MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Alec Guinness gets to die eight times, playing a line of successors to a dukedom, in the Ealing black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets. Louis Mazzini (Dennis Price) is ninth in line to inherit the dukedom from the aristocratic D'Ascoyne family. Louis vows to kill all eight people who stand between him and the duke's title. Aside from two cases of natural causes, Louis works through the list, eliminating rivals (all played by Guinness). Along the way he romances Sibella (Joan Greenwood), a childhood friend who ends up marrying a dullard, and Edith (Valerie Hobson), the beautiful widow of one of his victims with whom he plans to share his title. But just when Louis is ready to assume the D'Ascoyne mantle, a bizarre irony strikes. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Black and White
• Features:
  • • Disc One:
    • New, restored high-definition Digital transfer
    • American ending
    • Original theatrical trailer
    • Gallery of archival production and publicity photographs
    • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
    • Disc Two:
    • A feature-length BBC documentary on the history of Ealing Studios
    • A rare, 70-minute talk-show appearance by Alec Guinness, from 1977
    • Plus: A new essay by film critic Philip Kemp

AWARDS

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Actor - 1950 (Alec Guinness)
•     Nominated Best Foreign Film - 1950

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Robert Hamer

• Producer:

  Michael Balcon

• Screenwriter:

  John Dighton, Robert Hamer

• Book Author:

  Roy Horiman

• Cinematographer:

  Douglas Slocombe

• Composer (Music Score):

  Ernest Irving

• Featured Music:

  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• Editor:

  Peter Tanner

• Art Director:

  William Kellner

• Associate Producer:

  Michael Relph

• Costume Designer:

  Anthony Mendleson

• Makeup:

  Harry Frampton, Ernest Taylor

• Special Effects:

  Syd Pearson, Geoffrey Dickinson

• First Assistant Director:

  Norman Priggen

• Camera Operator:

  Jeff Seaholme

REVIEW:

• Kind Hearts and Coronets is an elegant black comedy that is perhaps too much remembered for the gimmick of having Alec Guinness play eight different murder victims and too little remembered for the fine performance of Dennis Price as the murderer. One of several comedy classics of the post-WWII era from Ealing Studios, the film is both ironic and bitingly funny. While the ending of the British version leads the audience to believe that Price will escape punishment for his crimes, American censors insisted that the criminal had to be punished for U.S. distribution, and so a less amusing ending was tacked on for the benefit of overly sensitive Yanks. Also of note is Joan Greenwood's performance as the murderer's childhood friend Sibella. Ealing was often an underfunded studio, so the production values are modest, though adequate. If there is an area in which the tech credits shine, it is the make-up and costuming of Guinness. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi