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KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949) (****)

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This black comedy is hilarious and simply perfect. Louis Mazzini (Dennis Price, SON OF DRACULA) is 12th in line from being a Duke. His mother (Audrey Fildes) married for love and was disowned by her family. She wasn’t even allowed to be buried in the family tomb. This enrages Mazzini who sets out to eliminate the people in his way.

Those eight people are all played by Alec Guinness (BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI) in a tour-de-force performance equal to that of Peter Sellers in DR. STRANGELOVE. This British comedy is droll and often laugh out loud funny.

Price is perfect as the murderous conniver. In addition to his murder plot he simultaneously woos his childhood love (who rejected him when he was poor) named Sibella Holland (Joan Greenwood, TOM JONES) and one of the heir’s wives Edith D’Ascoyne (Valerie Hobson, GREAT EXPECTATIONS). The dialogue and voice over is wry and sly. Both the cast and director Robert Hamer (THE SCAPEGOAT) have wonderful timing.

The underlying theme of the film is the hypocrisy of the rich versus the poor. But what’s so brilliant about the film is how it shows the development of Louis. It’s subtle and never beats the audience over the head with its ironic message. This film came out of the Ealing Studio, which is famous for its comedies. This is one of the most consistently funny films I’ve ever seen. It’s a classic.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks