Kind Hearts and Coronets - Revision history

Kurt: /* Pre-production */

2024-10-05T04:10:31Z

Pre-production

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	==Production==		==Production==
	===Pre-production===		===Pre-production===
	[[File:~~Sir~~ Alec Guinness ~~3 Allan Warren~~.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|[[Alec Guinness]] in ~~1972~~]]		[[File:Alec Guinness 1951.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|[[Alec Guinness]] in 1951]]
	In 1947 [[Michael Pertwee]], a scriptwriter at [[Ealing Studios]], suggested an adaptation of a 1907 [[Roy Horniman]] novel, ''Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal''.{{sfn\|Sellers\|2015\|pp=152–153}} The writer [[Simon Heffer]] observes that the plot of the source novel was dark in places—it includes the murder of a child—and differed in several respects from the resulting film. A major difference was that the main character was the half-Jewish (as opposed to half-Italian) Israel Rank, and Heffer writes that Mazzini's "ruthless using of people (notably women) and his greedy pursuit of position all seem to conform to the stereotype that the [[Anti-Semitism\|anti-semite]] has of the Jew".<ref>{{cite web \|last=Heffer \|first=Simon \|author-link=Simon Heffer \|url=http://www.faber.co.uk/article/2008/12/simon-heffer-on-israel-rank/ \|url-status=dead \|title=Israel Rank Reviewed \|work=[[Faber and Faber]] \|access-date=25 February 2017 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901215515/http://www.faber.co.uk/article/2008/12/simon-heffer-on-israel-rank/ \|archive-date=1 September 2012}}</ref>		In 1947 [[Michael Pertwee]], a scriptwriter at [[Ealing Studios]], suggested an adaptation of a 1907 [[Roy Horniman]] novel, ''Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal''.{{sfn\|Sellers\|2015\|pp=152–153}} The writer [[Simon Heffer]] observes that the plot of the source novel was dark in places—it includes the murder of a child—and differed in several respects from the resulting film. A major difference was that the main character was the half-Jewish (as opposed to half-Italian) Israel Rank, and Heffer writes that Mazzini's "ruthless using of people (notably women) and his greedy pursuit of position all seem to conform to the stereotype that the [[Anti-Semitism\|anti-semite]] has of the Jew".<ref>{{cite web \|last=Heffer \|first=Simon \|author-link=Simon Heffer \|url=http://www.faber.co.uk/article/2008/12/simon-heffer-on-israel-rank/ \|url-status=dead \|title=Israel Rank Reviewed \|work=[[Faber and Faber]] \|access-date=25 February 2017 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901215515/http://www.faber.co.uk/article/2008/12/simon-heffer-on-israel-rank/ \|archive-date=1 September 2012}}</ref>

Kurt at 13:59, 31 January 2023

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	\| name = Kind Hearts and Coronets		\| name = Kind Hearts and Coronets
	\| image = Kind Hearts and Coronets.jpg		\| image = Kind Hearts and Coronets.jpg
	\| caption = ~~Original British film poster by [[James Fitton (artist)\|James Fitton]]~~		\| caption =
	\| director = [[Robert Hamer]]		\| director = [[Robert Hamer]]
	\| screenplay = {{plainlist\|		\| screenplay = {{plainlist\|

Kurt at 13:58, 31 January 2023

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	{{short description\|1949 British crime black comedy film directed by Robert Hamer}}		{{short description\|1949 British crime black comedy film directed by Robert Hamer}}
	~~{{good article}}~~
	~~{{EngvarB\|date=September 2013}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=August 2014}}~~
	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| name = Kind Hearts and Coronets		\| name = Kind Hearts and Coronets
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	[[Category:1949 drama films]]		[[Category:1949 drama films]]
	[[Category:1940s British films]]		[[Category:1940s British films]]
			[[Category:British comedy films]]

Kurt: /* External links */

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External links

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	==External links==		==External links==
	~~{{wikiquote}}~~
	* {{Amg movie\|27361}}		* {{Amg movie\|27361}}
	* ~~[http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/~~4ce2b73453fda ''Kind Hearts and Coronets~~''] at the [[British Film Institute]]~~		* {{BFI\|4ce2b73453fda\|Kind Hearts and Coronets}}
	* {{IMDb title\|0041546}}		* {{IMDb title\|0041546}}
	* ~~[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/~~441483~~/ ''~~Kind Hearts and Coronets~~''] at the BFI's [[Screenonline]]~~		* {{Screenonline title\|441483\|Kind Hearts and Coronets}}
	* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/414-kind-hearts-and-coronets-ealing-s-shadow-side ''Kind Hearts and Coronets: Ealing’s Shadow Side''] an essay by Philip Kemp at the [[Criterion Collection]]		* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/414-kind-hearts-and-coronets-ealing-s-shadow-side ''Kind Hearts and Coronets: Ealing’s Shadow Side''] an essay by Philip Kemp at the [[Criterion Collection]]

	~~{{Robert Hamer}}~~
	~~{{Michael Balcon}}~~

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Kind Hearts And Coronets}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Kind Hearts And Coronets}}

Kurt: /* See also */

2023-01-30T14:08:32Z

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2023-01-30T14:01:46Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 09:01, 30 January 2023
(No difference)

en>R. fiend: /* Plot */

2023-01-14T04:35:00Z

Plot

New page

{{short description|1949 British crime black comedy film directed by Robert Hamer}}
{{good article}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Kind Hearts and Coronets
| image = Kind Hearts and Coronets.jpg
| caption = Original British film poster by [[James Fitton (artist)|James Fitton]]
| director = [[Robert Hamer]]
| screenplay = {{plainlist|
* Robert Hamer
* [[John Dighton]]}}
| based_on = {{based on|''Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal''|[[Roy Horniman]]}}
| starring = {{plainlist|
* [[Valerie Hobson]]
* [[Dennis Price]]
* [[Joan Greenwood]]
* [[Alec Guinness]]}}
| producer = {{plainlist|
* [[Michael Balcon]]
* [[Michael Relph]]}}
| music = [[Ernest Irving]]
| cinematography = [[Douglas Slocombe]]
| editing = [[Peter Tanner]]
| studio = [[Ealing Studios]]
| distributor = [[General Film Distributors]] (UK)
| released = {{film date|df=y|1949|06|13|UK}}
| runtime = 106 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| gross =
}}

'''''Kind Hearts and Coronets''''' is a 1949 British [[crime film|crime]] [[black comedy film]]. It features [[Dennis Price]], [[Joan Greenwood]], [[Valerie Hobson]] and [[Alec Guinness]]; Guinness plays eight characters. The plot is loosely based on the novel ''Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal'' (1907) by [[Roy Horniman]]. It concerns Louis D'Ascoyne Mazzini, the son of a woman disowned by her aristocratic family for marrying out of her social class. After her death, Louis decides to take revenge on the family and take the [[duke]]dom by murdering the eight people ahead of him in the line of succession to the title.

[[Michael Balcon]], the head of [[Ealing Studios]] and the producer of ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'', appointed [[Robert Hamer]] as director. Hamer thought it an interesting project with possibilities of using the English language in a unique way. Filming took place from September 1948 at [[Leeds Castle]] and other locations in Kent, and at Ealing Studios. The themes of class and sexual repression run through the film, particularly love between classes.

''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' was released on 13 June 1949 in the United Kingdom, and was well received by the critics. It has continued to receive favourable reviews over the years and, in 1999, it was number six in the [[British Film Institute]]'s rating of the [[BFI Top 100 British films|Top 100 British films]]. In 2005, it was included in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''{{'}}s list of the top 100 films since 1923.

==Plot==
In [[Edwardian period|Edwardian]] [[England]], Louis D'Ascoyne Mazzini, 10th Duke of Chalfont, is in prison, awaiting his [[hanging]] for murder the following morning. As he writes his memoirs, a [[Flashback (narrative)|flashback]] ensues.

His mother, the youngest daughter of the 7th Duke of Chalfont, eloped with an Italian opera singer named Mazzini and was disowned by her family for marrying beneath her station. The Mazzinis were poor but happy until Mazzini died shortly after Louis was born. Louis's mother raises him on the history of her family and tells him how, unlike most other [[peerage]]s, the dukedom of Chalfont can descend through female heirs. Louis's only childhood friends are Sibella and her brother, the children of a local doctor.

When Louis leaves school, his mother writes to her kinsman Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, a [[private bank]]er, for assistance in launching her son in a career, but is rebuffed. Louis is forced to work as an assistant in a [[draper]]'s shop. When his mother dies, her last request, to be interred in the family [[Burial vault (tomb)|burial vault]] at Chalfont Castle, is denied. Louis proposes marriage to Sibella, but she ridicules his proposal, and marries Lionel Holland, a former school friend of her brother who has a rich father. Soon after this, Louis quarrels with a customer, Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, the banker's only child, who has him dismissed from his job.

Louis resolves to kill Ascoyne D'Ascoyne and the other seven people ahead of him in succession to the dukedom. After arranging a fatal boating accident for Ascoyne D'Ascoyne and his [[Mistress (lover)|mistress]], Louis writes a letter of condolence to his victim's father, Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, who employs him as a clerk. Upon his later promotion, Louis takes a [[bachelor pad|bachelor flat]] in [[St James's]], London, for assignations with Sibella.

