The jewel in Ealing Studios’ crown, Kind Hearts & Coronets received its UK premiere on 23rd June 1949. Back in cinemas now with a glorious 70th Anniversary 4K restoration, and a stunning brand-new Collector’s Edition released on 24th June 2019, this wonderfully entertaining combination of biting class satire, hilarious farce and pitch-black comedy is as sharp and funny today as ever.
To celebrate, we have delved into this sublime tale of an elegant serial killer and the stories behind one of the finest British films ever made.
The inspiration for Kind Hearts & Coronets came from a novel by the Edwardian actor/manager Roy Horniman. ‘Israel Rank: The Autobiography Of A Criminal’ was first published in 1907, and this 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, fueling 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. The novel is available as a print-on-demand item from Faber Finds, with an introductory essay online by Simon Heffer.
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. Mitford was hired independently by Ealing Studios to polish the script for Kind Hearts & Coronets.
Alec Guinness whose performance as all eight members of the D’Ascoyne family in Kind Hearts & Coronets is an acting tour-de-force. Guinness was originally approached by producer Michael Balcon to play 4 of the roles but on reading the script he immediately went back to Balcon and suggested that he play all 8, and the rest is British movie history.
An 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’s guilt. This alternative ending is included in the new Collector’s Edition.
STUDIOCANAL
Lady Agatha D’Ascoyne is the unlucky passenger in the hot air balloon ‘accident’. While campaigning for the suffragettes, Agatha distributes her ‘votes for women’ leaflets from a great height. Louis, on the ground, takes aim with a bow and arrow and her flight comes to a very abrupt end. “I shot an arrow in the air; she fell to earth in Berkeley Square.”
Concerned about the possibility of anything going wrong, Guinness asked the producers if he was well insured. They told him he was, for £10,000, which Guinness declared to be too small a sum. “I decided it wasn’t nearly enough and informed them I wouldn’t get up more than 15 feet unless they raised the insurance to £50,000.” They refused so Guinness refused to go any higher than a few feet. The scene in the film, with the balloon in full flight, is in fact a famed Belgian balloonist wearing a dress and wig. Guinness had the last laugh when a high wind pulled the balloon off course — and the pilot was found 50 miles away where he had to pitch into a river.
Without the benefit of CGI, the scene where six members of the D’Ascoyne family, all played by Alec Guinness, are seen together, took two days to film with the camera set on a specially built platform to minimize movement. Cinematographer Douglas Slocombe spent the night on set as, even the slightest nudge to the camera, would have ruined the previous day’s work. A frame with six black matte painted optical flat glass windows was set in front of the camera, and the windows opened one at a time so each of the characters could be filmed in turn. The film was then wound back for the next character. Most of the time was spent waiting for Guinness to change costume and be made up as the next D’Ascoyne.
Martin Scorsese is a huge fan of Ealing comedies and credits the first-person narration from the criminal anti-hero in Kind Hearts… as being the inspiration for the same device he used in ‘Goodfellas’ allowing audiences to see the world through Henry Hill’s (Ray Liotta) eyes.
Related: Kind Hearts & Coronets to get 70th anniversary re-release
Director Robert Hamer, although not normally mentioned in lists of celebrated British film directors, made three undisputed classics with Pink String and Sealing Wax (1945), It Always Rains On Sunday (1947) and Kind Hearts… (1949). Alec Guinness described him as a man “who looked and sounded like an endearing, but scornful frog” and they got along so well during the shoot that a friendship was formed that would last for many years. “Robert and I spoke the same language and laughed at the same things”, said Guinness in his 1985 memoir ‘Blessings in Disguise’. “He was finely-tuned, full of wicked glee, and was marvelous to actors, appreciative and encouraging.” However, like his leading man, Hamer had a serious drinking problem and he also battled with the Ealing Studios board over the creative process. He eventually left Ealing to try to make his own projects without much success but his celebrated Ealing films show that he had the skill and talent to make truly great films.
Dennis Price who, in a rare leading role, starred as Louis Mazzini. Elaine Parker and Gareth Owen’s biography of Price – ‘The Price Of Fame’ – describes him as charming, erudite, and the very personification of the English gentleman. In the late 1930s he was one of the most promising and talented newcomers to the acting world and invited comparisons to Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson. However, turmoil in his private life meant that Price did not fulfill the promise so evident in Kind Hearts & Coronets. A broken marriage, bankruptcy and severe alcoholism put an end to his career, and he died in very reduced circumstances in 1973 from cirrhosis of the liver.
The film gets its title from a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson “Lady Clara Vere de Vere which includes the line – “Kind hearts are more than coronets, and simple faith than norman blood” – that is, it is better to be a decent human being than have riches and power, advice that Louis fails to follow.
Kind Hearts & Coronets received its UK premiere on 23rd June 1949. The brand new 4k restoration to celebrate its 70th anniversary is in cinemas now and on Collector’s Edition, Blu-ray™ & DVD – 24th June 2019.
