KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS [1949 / 2019] [70th Anniversary Edition] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
A Hilarious Study in the Gentle Art of MURDER!
June 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the original UK release of ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS,’ is the jewel in Ealing Studios crown, and arguably one of the finest British films ever made. To celebrate this anniversary StudioCanal are releasing a stunning restoration on Blu-ray as part of their Vintage Classics Collection in 2019.
Hailing from the Golden-Age of Ealing comedies including ‘Passport to Pimlico’ and ‘Whisky Galore!’ and ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ stars Dennis Price as the debonair yet impoverished Louis Mazzini, the would-be Duke of Chalfont whose mother was disinherited by her noble family, the D'Ascoynes, for marrying beneath her. When her dying wish to be buried in the family crypt is refused, Louis Mazzini vows to avenge his mother and work his way up the family tree, by engaging in the gentle art of murder. One by one he attempts to kill off the eight successors that stand in the way of his becoming Duke of Chalfont and all played by Sir Alec Guinness in an unforgettable tour-de-force performance.
Directed by Robert Hamer who co-wrote the screenplay with John Dighton. ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ also stars Joan Greenwood as the husky-voiced siren Sibella and Valerie Hobson as the refined and virtuous Edith D'Ascoyne, both of whom threaten to distract Louis Mazzini from his murderous quest. A wonderfully entertaining combination of biting class satire, hilarious farce and pitch-black comedy, this story of a suave and elegant serial murderer is as sharp and funny today as ever.
FILM FACT: In 1947 Michael Pertwee, a scriptwriter at Ealing Studios, suggested an adaptation of the 1907 Roy Horniman novel “Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal.” The writer Simon Heffer observes that the plot of the source novel was dark in places — it includes the murder of a child — and differed in several respects from the resulting film. A major difference was that the main character was the half-Jewish (as opposed to half-Italian) Israel Rank, and Heffer writes that Louis Mazzini's “ruthless using of people, notably women and his greedy pursuit of position all seem to conform to the stereotype that the anti-Semite has of the Jew.” The change from Israel Rank to Louis Mazzini was brought about by the “post-war sensitivity about anti-Semitism,” and the moral stance of the films produced by Ealing Studios. According to the British Film Institute, the novel is "self-consciously in the tradition" of Oscar Wilde, which is reflected in the snobbery and dandyism portrayed in the film. The head of Ealing Studios, Michael Balcon, was initially unconvinced by the idea of the film, stating that "I'm not going to make a comedy about eight murders;” the studio's creative staff persuaded him to reconsider. Michael Balcon, who produced the film, chose Robert Hamer as director and warned him that “You are trying to sell that most unsaleable commodity to the British – irony. Good luck to you.” Robert Hamer disliked Michael Pertwee, who withdrew from the project, leaving the scriptwriting to Hamer and John Dighton. The film was produced at the same time as two other Ealing Studios comedies; including ‘Passport to Pimlico’ and ‘Whisky Galore!’ and all three were released into UK cinemas over two months. The film's title was taken from the 1842 poem “Lady Clara Vere de Vere” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The full couplet reads: “Kind hearts are more than coronets, and simple faith than Norman blood.”
Cast: Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood, Sir Alec Guinness, Audrey Fildes, Miles Malleson, Clive Morton, John Penrose, Cecil Ramage, Hugh Griffith, John Salew, Eric Messiter, Lyn Evans, Barbara Leake, Peggy Ann Clifford, Anne Valery, Arthur Lowe, Stanley Beard (uncredited), Norman Fisher (uncredited), Maxwell Foster (uncredited), Peter Gawthorne (uncredited), Molly Hamley-Clifford (uncredited), Leslie Handford (uncredited), Nicholas Hill (uncredited), Fletcher Lightfoot (uncredited), Cavan Malone (uncredited), Laurence Naismith (uncredited), Gordon Phillott (uncredited), Harry Phipps (uncredited), Miles Silverton (uncredited), Jeremy Spenser (uncredited), Ivan Staff (uncredited), Richard Wattis (uncredited), Carol White (uncredited), George Wilson (uncredited) and Harold Young (uncredited)
Director: Robert Hamer
Producers: Michael Balcon and Michael Relph
Screenplay: John Dighton (screenplay), Robert Hamer (screenplay), Nancy Mitford (screenplay revisions) (uncredited) and Roy Horniman (novel)
Composer: Ernest Irving (uncredited)
Make-up Department: Ernest Taylor (Make-up Artist), Harry Frampton (Make-up Artist), Barbara Barnard (Hair Stylist), Pearl Gardner (Hair Stylist) and Daphne Martin (Assistant Hair Stylist) (uncredited)
Costume Design: Anthony Mendleson
Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe OBE, BSC, ASC, GBCT (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
German: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English and German
Running Time: 106 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Ealing Studios / StudioCanal
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ [1949] is a film for those who enjoy the droll, sophisticated, underplayed comedy of the post-war British cinema; you will never find a better example of it, and one of the inarguable masterpieces of the most productive period of the Ealing Studios.
The title derives from the quotation by Alfred Lord Tennyson, “Tis only noble to be good. Kind hearts are more than coronets, and simple faith more than Norman blood.” And yet you'll find no real nobility here, and the only real goodness is quickly destroyed in the names of imagined nobility, empty titles that signify nothing. It’s as scathing a critique of the British upper classes as the cinema has ever given us, disguised as a light comedy with a charming exterior. Its droll narration often stands in stark contrast to the action on screen, giving us an experience that is as funny as it is deeply unnerving, and a blazing indictment of unearned privilege that destroys anyone who dare step outside their station.
‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ is the funniest of all English films and is a very wicked black comedy about getting ahead among the titled royalty, mainly by knocking them off like tenpins. Michael Balcon's Ealing Studios films released very eccentric films before this genteel ode to mass murder but Robert Hamer's deliciously exacting use of the language, plus the oh-so-refined way in which his cultured Louis Mazzini goes about his revenge, makes for unrestrained hilarity: Nobody kills with as much panache as an English aristocrat exercising his privilege.
‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ is a masterpiece of black comedy with marvellous tongue-in-cheek performances by a perfect cast and subtle, brilliant direction, Robert Hamer’s ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ is certainly a one-of-a-kind movie experience. At the top rank of the Ealing comedies produced in a stunning ten-year period after World War II, ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ is the virtual epitome of droll British humour produced in a sparkling package of classy filmmaking at the very highest level.
With the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ is a tale told in flashback form: Louis Mazzini [Dennis Price] learns that he and his mother was cruelly disinherited by her noble family, the D'Ascoynes. She dies without acknowledgement, her request to be buried in the family vault refused. Louis privately vows to avenge her by murdering his way to the title of Duke. Starting as a humble draper, Louis Mazzini carves a homicidal path through the D'Ascoyne family tree and are all played by Sir Alec Guinness, including Lady Agatha D'Ascoyne,
Along the way, Louis Mazzini loses the love of his life Sibella [Joan Greenwood] when she marries another more promising spouse. As he nears the fruition of his plans, Louis Mazzini has some juggling to do. Louis Mazzini's promised himself in marriage to Edith D'Ascoyne, the widow of one of his victims [Valerie Hobson]. But Sibella, realizing he might indeed become the Duke, has nefarious plans of her own.
In 1949, long before cynical and morbid humour became commonplace, this black velvet comedy must have delivered a considerable shock. From his black heart to his sharp tongue Louis Mazzini is a complete knave, and his lethal attitude toward the D'Ascoyne family is social satire at its most venomous. One would think the author had a grudge of his own against English nobility.
The landed gentry are secure in their positions and wealth, and have voted laws to make them officially superior to their common neighbours. As such they are easy targets for satire. ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ goes further than the usual ribbing to suggest that a Borgia-like extermination program is too good for such a decadent class. Death and murder are approached with a calm and detached optimism. Louis Mazzini dispatches his enemies with a steady hand, an assured sense of justice and a healthy portion of self-interest. Louis Mazzini's a complete hypocrite, of course: Louis Mazzini wants to re-join the upper class, not wipe it out.
‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ charts Louis Mazzini’ murderous progress up the D'Ascoyne heraldry chart, slyly plotting his course to the Dukedom. Director Robert Hamer manages to make the mayhem screamingly funny without resorting to cheap gags or overly tongue in cheek humour... almost. In a jail cell awaiting execution, Louis Mazzini narrates his private diary with a fine sense of satisfaction, peppering his killings with clever little quips even as he poisons a parson or blasts a victim with a shotgun.
In a famous piece of stunt casting, Sir Alec Guinness plays all eight members of the D'Ascoyne family. A Sir Alec Guinness brief appearance really commands the screen in such a truly masterful way, but the film really belongs to Dennis Price's chillingly credible picture of class snobbery. His Louis Mazzini personifies the blue-blood ethic of privilege even as he condemns that quality in his ill-fated relatives. When fate eventually swings against him, Louis Mazzini also demonstrates incredibly graceful manners. Louis Mazzini's no phony or usurper but a determined revenger getting his rights. Dennis Price is just brilliant, in finding five ways to look down his nose while infiltrating his way into the good graces of his victims.
At first Louis Mazzini seems to be taking terrible advantage of his adulterous mistress Sibella, until she shows a talent for devious calculation equal to his own. Louis Mazzini rule seems to be, “fairness until crossed.” Sibella snubbed him when he was poor, so he has no problem bedding her and cuckolding her husband Lionel. Since the nobles always choose self-interest, there is nothing inconsistent in Louis Mazzini's caddish behaviour. Louis Mazzini chooses the widow Edith to be his Duchess; her idea of what a “responsible” upper-class person should be and do fits right in with his concept of Ducal virtue. Edith sincerely proclaims that an inn owner should not serve liquor on moral grounds - to protect the commoners from their own vices. Valerie Hobson as is near perfect in the role.
This also may be Joan Greenwood's best performance, and the best opportunity to appreciate her wonderful voice. Joan Greenwood gets the best of the film's many priceless dialogue lines. With little hope of becoming rich or regaining his lost title, Louis earnestly declares his love for Sibella and asks if, perhaps, he might someday be worthy of her. Sibella regards him and gives back just three words: “Pigs might fly.”
The ubiquitous Miles Malleson has a choice part as a fussy hangman pleased to have the honour of executing such a fine gentleman. Arthur Lowe, Laurence Naismith, and Richard Wattis each have very small bits in the film.
What else can I say about this totally brilliant ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ film, it’s a motion picture classic on every level. It’s daring subject matter and subtle wit still works today, especially since it is celebrating its 70th anniversary. It’s a movie that I will continue to enjoy for many years to come.
Finally, we are informed that all characters and events in this film are fictitious. Any similarity to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Also, please note that this film reflects historical attitudes which audiences may find outdated and offensive.
KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS MUSIC TRACK LIST
Il Mio Tesoro Intanto (Aria from “Don Giovanni”) (Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) (Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte) (uncredited) (The music is played by The Philharmonia Orchestra) (Conducted by Ernest Irving) (Sung by an unidentified soloist)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Ealing Studios and StudioCanal is presented to you with the 35mm nitrate original negative for the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ and was scanned in 4K resolution at 16bit by the British Film Institute archive. The resulting files were sent to Silver Salt Restoration, for restoration and colour grading. Extensive manual correction was carried out on a frame by frame basis to fix large dirt debris, warping, tears, scuffs and scratches. It was colour corrected by Senior Colourist, Steve Bearman. It looks absolutely stunning. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Ealing Studios and StudioCanal brings you the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ with a very good upgraded 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio sound mix that offers excellent clarity for a film from this era. The dialogue which constitutes probably the most important aspect of the movie since it is narrated by the protagonist and is crystal clear and has been combined with surety with the wonderful evocative composed music score that was also directed by Ernest Irving and the various sound effects. No age-related problems with hiss, crackle, pops, or flutter exist on the soundtrack.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Once More With Ealing [2019] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 1.37:1] [44:44] With this featurette, we have a brand new interviews with Paul King [British Writer and Director], Peter Bradshaw [British writer and Film Critic], Whit Stillman [American Writer and Director], and Stephen Woolley [English filmmaker and actor] discussing their love for Ealing Studios and of course the brilliant legacy of the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS.’ This brand new video focuses on the unique nature of the humour that the films from Ealing Studios promoted and how it is represented in the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS.’ They all say that Ealing Studios comedies are absolutely remarkable and incredibly funny, as well as super charged with comic intelligence, and they are the best of British creativity, and they have a lot of irony and humour, mind blowing ahead of is time, at the same time heart-warming and wonderful. With the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ Ealing Studios runs through its blood. They also say that what is also amazing about Ealing Studios is it has a tiny set up, compared to the Hollywood studios, where Ealing Studios only has two and a half sized studio space, and of course the sets had to be quite small, and on top of all that, the people behind Ealing Studios consisted of 12 great directors and they left behind a great legacy in a short space of time. On top of all that, they had the same set of crew, the same set of writers and directors are contracted all year round, plus you have the same costume designers, same make-up artists, same set builders, and all the writers would influence each other and pushing each other to greater heights. They talk about the great success of the films Ealing Studios produced which were ‘Went The Day Well?’ [1942], ‘The Foreman Went To France’ [1942], ‘Hue and Cry’ [1947] as well as the very famous ‘The Blue Lamp’ [1950] and of course the hilarious classic funny film ‘The Ladykillers’ [1955]. They also say that Ealing Studios defined the British sense of humour in the post Second World War era and of course they had great success with their films in America and they were ‘Whisky Galore’ [1949], ‘Passport to Pimlico’ [1949] and of course the ultimate subversive delicious film from Ealing Studios which was ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ [1949]. All contributors say they watched the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ in their youth and after viewing the film felt it was a totally wonderful classic hilarious film, and just wickedly funny, and the script was incredibly tight, every line was totally crafted and it also takes you on an incredible moral journey, where the villain is a hero. The inspiration for ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ came from a novel by the Edwardian actor/manager Roy Horniman for “Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal” was first published in 1907, which happened to out of print and nobody knew about it at all, but it was revived by the single handed effort of the journalist Simon Heffer who is a great big fan of the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ and the film is a satire on upward mobile people and of course a satire on the British upper class and it is also a satire on a sort of racism in British society is also a story of a social climbing serial killer provided the template for the film made 42 years later. As his name suggests Israel is of Jewish descent and the novel portrays the casual anti-Semitism that the socially ambitious Israel encounters, fuelling his resentment and murderous intentions – “A Semitic appearance, however superior, is not the best recommendation to society.” Writing their script in the aftermath of World War II, Robert Hamer and John Dighton decided to avoid dangerous ground and instead made their lead character the son of an Italian singer. Nancy Mitford, the author of “The Pursuit of Love” and “Love in a Cold Climate” was renowned for her sharp and provocative observations on upper-class life in England. Nancy Mitford was hired independently by Ealing Studios to polish the script for ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS.’ But there is an important difference between the book and the film, in the film the hero, if you can call him that, or the anti-hero played by Dennis Price of Italian ancestry, but in the book the anti-hero is of Jewish ancestry, and it is party a satire on anti-Semitism, but interpreted as upward mobile Jewish people, and so Ealing Studios might felt it was very offensive toward the Jewish society, so they decided to aim the film towards the British upper class society, especially as we were coming to the end of the Second World War, and they feel if you read the book, you can actually hear Dennis Price’s voice, and of course they feel the end of the 1949 film where it is revealed the Dennis Price’s character is arrested by the police, and a terrific improvement over the book. They feel the dialogue in the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ is razor sharp and not one word is wasted and incredible precise, and brilliantly scornful, and a great pleasure to watch the film right to the very end, and it is still fresh and funny today, especially as it was made in the 1940’s. They also say that the attitude of the film towards the upper class is very ambiguous, but it is also deeply subversive film, but it is also about the killing of all the rich arrogant horrible people who are 100% utter British snobs and it is just a film that absolutely grabs snobbery by the throat and wants to punish the snobbery people, but by no means it is not a socialist film, it is about the Duke of Chalfont played wickedly by Dennis Price who wants to regain his rightful title and especially his birth right, but it also shows in the film that the middle class suffer very badly in the period the film is set in, and they feel they deserve their rights to society. They also put great praise on Sir Alec Guinness, in getting eight wonderful characters out of one actor, which was totally was truly special, and he does it so brilliantly and also talking in eight brilliant different voices. But of course everyone says Dennis Price stole the thunder in the film and of course Sir Alec Guinness with his wonderful over the top eight characters and the Duke of Chalfont with his evil precise cunning mind in how he plans to bump off eight Sir Alec Guinness characters, and they feel Dennis Price really anchors the film role perfectly, and of course this film for Dennis Price was his ultimate masterpiece performance, before and feel even his previous films and the films he appeared after ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ will never match his character Duke of Chalfont he played in this 1949 film. Then they talk about the wonderful actress Joan Greenwood who they feel was also an outstanding performance in this 1949 film and felt she was a true wonderful British actress who can do no wrong in any film this actress appears in, especially throughout the 1940’s with her wonderful sexy husky voice, and of course Joan Greenwood is a pivotal totally brilliant character in this film and they feel that if Joan Greenwood had not been in this 1949 film, it would not of been such a good classic film or even a successful one. They now talk about the director Robert Hamer, who unfortunately had a really tough time in his career and especially after the release of ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ and he was moved up the ladder at Ealing Studios and directed three more brilliant comedy classic films and Ealing Studios, lie ‘Pink String and Sealing Wax’ [1945], ‘It Always Rains On Sunday’ [1947] and of course ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ [1949] and life after that last film for Robert Hamer was a little tough and his next two film projects for Ealing Studios were rejected and so decided to leave that organisation and was a great tragedy, because they felt he was a type of Michael Powell genius and sadly his name is not very well known at all now, and again director Robert Hamer ultimate pinnacle of his career was ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ and later on in his life after that film in 1949, sadly died tragically without realising he was looked upon as a genius director. They also give great praise for the cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, who did a totally brilliant job of filming the eight different characters of Sir Alec Guinness in one scene in the church for the funeral in making him look like eight different characters in one brilliant shot and of course in 1949 there was no CGI special effects and it was a very long complicate process and they feel it is one of the most outstanding scene in the film and looks totally spectacular and totally beautiful at the same time, and one of the iconic scene out of the whole film, and amazingly, Douglas Slocombe actually slept in the church overnight so that he was there to stop anyone accidently bumping into the camera, as it had to stay in one 100% solid position and if the camera had accidently moved slightly, it would of set back the filming schedule in a very serious and costly way, and they feel that the actually filming of that scene is a totally technical wizardry. They also give great praise about all the costumes the female actress’s had to wear, but also praises Dennis Price’s outfits that they feel he wore so well and always look like a wonderful English gentleman. But of course they mention that the female actress’s wore some of the most outrageous and over the top hats on their head that were ever conceived for the female actors. They now talk about the legacy of Ealing Studios and when other studios and directors try to make a film like Ealing Studios it of course sadly does not quite come off, whereas the Ealing Studios British culture of films goes on forever. We find out that when the 1949 film as released in America, they edited out six minutes from the end of the film and it was at the most crucial moment in the film, when the character of Dennis Price is released from prison, because he faced two choices of what women to go with and we are about to find out that he might not of committed those murders of those eight people and the film is left open minded and there is no conclusive punishment for our murdering hero, but in the American end of the film, they of course find his written evidence in his cell, and of course Hayes Code in America does not want to be seen that a murdered is getting away with is crime and his subversion. They all comment that the 1949 film it is extraordinary ambiguity, and how it makes us route for the person we should not, but it is very funny and extremely witty, meaning the film is very humorous, very clever, funny, playful, amusing, smart, jocular, facetious; and especially the people he is murdering, but it is also very macabre and especially, it is also very is very ice cold calculating brilliant comedy film, and it is also a film that shows us how fine and so controlled and such a perfect film can be, and it is one of those films that just looks better and better as it gets older, and it is also absolutely sublime, and at that point this Paul King, Peter Bradshaw, Whit Stillman, and Stephen Woolley featurette ends. By the way, the 1907 Roy Horniman novel “Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal” is now available as a print-on-demand item from Faber Finds, with an introductory essay online by journalist Simon Heffer. As an added bonus, we get to view a plethora of clips from the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS.’
Special Feature: John Landis Introduction [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [2:50] With this featurette, we get to view a short introduction to the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ by director John Landis and wants to talk lovingly about the 1949 film which he really loves and is one of his most favourite British film ever and of course does an in-depth scenario of what the film is all about, and praises the actor Dennis Price and also comments that he thinks his character in the film is truly wonderful and especially wanting to murder eight characters in a cold calculating way and all played by the superb Sir Alec Guinness. John Landis feels the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ is like a piece of poisonous chocolate in a beautiful box, and he also feels the 1949 film is a real “tour de force” for the actor Sir Alec Guinness in playing all eight characters in the film. John Landis says basically the film is about a serial killer and that the 1949 film has a very witty screenplay and mostly deadpan literate sarcastic, sharp-tongued, acerbic, emotionless, unfeeling, undemonstrative, blank empty words said by all the actors. John Landis also feels the screenplay by John Dighton and Robert Hamer is a total masterwork of dry-wit humour and economic storytelling and also directed with deceptive simplicity by Robert Hamer and that the 1948 film manages to create a stylised world and yet remain completely true to the Britain at the time in which it is set. John Landis also says that this is a uniquely successful movie that can truly be considered a classic, although controversial at the time of the release of the film. Also for its questionable morality and after all there is a lot of sex between all that violence. It is also one of the darkest of black comedies, that manages to be lovely, funny and deadly all at the same time. At that point the John Landis featurette comes to an end. With this John Landis featurette, we get to view a few clips from the 1949 film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS.’
