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Submitted by cinemascope on Sat, 2006-04-15 11:21. :: Classic
Movie title:
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Starring:
Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood, Alec Guiness, John Penrose
Directed by:
Robert Hamer
Written by:
Robert Hamer and John Dighton (from Ray Horniman's novel)
Genre:
Comedy/Drama
Year:
1949
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Runtime:
106 minutes
Imdb:
Rating:
Synopsis
In jail for murder and awaiting dawn, when he is due to be hanged, the Duke of D'Ascoyne writes his memoirs. They tell the tale of how, born into obscurity after his aristocratic mother was disinherited following her marriage to a lowly Italian singer, the young Luis Manzini vowed to regain what he considered rightfully his, by killing off the D'Ascoyne family one by one until he can inherit the dukedom.
In jail for murder and awaiting dawn, when he is due to be hanged, the Duke of D'Ascoyne writes his memoirs. They tell the tale of how, born into obscurity after his aristocratic mother was disinherited following her marriage to a lowly Italian singer, the young Luis Manzini vowed to regain what he considered rightfully his, by killing off the D'Ascoyne family one by one until he can inherit the dukedom.
Review
Famously remembered as being a vehicle for the prodigious talents of Alec Guiness, taking on eight very different roles as the entire D’Ascoyne family, old and young, male and female, in reality Guiness – while undeniably brilliant – has relatively little screen-time, and the movie truly belongs to Dennis Price as Luis, the greed-and-injustice driven protagonist at the heart of the tale. Blackly comic and brilliantly performed by all concerned (particularly John Penrose as Luis’ buffoonish love-rival Lionel), what lifts Kind Hearts and Coronets to the heights of greatness is the razor-sharp script – twisting, turning, dark and yet always witty, driving towards a conclusion that surprises even when you think you know what’s coming. Set in the Edwardian era, the movie is beautifully designed and photographed, maturing well with age and enduring as one of Ealing’s finest films.
Famously remembered as being a vehicle for the prodigious talents of Alec Guiness, taking on eight very different roles as the entire D’Ascoyne family, old and young, male and female, in reality Guiness – while undeniably brilliant – has relatively little screen-time, and the movie truly belongs to Dennis Price as Luis, the greed-and-injustice driven protagonist at the heart of the tale. Blackly comic and brilliantly performed by all concerned (particularly John Penrose as Luis’ buffoonish love-rival Lionel), what lifts Kind Hearts and Coronets to the heights of greatness is the razor-sharp script – twisting, turning, dark and yet always witty, driving towards a conclusion that surprises even when you think you know what’s coming. Set in the Edwardian era, the movie is beautifully designed and photographed, maturing well with age and enduring as one of Ealing’s finest films.
