#325: HAMER, Robert: Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949)

HAMER, Robert (United Kingdom)

Kind Hearts And Coronets [1949]

Spine #325
DVD
OOP

Director Robert Hamer's fiendishly funny Kind Hearts and Coronets stands as one of Ealing Studios' greatest triumphs, and one of the most wickedly black comedies ever made. Dennis Price is sublime as an embittered young commoner determined to avenge his mother's unjust disinheritance by ascending to her family's dukedom. Unfortunately, eight relatives — all played by the incomparable Alec Guinness — must be eliminated before he can do so.

106 minutes
Black & White

Monaural

1:33:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2006

Director/Writer

Based on a novel by Roy Horniman.

Screenplay by Robert Hamer and John Dighton.

Hamer was 38 when he directed Kind Hearts and Coronets.

The Film

British films of this period from the Ealing Studios (you’ll find a long list of them below) tend to be stuffy, silly, folksy, good-natured — and, today — mostly forgotten. This masterpiece of cinema is a certain exception, and the fact that is an Ealing production is deceptive.

Hamer and Dighton refashioned the 1907 novel into something much more interesting and appropriate.

The very title demanded changes: A half-Jewish serial killer would hardly have been acceptable in 1949, and the surname had to go as well: Ealing’s films were distributed by the Rank Organization, run by J. Arthur Rank.

The screenplay is a brilliant example of creative thinking. The narrative flows along perfectly and one’s attention never flags.

Dennis Price is brilliant as Louis; Joan Greenwood is magnificent as the coquettish Sibella; and of course, Alec Guinness is astonishing in eight different roles.

Miles Malleson (the Sultan in The Thief of Bagdad [1940] {Spine #431}) shows up as the hangman.

Hamer doesn’t have the cinematic flair of his colleague and fellow Ealing employee, Alexander Mackendrick (The Sweet Smell of Success [1957] {Spine #555}), but neither is the cinematography ever dull or boring.

In fact, the camera itself delivers a bit of dry humor, as Malleson’s hangman arrives to see the prisoner. After peering in the peephole, we see just the back of Louis’s neck — then immediately an axial cut to an ECU of his neck completes the joke.

He is to be hung at 8AM the next morning. The story unfolds beautifully from that point.

The only unfortunate moment for a 21st century viewer is the rhyme that Louis and Sibella share — near the end of the film — which begins “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.” The article details the use of the word in question, and under the section “Film and Television” refers to this production. Credit the American censors who replaced the word in question with “sailor.”

The Duke’s estate (Leeds Castle):

Film Rating (0-60):

56

The Extras

Disc One

The Booklet

Essay by film critic Philip Kemp. Brilliant:

“Hamer’s sharp intelligence, his delight in language, his cynicism, and his ‘wicked glee’ gleam through every frame, making it, with its ironic poise and Wildean wit, surely the finest black comedy British cinema has ever produced.”

Commentary

None.

American ending

How ridiculous! The Production Code seems to have believed that the Duke might have escaped punishment for his crime(s)! There is simply no way the original can be read that way. This ending puts an absurd scene of obvious intent on something that was much more dry and humorous.

Stills gallery

A few terrific shots of the crew at work.

Disc Two

Documentary

A feature-length BBC documentary from 1986 on the history of Ealing Studios: Omnibus: “Made in Ealing.” Galvin Millar narrates, who begins by saying:

“Tonight, Omnibus tells the story of a remarkable group of filmmakers, who set out to make films projecting decent British values, and are remembered for a handful of brilliant comedies, which, at their best, turned those values upside-down.”

This delightful and informative documentary gives one the chance to see clips of nearly every important film from Ealing from 1932-1955:

• The Impassive Footman aka Woman In Chains (1932)
• Sing As We Go! (1934)
• Let George Do It aka To Hell With Hitler (1940)
• George Formby punches Hitler in the face. Must have been very satisfying viewing then.
• Spare A Copper (1940)
• Saloon Bar (1940)
• The Ghost Of St. Michael’s (1941)
• Turned Out Nice Again (1941)
• Find, Fix And Strike (1942)
• Went The Day Well? (1942)
• Nine Men (1943)
• San Demetrio London (1943)
• The Bells Go Down (1943)
• For Those In Peril (1944)
• Dead Of Night (1945)
• Pink String And Sealing Wax (1945)
• The Captive Heart (1946)
• The Overlanders (1946)
• Hue And Cry (1947)
• It Always Rains On Sunday (1947)
• Saraband For Dead Lovers aka Saraband (1948)
• Against The Wind (1948)
• Passport To Pimlico (1949)
• Whisky Galore! (1949)
• The Blue Lamp (1950)
• The Man In The White Suit (1951)
• The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
• Mandy aka Crash Of Silence (1952)
• The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)
• The Cruel Sea (1953)
• Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953)
• The Ladykillers (1955)
• The Coen Brothers remade this in 2004.
• The Singing Detective (1986) (TV)

Talk show

A rare 70-minute talk-show appearance by Alec Guinness, from 1977. Parkinson: Meets Alec Guinness is as delightful as it is rare. It covers the great man’s entire career from his youth of poverty to his meeting Sir John Gielgud to his (then) recent role as Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.

Original theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

36

56 + 36 =

92

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