Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)



Director: Robert Hamer

Few British actors were as talented as Sir Alec Guinness was in his long, illustrious career. Here we observe him as one of the finest character actors as he appears as eight distinctly different characters with eight unique deaths in this dark British comedy. This satire tackles classism, familial tensions, and repressed love in a grim manner dressed in an entertaining and humorous manner. It all comes together as one of Ealing Studios’ grand comedies and one of the greatest British comedies in cinema.

Kind Hearts and Coronets is a dark British comedy about one man fiendish plot to force his way to being named a Duke by eliminating the eight individuals that lead him in the line of succession. On the eve of his execution for murder Louis, the 10th Duke of Chalfont, assembles his memoirs recounting his life’s tale and rise to dukedom. The only son of a widowed mother (Audrey Fildes) banished by her prestigious family, the D’Ascoyne’s, for marrying outside of their social level, upon her death Louis vows to regain honor to his mother and his now perceived lower status by forcing himself into being named Duke. To do so he must eliminate the wide gap of successors in the family’s line by bringing upon them their untimely deaths. The eight members of the D’Ascoyne family, each even one it one female successor portrayed by Alec Guinness, is brought to their deaths either on their own accord or with the unseen help of Louis’ intervention. Ironically the one death not caused by Louis becomes connected to him under the accusation of murder, leading to his conviction and proposed execution. At the final moment evidence of the victim’s apparent death by suicide arises exonerating Louis of his crime. However, the final laugh is on Louis as upon exiting the prison he is stricken with panic realizing he left behind the damning memoirs in his cell for its eventually discovery.

A delightful dry and dark comedy about vengeful murdering by a man appearing as a respectful gentleman, Kind Hearts and Coronets is a film that manifests the sense of British humor that would grow and resonate in the later half of the twentieth century. During the era of post war Britain local writers and artists are establishing humor as a weapon towards the aristocracy and bureaucracy of the social establishment and this film is a perfect example it. With a story of a social and sexually repressed man taking his furies out in such a grim manner with no true reward becomes the canvas by which many silly scenarios play out to the acting talents most highlighted by Alec Guinness. Portraying eight very different characters, Guinness shines while primary players of Price, Greenwood, and Hobson represent that of the faults of a sect of English society’s misguided values. Cleverly constructed by director Robert Hamer, the picture presented in a manner that not many comedies of the day were known for.

Inspired by the 1907 Roy Horniman novel “Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal” Kind Hearts and Cornets was believed to be a troubled project from nearly the beginning for Ealing Studios as executives and producers lacked faith in a film plot based around a series of murders. The project would be assigned to Robert Hamer with the notion that he had in uphill battle to make irony entertaining, which poignantly would evolve into one of the great staples of British comedy in future years.

Casting instituted Dennis Price as its leading man, portraying a snobbish young gentleman murderer that is proper, cunning, spiteful, and devious. His main love interest would be provided by Ealing Studios starlet Joan Greenwood, who was at the same time appearing in another successful studio comedy Whiskey Galore! Greenwood’s performance as a the childhood friend and love interest that turns down Louis’ marriage proposals due to his social status helps to support his vengefulness, all the while sharing lusty romance. Top billing however appears in the form of Valerie Hobson, the then most recognizable name in the cast during the time of release. She portrays a secondary love interest to Louis on his rise to becoming the Duke, as a sophisticated widow of one of Louis’s victims that tickles his intellectual fancy as well as affectionate curiosity.

Above everything in this production arises the performances of Alec Guinness in his multitude of roles as the members of the D’Ascoyne family, the targets of Louis’ nefarious plot. Guinness was pursued as a character actor to portray four of these very brief roles in the picture, but after literally falling over laughing from reading the first few pages of the script while on holiday he wrote the producers asking if it would be better to play all eight of the family members presented to perish in the picture. He would in fact portray nine characters in the film, one simply appearing by way of a photograph of a prior Duke. The appearance of Guinness in his various roles won the actor great attention on the silver screen with most of his previous work being on the British stages.

The most significant shot in the picture sees Alec Guinness portraying six members of the D’Ascoyne family on the screen at the same time. This kind of visual effect had been achieved in prior films by some talents, included by the likes of Buster Keaton, but here it is Guinness in various forms of make up and costumes, gives each character a personality and unique performance that would be masterful for its day. To create this effect it took multiple days of shooting with a fixed camera and mattes to expose different parts of the film during Guinness’ different sets and a cameraman guarding the stage to make sure nothing was moved on set. The cameraman would go as far as to sleeping on set at night to assure everything was undisturbed to successfully pull off these masterful shots.

The film does its best to poke fun at the many aspects of British society and can be seen as an example of the changing character of the nation. In the coming decades the British would dissolve its imperialism, all but abandon the hierarchy of nobility as a ruling class, and become more of a player in the globalization of the world following the experiences of World War II. Kind Hearts and Coronets released to British audiences in June of 1949 to warm critical acclaim. American audiences would receive a slightly edited version of the film due to the Hays Code, playing down the notion of adultery between Louis and Greenwood’s character of Sibella despite it being a major force in Louis’ action outside of dishonor experiences by his mother. American critics enjoyed the satirical nature of the picture with the sophisticated manner of a mass murder as the focus of the plot. Of coarse, great praise was received by Alec Guinness for his numerous performance ranging from gentleman, a slightly naughty clergyman, military men, a somewhat bumbling nice guy, and even a stuck up older lady.
 
On top of widespread acclaim Kind Hearts and Coronets would be nominated as one of the best British films of the year. With time the picture remains in high regards by film historians as one of British cinema’s great films of the era and even as late as 2008 being considered within the top ten of top British comedies of all time. Such great praise of the feature has kept the film well preserved with modern digital restoration of classic films. Kind Hearts and Coronets finds itself on a pedestal in the hearts of British cinema and marvelous example of Alec Guinness’ talents beyond the performances of his later career that had overshadowed such pieces like this.

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