Special Feature: Audio Commentary with Peter Bradshaw, Terence Davies and Matthew Guinness [Audio only] [2019] [1080p] [1.37:1] [106:42] With this featurette, here we get to hear this audio commentary for the 1949 film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ with Film Critic Peter Bradshaw, Director Terence Davies and Matthew Guinness, who is the son of Sir Alec Guinness, and are here to talk in-depth about the iconic “film noir” ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS,’ and their comments are that we are informed there is three in the room recording this audio commentary, and informs us that they are Peter Bradshaw the Film Critic for the Guardian newspaper and now says I would like to introduce Director Terence Davies and finally like to introduce Matthew Guinness, who is the son of Sir Alec Guinness and so here we are talking about the 1949 film and they mention at the start of the film, that the film is based on the 1907 Roy Horniman novel and you get to read an in-depth about the amazing circumstances how this 1949 film elsewhere at the start of this Blu-ray Review and of course in the book it is a satire on the Jewish upper class, and of course in the 1949 film they felt they had to change it to the satire on the British upper class, and they say they did a brilliant job in making the film the ultimate British comedy film and of course they say it was the Ealing Studios that rose to the challenge. They now all talk about the wonderful character actors that appear at the start of the film and three of them say it is a total joy to see the wonderful actor Miles Malleson who plays “The Hangman” who is the one who will eventually hang the character actor Dennis Price, who they all think is totally faultless and with his very sarcastic comments that he says throughout the film and all three say that if Dennis Price had not been in the film, there would be no film at all, and all say that Dennis Price holds it together in the most elegant way, and especially as he does a sublime narrative on his life from childhood when his father has a heart attack, and how his mother was so very badly treated by the snob family and rejecting her as lower class and so making their lives so totally horrible, and where his mother has to take in lodgers to make some money, but even worse, when his mother dies, has to end up in an ordinary grave, whereas Dennis Price wanted here to be in the family vault and this is where the Dennis Price character starts to plot to bump off all the pompous upper class snobs related to his family tree and now his revenge to start murdering spree is off and running. Moe we get to meet the wonderful actress Joan Greenwood and all three say that they feel the actress is the sexiest woman in the British cinema and has that instinct sense of comedy, which they say that we do not see in modern films today, and they feel Joan Greenwood is a right little minx when she would rather dance Dennis Price than her fiancé. Now we see Dennis Price serving Sir Alec Guinness who treats him is a really nasty way as some kind of urchin, and of course Dennis Price’s first victim is Sir Alec Guinness playing one of the D'Ascoyne character in the boating accident, which they feel is so beautifully executed. Mathew Guinness starts to talk about his father in saying Sir Alec Guinness was at the time in the 1949 film in his early 30’s and they all praise the actor Sir Alec Guinness how he was able to pull off playing all of those characters so good in the film. Mathew Guinness also says that his father loved to take photos, which of course is one of those characters in the film that gets bumped off and again said that his father loved appearing in the film. We hear that the actress Valerie Hobson whose film career spanned the 1930’s to the early 1950’s and her second husband was John Profumo, a British government minister who became the subject of the John Profumo affair in 1963, as John Profumo, who was the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with the 19-year-old model/prostitute Christine Keeler beginning in 1961. John Profumo denied the affair in a statement to the House of Commons in 1963; weeks later, a police investigation proved that he had lied. The scandal severely damaged the credibility of Macmillan's government, and Harold Macmillan resigned as Prime Minister in October 1963, citing ill health. The fallout contributed to the Conservative government's defeat by the Labour Party in the 1964 general election. When the John Profumo affair was revealed, public interest was heightened by reports that Kristine Keeler may have been simultaneously involved with Captain Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet naval attaché, thereby creating a possible national security risk. The exposure of the affair generated rumours of other sex scandals and drew official attention to the activities of Stephen Ward, who was charged with a series of immorality offences. Perceiving himself as a scapegoat for the misdeeds of others, Stephan Ward took a fatal overdose during the final stages of his trial, which found him guilty of living off the immoral earnings of Kristine Keeler and her friend Mandy Rice-Davies. Despite the problem with John Profumo, Valerie Hobson stood by her husband, even with the court case, even though John Profumo betrayed Valeri Hobson. They now talk about the glorious restoration of the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS,’ and the wonderful monochrome cinematography by the wonderful professional Douglas Slocombe OBE, BSC, ASC, GBCT (Director of Photography) and especially with the richness of the black-and-white images. At one point the actress Joan Greenwood turns up and Dennis Price’s flat wearing the most ridiculous hat which they comment on. Mathew Guinness says that his father Sir Alec Guinness in drag in the basket with the massive big balloon with the sign on the side of the basket saying “Women Fight For Your Rights!” and Sir Alec Guinness would not go up in the basket with the balloon any further than 15 feet unless they upped the insurance, in case anything went tragically wrong, otherwise my wife and child will have to be looked after, but the film company said they would not increase the insurance, so what they did was to have an expert Belgium balloonist in the bottom of the basket to help if there was any technical problems, so what happened instead, the an expert Belgium balloonist was disguised in drag as Sir Alec Guinness to sort out Sir Alec Guinness serious concern that may have occurred during filming, and unfortunately with expert Belgium balloonist guiding the balloon, the balloon was caught in a cross wind and was found later on in the Thames Estuary and is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain, but luckily the expert Belgium