Louis next targets Henry D'Ascoyne, a keen amateur photographer. He meets Henry and is charmed by his wife, Edith. He substitutes petrol for paraffin in the lamp of Henry's [[darkroom]], with fatal results. Louis decides the widow is fit to be his duchess. The Reverend Lord Henry D'Ascoyne is the next victim. Posing as the [[Anglican Communion|Anglican]] Bishop of [[Matabeleland]], Louis poisons Lord Henry’s after-dinner [[port (wine)|port]]. From the window of his flat, Louis then uses a bow and arrow to shoot down the [[Balloon (aeronautics)|balloon]] from which the [[suffragette]] Lady Agatha D'Ascoyne is dropping leaflets over London. Louis next sends General Lord Rufus D'Ascoyne a jar of [[caviar]] which contains a bomb. Admiral Lord Horatio D'Ascoyne presents a challenge, as he rarely sets foot on land. However, by chance he conveniently insists on [[The captain goes down with the ship|going down with his ship]] after causing a collision at sea.

When Edith agrees to marry Louis, they notify Ethelred, the childless, widowed 8th duke. He invites them to spend a few days at Chalfont Castle. When Ethelred casually informs Louis that he intends to remarry in order to produce an heir, Louis arranges a hunting "accident". Before shooting the duke, he reveals his motive. Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne dies from the shock of learning that he has become the ninth duke, sparing Louis from having to murder his kindly employer. Louis inherits the dukedom, but his triumph proves short-lived.

Sibella's husband, Lionel, had made a drunken plea to Louis for financial help to avoid bankruptcy, but Louis turned him down flat. Lionel is later found dead, and a [[Scotland Yard]] detective arrests Louis on suspicion of murder. Louis elects to be [[Privilege of peerage#Trial by peers|tried by his peers]] in the [[House of Lords]]. During the trial, Louis and Edith are married. Sibella falsely testifies that Lionel was about to seek a divorce and name Louis as [[co-respondent]]. Ironically, Louis is convicted of a murder he had never even contemplated.

Louis is visited by Sibella, who observes that the discovery of Lionel's [[suicide note]] and Edith's death would free Louis and enable them to marry, a proposal to which he agrees. Moments before his hanging, the discovery of the note secures his release. Louis finds both Edith and Sibella waiting for him outside the prison, but is undecided which to choose. When a reporter tells him that ''[[Tit-Bits]]'' magazine wishes to publish his memoirs, Louis suddenly remembers that he has left them behind in his cell.

==Cast==
{{div col|colwidth=}}
* [[Dennis Price]] as Louis Mazzini and his father
* [[Alec Guinness]] as eight members of the D'Ascoyne family:
:: Ethelred, 8th Duke of Chalfont
:: The Reverend Lord Henry
:: General Lord Rufus
:: Admiral Lord Horatio
:: Lord Ascoyne, the banker
:: Young Ascoyne, the banker's son
:: Lady Agatha, the suffragette
:: Young Henry, the photographer
* [[Valerie Hobson]] as Edith D'Ascoyne
* [[Joan Greenwood]] as Sibella
* [[Audrey Fildes]] as Mama
* [[Miles Malleson]] as the hangman
* [[Clive Morton]] as the prison governor
* [[John Penrose (actor)|John Penrose]] as Lionel
* [[Cecil Ramage]] as the prosecution barrister
* [[Hugh Griffith]] as the [[Lord High Steward]], who presides over Louis's trial
* [[John Salew]] as Mr Perkins
* Eric Messiter as Inspector Burgoyne of [[Scotland Yard]]
* Lyn Evans as the farmer
* Barbara Leake as the schoolmistress
* [[Peggy Ann Clifford]] as Maud Redpole
* [[Anne Valery]] as the Girl in the punt
* [[Arthur Lowe]] as the ''[[Tit-Bits]]'' reporter
* [[Richard Wattis]] as the defence barrister (uncredited)
* [[Laurence Naismith]] Warder in Jail (uncredited)
* [[Jeremy Spenser]] as Louis as a child (uncredited)
* [[Carol White]] as Sibella as a child (uncredited)
{{div col end}}

==Production==
===Pre-production===
[[File:Sir Alec Guinness 3 Allan Warren.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Alec Guinness]] in 1972]]
In 1947 [[Michael Pertwee]], a scriptwriter at [[Ealing Studios]], suggested an adaptation of a 1907 [[Roy Horniman]] novel, ''Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal''.{{sfn|Sellers|2015|pp=152–153}} The writer [[Simon Heffer]] observes that the plot of the source novel was dark in places—it includes the murder of a child—and differed in several respects from the resulting film. A major difference was that the main character was the half-Jewish (as opposed to half-Italian) Israel Rank, and Heffer writes that Mazzini's "ruthless using of people (notably women) and his greedy pursuit of position all seem to conform to the stereotype that the [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semite]] has of the Jew".<ref>{{cite web |last=Heffer |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Heffer |url=http://www.faber.co.uk/article/2008/12/simon-heffer-on-israel-rank/ |url-status=dead |title=Israel Rank Reviewed |work=[[Faber and Faber]] |access-date=25 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901215515/http://www.faber.co.uk/article/2008/12/simon-heffer-on-israel-rank/ |archive-date=1 September 2012}}</ref>

The change from Israel Rank to Louis Mazzini was brought about by the "post-war sensitivity about anti-Semitism", and the moral stance of the films produced by Ealing.{{sfn|Newton|2003|p=35}} According to the [[British Film Institute]] (BFI), the novel is "self-consciously in the tradition" of [[Oscar Wilde]], which is reflected in the [[snobbery]] and [[dandyism]] portrayed in the film.{{sfn|Duguid|Freeman|Johnston|Williams|2012|p=131}}

The head of Ealing Studios, [[Michael Balcon]], was initially unconvinced by the idea of the film, stating that "I'm not going to make a comedy about eight murders"; the studio's creative staff persuaded him to reconsider.{{sfn|Mackillop|Sinyard|2003|p=75}} Balcon, who produced the film, chose [[Robert Hamer]] as director and warned him that "You are trying to sell that most unsaleable commodity to the British – irony. Good luck to you."{{sfn|Perry|1981|p=121}} Hamer disliked Pertwee, who withdrew from the project, leaving the scriptwriting to Hamer and [[John Dighton]].{{sfn|Sellers|2015|p=153}} Hamer saw the potential of the story and later wrote:

<blockquote>What were the possibilities which thus presented themselves? Firstly, in that of making a film not noticeably similar to any previously made in the English language. Secondly, that of using this English language ... in a more varied and, to me, more interesting way than I had previously had the chance of doing in a film. Thirdly, that of making a picture which paid no regard whatever to established, although not practised, moral convention.{{sfn|Newton|2003|p=7}}</blockquote>

The film was produced at the same time as two other [[Ealing comedies]], ''[[Passport to Pimlico]]'' and ''[[Whisky Galore! (1949 film)|Whisky Galore!]]''; all three were released into UK cinemas over two months.{{sfn|Barr|1977|p=80}}{{refn|Brian McFarlane, writing for the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', states that although it was not an aim of releasing the three films together, together they "established the brand name of 'Ealing comedy'".<ref>{{Cite ODNB|id=93789|title=Ealing Studios (act. 1907–1959)|first=Brian|last=McFarlane}}</ref>|group= n}} The film's title was taken from the 1842 poem "[[Lady Clara Vere de Vere]]" by [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]]. The full [[couplet]] reads

<blockquote>Kind hearts are more than coronets,<br />
And simple faith than Norman blood.{{sfn|Perry|1981|p=118}}</blockquote>

[[File:Alec Guinness in Kind Hearts and Coronets.jpg|thumb|upright|Scene showing [[Alec Guinness]] in six of the roles he portrayed (second from the left is [[Valerie Hobson]] as the recently widowed Edith). The cinematographer [[Douglas Slocombe]] [[Matte (filmmaking)|masked]] the lens and filmed over several days to achieve the shot.]]
[[Alec Guinness]] was originally offered only four D'Ascoyne parts, recollecting "I read [the screenplay] on a beach in France, collapsed with laughter on the first page, and didn't even bother to get to the end of the script. I went straight back to the hotel and sent a telegram saying, 'Why four parts? Why not eight!?'"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2006-02-24/kind-hearts-and-coronets/ |title=Kind Hearts and Coronets |work=[[The Austin Chronicle]] |first=Raoul |last=Hernandez |date=24 February 2006 |access-date=7 May 2017}}</ref>

===Filming===
Production began on 1 September 1948.{{sfn|Perry|1981|p=123}} Exterior filming was undertaken in the Kent villages of [[Harrietsham]] and [[Boughton Monchelsea]]. [[Leeds Castle]], also in [[Kent]], was used for Chalfont, the family home of the D'Ascoynes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)|url=http://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/1947/08/kind-hearts-and-coronets-1949/|publisher=[[Kent Film Office]]|access-date=3 March 2017}}</ref>{{sfn|Sellers|2015|p=195}} Additional filming was undertaken at Ealing Studios.{{sfn|Perry|1981|p=123}}{{refn|Although there were reports that part of the film was shot at [[Pinewood Studios]], Balcon wrote to ''[[Sight and Sound]]'' magazine to state that, with the exception of the location filming, it was shot at Ealing.{{sfn|Perry|1981|p=123}}|group=n}}

