitally restored version for both DVD and Blu-ray in September 2011. |, December 20, 2014 Forgot your password? |, August 18, 2011 Thirdly, that of making a picture which paid no regard whatever to established, although not practised, moral convention. [28] Bosley Crowther, the critic for The New York Times, called the film a "delicious little satire on Edwardian manners and morals",[29] while the unnamed reviewer for Time called it "one of the best films of the year". [9] Hamer saw the potential of the story and later wrote: What were the possibilities which thus presented themselves? I don't know about you people, but probably the funniest thing about this film is the name of the guys who wrote the book upon which this film is based, and whose name I'm not going to go ahead and say (Look it up and see just how much tastefulness in humor has died throughout the decades), because as this opener's first sentence will tell you, I can sure mess up a play on word. 60: In glowing health, with boundless wealth, But sickening of … Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. [36] Kind Hearts and Coronets is listed in Time's top 100 and also at number six in the BFI Top 100 British films. ...Okay, well, at least this film is funnier then what I just said, and this film isn't exactly all that high of a standard, which is shocking, because, for all extents and purposes, this film should still be very effective. She instead marries Lionel Holland, a former schoolmate with a rich father. When employed as a shop assistant, Louis's suit was ill-fitting and drab; he is later seen in tailored suits with satin lapels, wearing a brocade dressing gown and waiting for his execution in a quilted-collar velvet jacket. The film was re-exposed several times with Guinness in different positions over several days. [39] BBC Radio 4 produced a new adaptation in 1980 featuring Robert Powell as the entire D'Ascoyne clan, including Louis, and Timothy Bateson as the hangman,[40] and another in 1996 featuring Michael Kitchen as Mazzini and Harry Enfield as the D'Ascoyne family. Admiral Lord Horatio D'Ascoyne presents a challenge, as he rarely sets foot on land. A Scotland Yard detective arrests him on suspicion of having murdered Lionel, who killed himself following Louis' rejection of his drunken pleas for help to avoid the disgrace of bankruptcy. Read critic reviews. After his mother’s death, Louis becomes determined to avenge her and inherit the family title. It concerns Louis D'Ascoyne Mazzini, the son of a woman disowned by her aristocratic family for marrying out of her social class. Sign up here. It was noted for its dark humor and for the performance of Alec Guinness, who played eight characters. xx. 106. Good luck to you. Kind Hearts And Coronets Synopsis: In prison awaiting execution the next morning Louis, the 10th Duke of Chalfont, sets down on paper the events that led him to his current situation. [7] Balcon, who produced the film, chose Robert Hamer as director and warned him that "You are trying to sell that most unsaleable commodity to the British ��� irony. Falling into all of the tropes of a throw-away flashback sequence, complete with skimming that is in no way helped by prominence in Dennis Price's summarizing narration, the body of this film is slapdashed and distancing, and such questionable story structuring methods deal a mighty blow to the film, no matter how much it ostensibly attempts to balance pacing out by meeting structurally rushed moments with atmospheric momentum that is anything but pumped out. Kind Hearts and Coronets. [10], The film was produced at the same time as two other Ealing comedies, Passport to Pimlico and Whisky Galore! The head of Ealing Studios, Michael Balcon, was initially unconvinced by the idea of the film, stating that "I'm not going to make a comedy about eight murders"; the studio's creative staff persuaded him to reconsider. |, October 9, 2019 There's a certain degree of immediate intrigue to this dry, darkly humorous study on a gentlemen with a dark vengeful side, but most intrigue goes lost in translation, thus you're only left with the natural shortcomings in this story, of which there are many, as this subject matter is mighty thin, with plenty of consequence, but still not enough juiciness surrounding and reinforcing the kick to such consequence, whose instrumental flavor rests in the hand of those who execute this sensitive story concept. Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. When Ethelred casually informs Louis that he intends to remarry in order to produce an heir, Louis arranges a hunting "accident". Douglas Slocombe, the cinematographer in charge of the effect, recalled sleeping in the studio to make sure nobody touched the camera. |. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays nine characters. In Edwardian England, Louis D'Ascoyne Mazzini, 10th Duke of Chalfont, is in prison, awaiting his hanging for murder the following morning. Louis finds both Edith and Sibella waiting for him outside the prison. Louis is shunned by his family, the noble and snobbish d’Ascoynes, as a result of his mother’s marriage to a foreign commoner. comedy, [48], To mark the film���s 70th anniversary in June 2019 a new 4k restoration scanned from the 35 mm nitrate original negative was released by Studiocanal in UK cinemas, along with DVD and Blu-Ray versions. Kind Hearts and Coronets was released on 23 June 1949 in the United Kingdom, opening at the Odeon Leicester Square cinema in London, [1] and was well received by the critics. Soon after, Louis quarrels with customer, young Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, the banker's only child, who has him dismissed from his job. All Critics (47) A hilarious study in the gentle art of murder.. Louis Mazzini's mother belongs to the aristocratic family D'Ascoyne, but she ran away with an opera singer. In 2005 it was included in Time's list of the top 100 films since 1923. Don’t worry, it won’t take long. A rguably the two most perfect British movies were made in the same year, 1949 – Carol Reed's The Third Man and Robert Hamer's Kind Hearts and Coronets… During the trial, Edith marries Louis in prison in order to demonstrate her utter belief in his innocence. Kind hearts are more than coronets, and simple faith than Norman blood. Synopsis. Definitely a must-see for fans of murder and wit. It’s not widely known that Kind Hearts and Coronets was based on a now out of print book titled, ‘Israel Rank: … When Edith agrees to marry Louis, they notify Ethelred, the childless, widowed 8th Duke. As did one instance of drag. All rights reserved. After arranging a fatal boating accident for Ascoyne and his mistress, Louis writes a letter of condolence to his victim's father, Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, who employs him as a clerk. [46], The Criterion Collection released a two-DVD disc set. Ruthlessly ambitious aristocrat Louis Mazzini (played by | Rating: 5/5 This title looks into the turbulent personalities that formed the complex style of this film to unravel the fusion of cynicism, contempt, sparkling wit and philosophical curiosity. Cinemark : It is better to be a decent human being than to have riches and power. Why not eight!? The opening scene of "Kind Hearts and Coronets" shows Dennis Price as Louis Mazzini, a newly-minted Duke who has methodically tried to murder his way to the title. Don't have an account? Moments before his hanging---and with his memoir now complete---Sibella produces the suicide note and Louis is saved. | Fresh (47). Unity then murders the entire D'Ascoyne family, with all seven members played by Alistair McGowan. Robert Hamer. Leeds Castle, also in Kent, was used for Chalfont, the family home of the D'Ascoynes. Director Robert Hamer’s fiendishly funny Kind Hearts and Coronets stands as one of Ealing Studios’ greatest triumphs, and one of the most wickedly black comedies ever made. A high comedy that is enlivened with cynicism, loaded with dramatic irony and shot through with a suspicion of social satire. [15] Exterior filming was undertaken in the Kent villages of Harrietsham and Boughton Monchelsea. A new ending was added, showing Louis's memoirs being discovered before he can retrieve them; the dialogue between Louis and Sibella was altered to play down their adultery; derogatory lines aimed at the Reverend Henry D'Ascoyne were deleted; and in the nursery rhyme "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe", "sailor" replaced the word "nigger". And simple faith than Norman blood. |, June 7, 2019 Amazingly courageous for its day (1949) in combining bad taste with good comedy. [16][17] Additional filming was undertaken at Ealing Studios. Along with The Man in the White Suit (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955), Kind Hearts and Coronets "unleash[es] transgressive nightmares, fables of subversive, maverick masculine obsession and action, where the repressed and vengeful bubble up to the surface and lead to a resolutions which were only just contained in the moral strictures permissible in (Balcon's) Ealing cinema at the time". It has continued to receive favourable reviews over the years, and in 1999 it was number six in the British Film Institute's rating of the Top 100 British films. The first is a feature-length docu on the history of the studio that includes enticing film clips from many English films unavailable in the states, such as It Always Rains on Sunday. 13+ COMMON SENSE A comedic gem featuring the incomparable Sir Alec Guinness. KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS. If nothing else can be said about this film, it looks pretty good for its time, and even to this day, as art director William Kellner captures a tasteful classiness in his designing of this world, often complimented by obviously limited, but generally noticeably sharp lighting tastes, explored by cinematographer Douglas Slocombe. Despite a long and illustrious career as one of Britain's finest character actors, Alec Guinness is probably best known to a new generation as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars. Wow, I am really just knocking out of the park when it comes to showing that I'm perfectly sophisticated enough to be credible in a discussion of this film, but rest assured, people, I can back up my opinion that this film is hardly rewarding, much less funny, and yet, it's hard to deny what is done right in this film. 1949. Artfulness is all. | Rating: 5/5 Louis, I think I've married the most boring man in London!