Review of Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) by Jason J — 09 Nov 2010

The pinnacle of Ealing comedies and also its most darkest, Kind Hearts and Coronets has got to be one of the funniest films about murder to be made. Much of this owes to Alec Guinness' fantastic performance, a true tour-de-force in comedy. He plays all eight of the family members, from the suffragette feminist Lady Agatha d'Ascoyne, to the dull and dim Reverend d'Ascoyne - changing his tone, stature, facial expressions and accent to play each character as if they were a completely new person.

That said, Dennis Price takes the lead excellently. As Louis Mazzini d'Ascoyne, he murders, poisons and drowns each of the characters without a sense of remorse that could seem cold and inhumane, but the audience find amusing. We eagerly await his calculation of the death of another, because we know it will have hilarious consequences, and the plot never holds back.

For those who don't want to watch a film for the history lesson, no fear - Kind Hearts and Coronets truly shines as a comedy. Even now, the one-liners and biting irony rings and every scene has a joke to laugh at. Under director Robert Hamer's ultra-capable hands, a warm-hearted satire has been crafted. You really can't get much better, or much intelligent than this.