Kind Hearts & Coronets

1949. g. • 106 minūtes

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Alec Guinness hilariously features in eight different roles as the unsuspecting members of the aristocratic D’Ascoyne family – murdered one by one by their scheming, outcast cousin Louis Mazzini (Dennis Price). Mazzini’s mother was a D’Ascoyne by birth, but when she ran away with an opera singer, she was ostracised by her family as a result. When her dying wish to be buried in the family crypt is refused, Louis vows to get his revenge in this black comedy classic.

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How can you have a charming gently witty comedy about a serial killer you feel real affection for, and that manages to be family friendly, suitable for perhaps 8 or 10 year olds? Somehow this film, a comedy of murder and manners manages that impossible trick, with Alex Guiness (better known for playing Obi Wan Kenobi) brilliantly portraying 8 (serially departed) members of a family standing in the way to the "hero's" peerage, from a suffragette, to retired general, to doddering priest, to philanderer. Dry wit is throughout, such as the "hero" recalling his childhood in primary school: "In those days I never had any trouble with the 6th commandment, and was too young to have had any trouble with the 7th" (although clearly his classmate Sybilla would cause trouble with the 7th in later years). Even the murders manage to have comic touches. There is no visible blood - all obscured off camera, behind smoke or the like, except for a poisoning that is hammed-up by Guinness just enough to remove any sense of horror, and keep it family-friendly, without being ridiculous and cartoonish. Avoid spoilers for the twists. Most youtube reviews, and those written by non-professional reviewers, may ruin delightful surprises.