Rent Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

English - like what it should be spoke... - Kind Hearts and Coronets review by JK

This film is a true classic. What an absolute joy to be able to hear every word the actors say with such clarity. It was music to the ears as opposed to today's mumblings in Dolby Stereo where you need subtitles to understand the gist of what is being said even in what is supposed to be your own language.

The script is as sharp and sparkling today as it was in the 40's/50's when Ealing Comedies were at their peak.

Were Dennis Price and Joan Greenwood really that thin though?

Alec Guinness and Derek Price at their best . - Kind Hearts and Coronets review by JJ

A wonderful slightly black comedy which left you feeling you shouldn’t be laughing but were . Great character portrayals with a perfect level of exaggeration. The final moments were perfect. 

Ealing Comedy Classic - Kind Hearts and Coronets review by GI

This is possibly Ealing Studios most famous film and is a critics favourite even to the point of being described as 'the perfect film'. The Ealing Comedies are little treasures that do not get seen nearly enough by modern audiences and, as this one, they reveal a huge amount about Britain and in particular the class issues that drove society arguably still to this day! Set in the late 1800s the story is narrated by Louis (Dennis Price), the 10th Duke of Chalfont, who is in prison awaiting execution. His mother was a member of the aristocratic D'Ascoyne family but because she married for love was cast out and Louis grew up in poverty. As a young man he loses the love of his life to a more wealthy man and driven by hatred he vows to kill all the D'Ascoyne heirs leaving him to inherit the family title. The film charts his endeavours in this and it is, of course, famous for the eight heir victims all being played by Alec Guinness, who excels at the various eccentricities of the family. Whilst this is a mild comedy of manners rather than an out and out comedy like the Carry Ons it is the best example of condemnation of the class divided society and the ridiculous manners and obsession with wealth and breeding that puts society's acceptance over happiness. Wonderfully scripted and directed this is one of the finest of British films from the heyday of Britain's film industry and it is certainly a film every film fan should make sure they see.