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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