Kind Hearts and Coronets DVD Review:

In order to receive a certain amount of attention, which in turn often means free publicity and higher ticket sales, many films have employed the technique of using one actor for many roles. Most often these films are comedies, and they flaunt special effects, camera tricks, good make-up, and often great acting. Most recent was Polar Express, in which Tom Hanks lent his voice and body movement to many characters. Before that Jim Carey did the same in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, but it goes back much further than these films or even Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor. In Kind Hearts and Coronets Alec Guinness plays eight roles, but what is truly remarkable is the fact that this is not dwelled upon. If you didn’t know that it was the same actor, you might not notice at all, thanks to the fact that it never distracts from the story as it often does these days. Guinness is simply a chameleon, able to adapt himself into each role with comfortable realistic ease, so that the focus can remain on the story.

This wickedly dark comedy ironically came out of Ealing Studios, which was known for a much lighter taste of British humor, and the ending was even changed when it was brought to the United States in order to make the murderous happenings seem less rewarding. Based on the novel Israel Rank, which was first published in 1907, Kind Hearts and Coronets tells the story of a young commoner, Louis, who seeks revenge against his own family after they disinherited his mother for marrying for love instead of money. He sets out to kill each in line ahead of him to be Duke, and he creatively finds a way to kill each and every one without ever being suspected.

Although Guinness’s portrayal of the entire family is remarkable, Dennis Price still stands out easily as Louis. The calm and calculated nature in which he manipulates those around him is dark and somehow fun at the same time. He remains somewhat likeable while never seeming to care whether the audience likes him or not. The entire story is told from Louis’s jail cell as he writes his memoirs the morning he is to be hanged for murder, but although we know where the conclusion of the film will end, this does not mean that there are no surprises. There are ingenious twists along the way that only feed into the black element of the film even further.

Kind Hearts and Coronets is certainly the best film that director Robert Hamer ever made as well as being one of the best British dark comedies, so it makes sense that this film would receive a great treatment, as it has. The film is available in a two disc package, with a wonderfully sharp version of the 1949 film. It is a newly restored high-definition digital transfer which blows away any other transfer I have seen from this time period. The first disc contains the film as well as the famous American ending which was applied because production code required it, and a gallery of production and publicity photographs. Disc two contains a feature-length documentary from BBC about the history of Ealing Studios, a small but very popular studio during the time. Disc two also has a great talk-show appearance by Alec Guinness, which is 70-minutes long. There is also a wonderful ten page booklet inside the DVD with great photographs and an essay by film critic Philip Kemp, who focuses much more on the history of director Robert Hamer than he does the film.



Ryan Izay