The costumes were designed by [[Anthony Mendleson]], who matched Louis's rise through the social ranks with his changing costumes. When employed as a shop assistant, Louis's suit was ill-fitting and drab; he is later seen in tailored suits with satin lapels, wearing a [[brocade]] dressing gown and waiting for his execution in a quilted-collar velvet jacket. Mendleson later recounted that to dress Guinness in his many roles, the costumes were of less importance than make-up and the actor's nuances.{{sfn|Duguid|Freeman|Johnston|Williams|2012|pp=119–121}}

In one shot Guinness appears as six of his characters at once in a single frame. This was accomplished by [[Matte (filmmaking)|masking]] the lens. The film was re-exposed several times with Guinness in different positions over several days. [[Douglas Slocombe]], the cinematographer in charge of the effect, recalled sleeping in the studio to make sure nobody touched the camera.{{sfn|Ellis|2012|p=15}}

The death of Admiral Horatio D'Ascoyne was inspired by the collision between [[HMS Victoria (1887)|HMS ''Victoria'']] and [[HMS Camperdown (1885)|HMS ''Camperdown'']] off [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]] in 1893 because of an order given by Vice-Admiral Sir [[George Tryon]]. ''Victoria'' was sunk with the loss of over 350 men.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/lebanon/9046344/Explorers-raise-hope-of-Nelson-treasure-trove-on-Victorian-shipwreck.html |title=Explorers raise hope of Nelson 'treasure trove' on Victorian shipwreck |author=Jasper Copping |date=12 January 2012 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=14 May 2012}}</ref>

While filming the scene Hamer asked Guinness if he could hold his pose—a salute, facing the camera while the water rose around him—so that the water went over his head; Hamer wanted to show the admiral's cap floating on the surface. Guinness agreed, telling Hamer that as he practised [[yoga]], he could hold his breath for four minutes. Guinness was attached to the deck by wires to keep him steady and the shot was taken; when Hamer called "cut", the crew began packing up and forgot to release Guinness until four minutes after the scene ended.{{sfn|Sellers|2015|pp=187–188}}

The music of the film, played by the [[Philharmonia Orchestra]], is conducted by theatre and film conductor and arranger [[Ernest Irving]] who "plunders the works of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|W.A. Mozart]] to winning effect; the elegance, refinement, and inherent propriety" of the pieces used offering both a metaphor of an ordered society and a "counterpoint for murder most foul".<ref>Wishart, David. Booklet essay for 'Music from those glorious Ealing films: The Ladykillers [etc]'. [[Royal Ballet Sinfonia]] conducted by [[Kenneth Alwyn]]. Silva Screen Records CD Filmco 177 (1997).</ref>

==Themes==
[[File:Leeds Castle, Kent - geograph.org.uk - 1217205.jpg|thumb|[[Leeds Castle]], which served as the ancestral home of the D'Ascoyne family.]]
The [[British Film Institute]] see ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' as "less sentimental" than many of the other Ealing films. Along with ''[[The Man in the White Suit]]'' (1951) and ''[[The Ladykillers (1955 film)|The Ladykillers]]'' (1955), ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' "unleash[es] transgressive ''nightmares'', fables of subversive, maverick masculine obsession and action, where the repressed and vengeful bubble up to the surface and lead to a resolutions which were only just contained in the moral strictures permissible in (Balcon's) Ealing cinema at the time".{{sfn|Duguid|Freeman|Johnston|Williams|2012|p=137}}

The film historian [[Sarah Street]] identifies the theme of sexual repression running through the film, shown with Louis' relationship with the manipulative Sibella.{{sfn|Street|1997|pp=68–69}} The historian [[Ross McKibbin]] sees the film as a "sustained satire" in its portrayal of the [[upper class]]es, partly because of the intended absurdity of the D'Ascoyne family being portrayed by Guinness.{{sfn|McKibbin|1998|p=455}} "Lady Clara Vere de Vere", the poem from which the film's title derived, concerns class tensions surrounding love between classes.{{sfn|Newton|2003|p=36}}

==Release and reception==
[[File:Hobson-valerie 1934.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Valerie Hobson]] in 1934]]
''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' premiered in London on 13 June 1949.{{sfn|Newton|2003|p=26}} When the film was released in the US the following year, it was edited to satisfy the [[Hays Office Production Code]]. A new ending was added, showing Louis's memoirs being discovered before he can retrieve them; the dialogue between Louis and Sibella was altered to play down their adultery; derogatory lines aimed at the Reverend Henry D'Ascoyne were deleted; and in the nursery rhyme "[[Eeny, meeny, miny, moe]]", "sailor" replaced the word "[[nigger]]". The American version is six minutes shorter than the British original.{{sfn|Slide|1998|pp=90–91}}