balloonist was found safe and sound. When we see the scene with the two battle ships crashing into each other and sink with Sir Alec Guinness in disguised as a sea captain on one of them and they inform us that Sir Alec Guinness could hold his breath for five minutes underwater and when we see Sir Alec Guinness sink below the water line, wires were attached to Sir Alec Guinness and a technician dived into the water to cut the wires holding the actor, because if he had bot cut the wires, then Sir Alec Guinness would of drowned, and then they shouted out “it is a wrap.” When we see Dennis Price in a room with again the actress Valerie Hobson, they comment on the wonderful light and shade of the scene and also feel it gives the scene we are watching a lot of wonderful atmosphere, and at that point at chapter 8 at 66:35 we get to hear no audio commentary for some time. At chapter 9, Valerie Hobson turns up at Dennis Price’s flat and we see the actress is wearing over the top hat and all of them make some sarcastic remark by saying, “this is where the parade of hats gets almost too surreal.” Once again we get a lot of dead silence now and again from the three audio commentators. Then at chapter 10, we see the actor Dennis Price is being arrested for the murders by the actor Eric Messiter as Inspector Burgoyne of Scotland Yard of the Criminal Investigation Department and has a warrant on the charge of the murder of Mr Lionel Holland [John Penrose] and all three thought the scene was totally brilliant and we next see Dennis Price at the House of Lords to exercise his right to be tried by the House of Lords, and when the trial begins, all three say that they have no idea these proceeding are in anyway accurate, but they also say, “It doesn’t matter, but we take it on trust that this would actually take place in real life. At chapter 11, we get to see Arthur Lowe who was a reporter for the scandal “Tit-Bits” glossy adult monthly publication meeting Dennis Price coming outside of the prison gates, as he has just been released because they found the suicide note written by Joan Greenwood’s husband Mr Lionel Holland and we see the two female actors Joan Greenwood and Valerie Hobson in different carriages hoping Dennis Price will choose one of them to go with them, but Arthur Lowe wants to publicise Dennis Price’s memoirs he wrote while he was in prison on how he murdered all those characters, but suddenly realises he had left his memoirs in the prison cell and cannot get back into his cell and of course when they find his memoirs thy will of course find out he was the real serial murderer and all three audio commentators laugh out loud and says, “it is quite simply the greatest film comedy ever made and it is all full of sublime irony, and at that point we have come to the end of the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS,’ but also to the audio commentary, and they say, “I never watch the film in wanting to find out what happened and whether Dennis Price was able to get back into his cell to retrieve his open and honest hand written memoir manuscript, but we are brilliantly withheld in finding out if he had been able to go back to his cell and it is just fabulous, and it is absolutely rapturous.” At that point the audio commentary with Commentary with Peter Bradshaw, Terence Davies and Matthew Guinness comes to an end, and it was a truly wonderful and very informative audio commentary and gets highest praise and definitely a wonderful five star rating.
Special Feature: Those British Faces: Dennis Price [1992] [480i / 1080p] [1.37:1] [25:52] With this featurette, we get a wonderful tribute to the great actor Dennis Price [1915 – 1973]. We are informed that the actor Dennis Price came from a military family, as it was natural that Dennis Price should follow the family tradition, but Dennis Price had totally radical ideas, because he had fallen in love with acting while still at school. Dennis Price break came when doing a tour of Noël Coward [English playwright and composer] and his Wartime Company, when Dennis Price replaced the master who had fallen ill, then the Rank Organisation soon signed him up for a long term film contract and Dennis Price became their post war golden boy and his rise was meteoric during the British cinema boom in the late 1940’s and starred in one of the great classic film to emerge from that period and of course that film was ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ where he played a calculating serial killer in murdering eight people to get his Dukedom. Unfortunately for Dennis Price, most of his other film roles were not in the same league as that 1949 film. After the 1949 film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS,’ Dennis Price made a fortune in becoming a “Matinee Idol” in the highly successful films like ‘Caravan’ [1946] and now Dennis Price had confidence to plat characters that he can satirise the films he appears in, Dennis Price did not seem to have a care in the world, now happily married with two young children, and his career took off and appeared in film after film and his acting career was blossoming. But success for Dennis Price proved short lived, with too much over exposure in mediocre film roles, that meant his career was faltering on a downward spiral by the early 1950’s. Dennis Price’s problems increased and Dennis Price plunged into very serious debt, because he owned huge amounts in income tax from his acting success in the years in the late 1940’s, and also ran up massive gambling debts, on top of all that, his friends knew we was a homosexual, and there was some speculation that he was being blackmailed and threatening to reveal his sexual preference and especially to the police. In April 1954, Dennis Price was found shut in a gas filled room and was dragged out unconscious and spent a long period of convalesce in coming to terms with his problems. Dennis price’s suicide attempt, interrupted his filming of a comedy film set in a NHS hospital in the film entitled ‘For Better For Worse’ [1954] and his performance as so often with actor Dennis Price, he never portrayed his real state of mind. At this point in time, Dennis Price was taking any roles he was offered, but after a period of time Dennis Price was now becoming more selective in the films he appeared in, by concentrating finding judged counterpart roles, and just watch his reaction to fellow actors we are watching Dennis Price appears in ‘School For Scoundrels2 [1960]. Dennis price was totally adapted in playing conmen characters, cheats and liars, and characters that use their suave and sophisticated manners to conceal their deepest problems. Dennis Price reputation was based on this type of comedy in the film ‘The Pot Carriers’ [1962] which we get to view a clip from that film, but occasionally Dennis Price