"Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949)

Kind Hearts and Coronets postures itself like an English gentleman, literate and dry, but with a lacerating, understated wit. The film was one of Ealing Studio’s famous droll comedies, and it tells its story with an ironic sense of detachment, contrasting its dark story with how matter-of-factly it’s recounted. Louis Mazzini (Dennis Price) has recently become the duke of the a’Asocyne family and he recounts his story in voiceover from prison, where he will be soon be hung to death. Mazzini’s mother married beneath her social standing to an Italian tenor, was disowned by the family, and instilled hatred into her son for the aristocrats who’ve taken away everything from them. When his mother dies, Mazzini plots the murders of his family members standing in line to his ascendency to the dukedom. All eight of these heirs are played by Alec Guinness, but you never notice that he’s playing all these roles. Make up, costuming, and choices in posturing and voice transform all these characters into wholly original figures. Mazzini might be a remorseless psychopath, but much like the film he’s in, he’s a sophisticated and well-spoken one, and ultimately that’s all that really matters. 

Grade: A