''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' received a warm reception from the critics.{{sfn|Sellers|2015|p=158}} Although they thought the film slightly too long, the critic for ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' thought that overall it was very enjoyable "because of the light satirical touch with which mass-murder is handled, ... words are so seldom treated with any respect in the cinema".<ref>{{cite news|title=New Films in London|work=The Manchester Guardian|date=25 June 1949|page=5}}</ref> [[Bosley Crowther]], the critic for ''[[The New York Times]]'', called the film a "delicious little satire on Edwardian manners and morals",<ref name=NYT /> while the unnamed reviewer for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' called it "one of the best films of the year".{{sfn|Sellers|2015|p=158}}

Guinness's nine roles were praised by several reviewers, including [[C. A. Lejeune]] of ''[[The Observer]]''.<ref name=Observer /> The unknown reviewer from ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote that Guinness played his roles "with intelligence and restraint and show[ed] his power as a character actor",<ref name=MFB /> while Crowther considered that Guinness acted with "such devastating wit and variety that he naturally dominates the film".<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|title=Alec Guinness Plays 8 Roles in 'Kind Hearts and Coronets,' at Trans-Lux 60th Street at the Cinemet|newspaper=The New York Times|date=15 June 1950|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E00E6DD1138EF31A25756C1A9609C946192D6CF|access-date=23 February 2013}}</ref> Price's performance was appreciated by a number of critics, including ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'', who considered he gave a "brilliant performance",<ref name=MFB>{{cite journal|title=Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)|journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]|volume=16|issue=181–192|page=118}}</ref> and [[Richard L. Coe]], the critic for ''[[The Washington Post]]'' thought Price was "splendid";<ref>{{cite news|last1=Coe|first1=Richard L.|title=One Way to Gain A Ducal Coronet|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=14 July 1950|page=B4}}</ref> Crowther wrote that Price was "as able as Mr. Guinness in his single but most demanding role".<ref name=NYT/> Lejeune in ''[[The Observer]]'' dissented, and thought he "seems pitifully outclassed every time he comes up against a Guinness" character.<ref name=Observer>{{cite news|last1=Lejeune|first1=C. A.|title=An Acadian Summer|work=[[The Observer]]|date=26 June 1949|page=6}}</ref>

''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' was nominated for the [[British Academy Film Award]] for [[BAFTA Award for Best British Film|Best British Film]], alongside ''Passport to Pimlico'' and ''Whisky Galore!'', although they lost to ''[[The Third Man]]'' (1949).<ref>{{cite web|title=Film: British Film in 1950|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1950/film/british-film|publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=5 October 2016}}</ref> The film was screened as one of Britain's entries to the [[10th Venice International Film Festival]]; [[William Kellner]] won an award for Best Production Design.<ref>{{cite news|title=Awards At Venice Film Festival: Two British Winners|work=[[The Manchester Guardian]]|date=3 September 1949|page=8}}</ref>

According to Michael Newton, writing for the BFI, ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' has retained the high regard of film historians. In 1964 ''[[The Spectator]]'' called it "the most confident comedy ever to come out of a British studio",{{sfn|Newton|2003|p=25}} and the actor [[Peter Ustinov]] considered it the "most perfect achievement" of Ealing Studios, "a film of exquisite construction and literary quality".{{sfn|Perry|1981|p=8}} ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is listed in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''{{'}}s top 100 and also at number six in the [[BFI Top 100 British films]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=All-Time 100 Movies|url=http://entertainment.time.com/2005/02/12/all-time-100-movies/|access-date=14 March 2017|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=3 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The BFI 100: 1–10 |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/bfi100/1-10.html |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=14 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129093058/http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/bfi100/1-10.html |archive-date=29 January 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Thirteen critics and directors voted for ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' in the 2012 BFI poll of The Greatest Films of All Time, including [[Terence Davies]], [[Peter Bradshaw]] and [[Philip French]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Votes for Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) {{!}} BFI |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b73453fda/sightandsoundpoll2012 |access-date=2022-05-28 |website=www2.bfi.org.uk}}</ref>