allowed a more serious side of his character to appear in a film. Even with his past serious problems, he took a considerable courage to appear in the English director Basil Dearden’s film ‘Victim’ [1961] that starred Dirk Bogarde and Sylvia Simms and it was a serious controversial film that made a powerful plea for legislation for homosexuals so that male homosexuality would not be targeted for persecution. In a few other films that Dennis Price appeared in, the actor exercised his talent for more serious dramatic roles, often playing me with a strong sense of their own deep shame of inadequacy, which we get in the film ‘The Intruder’ [1953] which we get to view a clip from, and Dennis Price was very proud of his role in this 1953 film which we get to view a clip of, but perhaps his insight into the psychology of cowardice came from his own experience as a child in the military academy. But these were rare roles for Dennis Price, most of his character roles relay on flattery and cynical manipulation of anyone he meets, which means his portrayal of a politician are particularly fine, which is shown in the clip of the film ‘The Amorous Prawn’ [1962]. Three years later Dennis Price appeared in “The World of Wooster” in the comedy television series, based on the Jeeves stories by author P. G. Wodehouse. The television series starred Ian Carmichael as English gentleman Bertie Wooster and Dennis Price as Bertie's valet Jeeves, and the series aired on BBC Television from 1965 until 1967 in three series. But Dennis price’s new found success and extravagant life style brought new serious money problems, and in 1967 while playing Bertie Wooster’s valet Jeeves in the BBC Television series and again appeared in a bankruptcy court owning over £10,000 in back taxes, and Dennis Price himself claimed to have gambled away over £8,000 in the previous two years, but again he could produce no evidence, or was he being blackmailed one more time, after all gay men in Britain at that period in time had to live a double life in fear of the law. But Dennis Prices’s new found success and extravagant life style brought new money problems, and in 1967 while playing Jeeves in the BBC TV series and again appeared in a bankruptcy court case owing over £10,000 in back taxes, and Dennis Price himself, claimed to have gambled way over $8,000 in the previous two years, but again he could produce no evidence, or was he being blackmailed once more, after all gay men in Britain at that time had to live a double life in fear of the law. But Dennis Price financial anxiety never interfered in his roles in films or with his fine sense of satire and mockery, which we get to view in a clip from ‘Private Progress’ [1956]. But Dennis Price’s finest role remains the exquisitely understated cynicism role in the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ [1949]. Acting was Dennis Price’s life, but the profession did not treat him very well towards the end of his career, and some of his last parts were in the cheapest horror films of the 1970’s and he was still working right up to the end of his career to pay off the back income taxes he owed. This featurette was narrated by actor Richard Todd. The documentary features plenty of clips from many of Dennis Price's best films.
Special Feature: Alternate USA Ending [1949] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:41] With this featurette, we get to view the American alternate ending of the film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ and was extended to show the guards discovering Louis Mazzini's written memoirs/confessions to make it clear to the audience that he did not get away with the murders of his relatives, whilst the UK version remains ambiguous on the subject. Early VHS prints sold in the U.S.A. changed the line “catch a nigger by his toe” to “catch a tiger by his toe.” This alternative USA version was available in a computer colorized version. The Alternative ending was required for the U.S. where distributors balked at the film’s ambiguous conclusion. The U.S. Production Code at the time stipulated that crime could not be seen to pay and the ending was changed to include the discovery of the vital evidence that would prove Louis Mazzini’s guilt.
Special Feature: BFI's Introducing Ealing Studios [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [9:13] With this featurette, what makes a film an Ealing Studios film? Why should we cry in the film ‘Mandy.’ What has ‘The Man in the White Suit’ got to do with the atomic bomb? And what might Ealing Studios films teach us about the world today? In this short featurette video we find out why Ealing Studios are so important in the history of filmmaking with broadcaster Matthew Sweet and BFI curator Mark Duguid. It focuses on the rich history of the Ealing Studios and some of its most prominent figures. Included in it are clips from interviews with Matthew Sweet who is the author of the 2006 “Shepperton Babylon: The Lost Worlds of British Cinema” and tells the story of the wonderful famous Ealing Studios that was situated in the West London area and easy to get to via the underground District Line and easy to get from the middle of London, and the reason the Ealing Studios sprang up in the part of London, because it was perceived to be a place close to London, yet did not suffer from the air pollution you would of experienced closer to the centre of London, and there was a lot of great light that the Ealing Studios could work with and it was the longest continuing centre of filmmaking in the world, and filmmaking has been going on at Ealing Studios since 1902. The second contributor was the BFI curator Mark Duguid who is also the Co-editor of “Ealing Revisited” and says that in 1931 Basil Dean a theatre impresario moved into filmmaking with his company ATP [Associated Talking Pictures] who built the first purpose built sound studio in Britain. That studio in 1838 when it was at its lowest ebb, it is then taken over by Michael Balcon who was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in West London from 1938 to 1955. Matthew Sweet sys that the key thing with Ealing Studios outlook in those years was Michael Balcon and when sitting in his office, this is where it all happened and Michael Balcon had incredible energy and the single most important person at Ealing Studios in the history of British cinema, and Michael Balcon was the man that nurtured and developed the career of director Alfred Hitchcock and is also the man that made Ealing Studios, and the thing that it became in the late 1930’s and was the period of 1938 – 1956 and Michael Balcon is often presented as a genial figure, not a creative figure, and he never shot a reel of film himself, but he was a great enabler and always gave great encouragement to other people, and was very effective, and certainly at Ealing Studios in creating an environment, which created rampant creativity that ran rampant, but also felt free, and the centre of it all was the round table in the main office, where everyone important would gather to thrash out ideas and to also talk about a specific script, comment on the rushes, and there was a kind of forum that would take place, and Michael Balcon was not your typical cigar chewing executive who would come in and bang his fist on the table and tell people what to do, and Michael Balcon ran a sort of community authoritarian. One of the interesting thing about Ealing Studios, because there is a certain kind of film that they would produce, and is definitely not like a Pinewood Studios film, or a Shepperton Studios film, but there is of course an Ealing Studios film, it is a kind of recognisable film looking at the world that these films give to the public, and there is a sort of continuity between these films, because at their height, the films were made by a tight group of people, with shared views, a shared way of looking at the world. Ealing Studios had a quite modest output of 95 feature films over a 20 year period with Michael Balcon leadership and was mostly associated with comedy films and in fact only made 30 actual comedy films out of the 95 film output and there was a huge variety of films produced like melodramas, made special problem films, and also made a horror film, they also made a costume melodrama film, which was associated with the Gainsborough Pictures Film Studio, Ealing Studios also made weepy films like the 1952 film ‘Mandy’ and was a British black-and-white film about a family's struggle to give their deaf daughter a better life and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick and is based on the novel “The Day Is Ours” by Hilda Lewis and it starred Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins and Terence Morgan, and features the first film appearance by Jane Asher. But Ealing Studios also made a social realist film entitled ‘It Always Rains On Sunday’ [1947] and is an incredible stark portrait of working class people and their lives on a street in the East End of London and the quiet tragedy of one working class families human’s life. At around the 1940’s and then on into the 1950’s, Ealing Studios becomes associated with comedy films like ‘The Man in the White Suit’ [1951], ‘Passport to Pimlico’ [1949], ‘The Lavender Hill Mob’ [1951] and the loveable film ‘Whiskey Galore’ [1949] and the films were directed by Robert Hamer, Charles Crichton and Alexander Mackendrick [American Director and Professor] and of course these comedy Ealing Films starred British comic actors like Stanley Holloway, Sir Alec Guinness, Sid James, Basil Rathbone, and Naunton Wayne who were all brilliant character actors that really stood out from the wonderful classic Ealing Studios films. But on the other hand we had the very gritty Ealing Studios film like ‘Went the Day Well’ [1942] was a British war film adapted from a story by Graham Greene and directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and produced by Michael Balcon. Ealing Studios attitude would capture the mood of the British public in their golden years, and there was other films that were forward thinking and optimistic like the film ‘Hue and Cry’ [1947] and a British directed by Charles Crichton and starring Alastair Sim, Harry Fowler and Joan Dowling, and is generally considered to be the first of the Ealing Studios comedies, that was shot almost entirely on location, it is now a notable historic document due to its vivid portrait of a London still showing the damage of the Second World War. London forms the backdrop of a crime-gangster plot which revolves around a working class children's street culture and children's secret clubs. But as the years go by and when Winston Churchill comes back into power, and when the project for the post war Labour Government falters, when Britain acquired the Atom bomb for instance, and suddenly we are in a world which is not so optimistic, where some of the problems that existed before the Second World War, where they try to reassert themselves, then you get a slightly more cynical and anxious attitude to the world. What Ealing Studios films have now, that seems all the more clear the further they disappear back in time, is what a compromising vision of the world they offer, because Ealing Studios films prescribe a creation of the world which we now live in, like the world of the welfare state is a state that is committed to providing basic economic security for its citizens by protecting them from market risks associated with old age, unemployment, accidents, and sickness. Then we have the NHS [National Health Service] and the post-war settlement and consensus, and the world that made us all, and a world is now is being called utterly into question, and if we want to know what we might lose over the next few years, we should go back to the films of Ealing Studios and look at the world that they prescribe the building of and decide whether or not we still perhaps quite to live there. At that point the featurette ends, and thank goodness, because Matthew Sweet was becoming a monotonous pompous snob, who at time was talking utter vacuous long winded rubbish, and on top of all that, the microphone he used was total rubbish and I had a job hearing what Matthew Sweet saying at times, and I had to increase the volume more than normal.
Special Feature: Behind The Scenes Stills Gallery: With this featurette, we get to view some stunning and wonderful 1080p black-and-white images related to the 1949 film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ and also get to view lots of behind-the-scene images in different locations. Running time: 0:32
Special Feature: Costumes Stills Gallery: With this featurette, we again see some stunning and wonderful 1080p black-and-white images related to the 1949 film ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS,’ but this time we get to view the amazing costumes that were worn by the female actors that were designed by Anthony Mendleson and on top of all that we get to view some images of the smart outfits worn by the actor Dennis Price. Running time: 0:38
Finally, ‘KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS’ [1949] is the jewel in Ealing Studios crowning glory, and arguably one of the finest British films ever made. It’s a beautifully pitched comedy of terrors, leading us through an increasingly dark labyrinth of revenge, double crossing love matches and murder in the most polite fashion. A wonderfully entertaining combination of biting class satire, hilarious farce and pitch-black comedy, this story of a suave and elegant serial murderer is as sharp and funny today as ever. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
