Kind Hearts and Coronets

Featured image for “Kind Hearts and Coronets”
Shown: January 11, 2021 at 6pm

Director : Robert Hamer

Country : UK

Release Date : 1949

Duration : 106 mins

Language : English

Subtitles : No

Hailing from the Golden-Age of Ealing comedies, Kind Hearts and Coronets stars Dennis Price as the debonair yet impoverished Louis Mazzini, the would-be Duke of Chalfont whose mother was disinherited by her noble family, the D’Ascoynes, for marrying beneath her. When her dying wish to be buried in the family crypt is refused, Louis vows to avenge his mother and work his way up the family tree, by engaging in the gentle art of murder. One by one he attempts to kill off the eight successors that stand in the way of his becoming Duke – all played by Alec Guinness in an unforgettable tour-de-force performance. Also starring Joan Greenwood as the husky-voiced siren Sibella and Valerie Hobson as the refined and virtuous Edith D’Ascoyne, both of whom threaten to distract Louis from his murderous quest. A wonderfully entertaining combination of biting class satire, hilarious farce and pitch-black comedy, this story of a suave and elegant serial murderer is as sharp and funny today as ever. We show this in the 70th anniversary razor-sharp 4K restoration.

The Ealing genre reached utter perfection with this superb black comedy of manners.”  (Peter Bradshaw – The Guardian)


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