==Adaptations==
The film has been adapted for radio three times. In March 1965, the [[BBC Home Service]] broadcast an adaptation by Gilbert Travers-Thomas, with Dennis Price reprising his role as Louis D'Ascoyne Mazzini.<ref>{{cite news|title=Saturday-Night Theatre: Kind Hearts and Coronets|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/a028ba2acca74ac9bd6ec92f70610570|work=[[BBC Genome Project]]|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=6 May 2017}}</ref> [[BBC Radio 4]] produced a new adaptation in 1980 featuring [[Robert Powell]] as the entire D'Ascoyne clan, including Louis, and [[Timothy Bateson]] as the hangman,<ref>{{cite news|title=Kind Hearts and Coronets|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/303264241c45454cb3f2df32c98aa356|work=BBC Genome|publisher=BBC|access-date=6 May 2017}}</ref> and another in 1996 featuring [[Michael Kitchen]] as Mazzini and [[Harry Enfield]] as the D'Ascoyne family.<ref>{{cite web|title=Saturday Playhouse: Kind Hearts and Coronets|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/1799109b8ef843739de5575e411bfff0|work=BBC Genome|publisher=BBC|access-date=6 May 2017}}</ref>

In May 2012, [[BBC Radio 4]] broadcast a sequel to the film called ''Kind Hearts and Coronets – Like Father, Like Daughter'', written by [[David Spicer (writer)|David Spicer]]. In it, Unity Holland, the illegitimate daughter of Louis and Sibella, is written out of the title by Edith Duchess of Chalfont. Unity then murders the entire D'Ascoyne family, with all seven members played by [[Alistair McGowan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01hw3zk|title=Saturday Drama: Kind Hearts and Coronets – Like Father, Like Daughter|publisher=BBC|access-date=20 May 2012}}</ref>

In September 2004, it was announced that a musical adaption was to be workshopped featuring [[Raúl Esparza|Raul Esparza]], [[Rebecca Luker]], Nancy Anderson and [[Sean Allan Krill]]. The workshop had music and lyrics by [[Steven Lutvak]] with the book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/esparza-and-luker-to-take-part-in-workshop-of-kind-hearts-and-coronets-musical-com-122187|title=Esparza and Luker to Take Part in Workshop of Kind Hearts and Coronets Musical|last=Gans|first=Andrew|date=29 September 2004|website=Playbill|language=en|access-date=5 September 2019}}</ref> The musical was produced under the title ''[[A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder]]'' and opened in 2013 at the [[Walter Kerr Theatre]] on Broadway. The show has all the victims played by the same actor, in the original company [[Jefferson Mays]]. Though the plot remains essentially the same, most of the names are different: half-Italian Louis Mazzini becomes half-Castilian Montague "Monty" Navarro, the D'Ascoynes become the D'Ysquiths and Henry's wife Edith becomes Henry's sister Phoebe.<ref>{{cite web|last=Stasio|first=Marilyn|title=Broadway Review: ''A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder''|url=https://variety.com/2013/legit/reviews/broadway-review-a-gentlemans-guide-to-love-and-murder-1200847918/|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=14 March 2017|date=17 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Rooney|first=David|title=A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/a-gentlemans-guide-love-murder-656830|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date=14 March 2017|date=17 November 2013}}</ref> The musical won four [[Tony Award]]s, including [[Tony Award for Best Musical|Best Musical]].<ref>{{cite web|title=A Gentlemans Guide to Love and Murder|url=http://www.tonyawards.com/p/tonys_search|publisher=[[Tony Awards]]|access-date=14 March 2017|archive-date=31 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831204617/http://www.tonyawards.com/p/tonys_search|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Digital restoration==
The [[Criterion Collection]] released a two-DVD disc set. Disc one featured the standard version of the film released in the UK and, as a bonus feature, includes the final scene with the American ending. Disc two includes a 75-minutes [[BBC]] ''[[Omnibus (UK TV series)|Omnibus]]'' documentary "Made in Ealing", plus a 68-minute talk-show appearance with Guinness on the BBC's ''[[Parkinson (TV series)|Parkinson]]'' television programme.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kind Hearts and Coronets|publisher=[[The Criterion Collection]]|url=https://www.criterion.com/films/357-kind-hearts-and-coronets|access-date=14 March 2017}}</ref> The British distributor [[Optimum Releasing]] released a digitally restored version for both DVD and [[Blu-ray]] in September 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.myreviewer.com/Article/143043/Digitally-restored-classics-including-Kind-Hearts-and-Coronets-on-DVD-and-Blu-ray-this-Summer|date=29 June 2011|title=Kind Hearts and Coronets|publisher=My Reviewer|access-date=14 March 2017}}</ref>

To mark the film's 70th anniversary in June 2019, a new 4k restoration scanned from the 35 mm nitrate original negative was released by Studiocanal in UK cinemas, along with DVD and Blu-Ray versions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://studiocanalpress.co.uk/press/single/1977|date=4 June 2019|title=Kind Hearts and Coronets|publisher=Studiocanal |access-date=9 June 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[BFI Top 100 British films]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=n}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last1=Barr|first1=Charles|title=Ealing Studios|year=1977|publisher=David & Charles Publishers|location=Newton Abbot, Devon|isbn=978-0-7153-7420-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/ealingstudios0000barr}}
* {{cite book|last1=Duguid|first1=Mark|last2=Freeman|first2=Lee|last3=Johnston|first3=Keith M.|last4=Williams|first4=Melanie|title=Ealing Revisited|date=2012|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|location=London|isbn=978-1-84457-510-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Ellis|first=David A.|title=Conversations with Cinematographers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uA8DdKZSD0YC&pg=PP1|year=2012|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Lanham, MD|isbn=978-0-8108-8126-6}}
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Mackillop|editor-first1=Ian|editor-last2=Sinyard|editor-first2=Neil|title=British Cinema of the 1950s: A Celebration|year=2003|publisher=Manchester University Press|location=Manchester|isbn=978-0-7190-6489-0|url=https://www.questia.com/read/109717897/british-cinema-of-the-1950s-a-celebration|url-access=|via=|access-date=24 February 2017|archive-date=25 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225131707/https://www.questia.com/read/109717897/british-cinema-of-the-1950s-a-celebration|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book|last=McKibbin|first=Ross|title=Classes and Cultures: England 1918–1951|year=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-820672-9|url=https://www.questia.com/read/91335798/classes-and-cultures-england-1918-1951|url-access=|via=|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-date=28 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228082710/https://www.questia.com/read/91335798/classes-and-cultures-england-1918-1951|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book|last1=Newton|first1=Michael|title=Kind Hearts and Coronets|year=2003|publisher=British Film Institute|location=London|isbn=978-0-85170-964-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Perry|first=George|title=Forever Ealing|year=1981|publisher=Pavilion Books|location=London|isbn=978-0-907516-60-6}}
* {{cite book|last1=Sellers|first1=Robert|author-link1=Robert Sellers|title=The Secret Life of Ealing Studios|year=2015|publisher=Aurum Press|location=London|isbn=978-1-78131-397-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Slide|first=Anthony|author-link=Anthony Slide|title=Banned in the U.S.A.: British Films in the United States and Their Censorship, 1933–1966|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zOp2WxH5yscC&pg=PP1|year=1998|publisher=I.B.Tauris|location=London|isbn=978-1-86064-254-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Street|first=Sarah|title=British National Cinema|year=1997|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-415-06735-5|url=https://www.questia.com/read/104653205/british-national-cinema|url-access=|via=|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-date=28 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228085945/https://www.questia.com/read/104653205/british-national-cinema|url-status=dead}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Amg movie|27361}}
* [http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b73453fda ''Kind Hearts and Coronets''] at the [[British Film Institute]]
* {{IMDb title|0041546}}
* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/441483/ ''Kind Hearts and Coronets''] at the BFI's [[Screenonline]]
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/414-kind-hearts-and-coronets-ealing-s-shadow-side ''Kind Hearts and Coronets: Ealing’s Shadow Side''] an essay by Philip Kemp at the [[Criterion Collection]]

{{Robert Hamer}}
{{Michael Balcon}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kind Hearts And Coronets}}
[[Category:1949 films]]
[[Category:1940s black comedy films]]
[[Category:British black comedy films]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films based on British novels]]
[[Category:Ealing Studios films]]
[[Category:Films shot at Pinewood Studios]]
[[Category:Films directed by Robert Hamer]]
[[Category:Films produced by Michael Balcon]]
[[Category:1949 comedy films]]
[[Category:1949 drama films]]
[[Category:1940s British films]]

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	To mark the film's 70th anniversary in June 2019, a new 4k restoration scanned from the 35 mm nitrate original negative was released by Studiocanal in UK cinemas, along with DVD and Blu-Ray versions.<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://studiocanalpress.co.uk/press/single/1977\|date=4 June 2019\|title=Kind Hearts and Coronets\|publisher=Studiocanal \|access-date=9 June 2019}}</ref>		To mark the film's 70th anniversary in June 2019, a new 4k restoration scanned from the 35 mm nitrate original negative was released by Studiocanal in UK cinemas, along with DVD and Blu-Ray versions.<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://studiocanalpress.co.uk/press/single/1977\|date=4 June 2019\|title=Kind Hearts and Coronets\|publisher=Studiocanal \|access-date=9 June 2019}}</ref>

	~~==See also==~~
	* [[BFI Top 100 British films]]

	==Notes==		==Notes==