Kind Hearts and Coronets

"He chopped down the family tree..."

1949 1h 44m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

★7.6TMDB · 632

ComedyCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When his mother eloped with an Italian opera singer, Louis Mazzini was cut off from her aristocratic family. After the family refuses to let her be buried in the family mausoleum, Louis avenges his mother's death by attempting to murder every family member who stands between himself and the family fortune. But when he finds himself torn between his longtime love and the widow of one of his victims, his plans go awry.

“He chopped down the family tree...”

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Cast

Dennis Price
Louis Mazzini / His Father
Alec Guinness
The D'Ascoyne Family: The Duke / The Banker / The Parson / The General / The Admiral / Young Ascoyne / Young Henry / Lady Agatha
Joan Greenwood
Sibella
Valerie Hobson
Edith D'Ascoyne
Audrey Fildes
Mama
Miles Malleson
The Hangman
Clive Morton
The Prison Governor
John Penrose
Lionel Holland

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Robert Hamer
Writers: John Dighton, Robert Hamer
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

77 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Robert Hamer, shot by Douglas Slocombe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ernest Irving. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Tanner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Dennis Price and Alec Guinness and Joan Greenwood carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He chopped down the family tree...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0041546 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robert Hamer directs. Douglas Slocombe behind the camera. Ernest Irving scores. Peter Tanner cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

177 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Robert Hamer, shot by Douglas Slocombe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Ernest Irving. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Peter Tanner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Dennis Price and Alec Guinness and Joan Greenwood carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "He chopped down the family tree...".
7IMDB entry: tt0041546 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 20 themes, including "prison", "jealousy", "based on novel or book", "italian".

The technical file

Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe
Original score: Ernest Irving
Editing: Peter Tanner
Costume design: Anthony Mendleson
Makeup / hair: Barbara Barnard
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

Also by

Robert Hamer

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Nutshell2020-05-24
This is hands down my favorite Ealing Studios comedy, as I'm sure it is for many others. A most exquisite and brilliantly dark comic showcase, most especially for Dennis Price who is outstanding here in the lead role of Louis, and for some young actor named Alec Guinness who plays a whopping 8 roles in this film! In those early days the young Mr. Guinness was constantly challenging both himself, and his directors, in order to prove his capabilities. He had done just that the year before with his fabulous portrayal of Fagin in Oliver Twist, and that was only his 2nd movie! With this phenomenal 3rd piece of work, he silenced any critics that might still be left, going on to enjoy a tremendous career that would last nearly the rest of his life.
CinemaSerf2022-07-09
★ 8/10
The best, I think, of the Ealing Comedies features a wonderful Dennis Price as the hard-done-by aristocrat who sets out to exact the most spectacular series of acts of vengeance on those whom he blames for the plights of his childhood. Alec Guinness plays the entire (somewhat doomed) "D'Ascoyne" family outstandingly (especially, I thought, the vicar) and both Valerie Hobson and Joan Greenwood complete this excellent casting of this very enjoyable dark comedy that has the odd extra twist to complicate things nicely. It is one of those films you can watch over and over again and it just doesn't get wearisome.
Juno782024-09-19
★ 4/10
For everything that I'd heard about this film, I was left underwhelmed. I'd always heard that Alec Guinness was superb, playing multiple characters, but most of them were on screen for just a moment. Yes, the makeup artist did a good job making them all visually distinct, but only a couple really have a role to play in the story. There is one shot, clever for the time, which brings them all "together" which you can admire on a technical level. It does nothing to raise the piece. Honestly, all of that is a side-show to the actual story and had it been six different actors the film would be unaffected. The humour is that of a gentle farce and personally it caused little more than a wry smile for me. I realise it's "of it's time", but even for the late '40s I think it's pedestrian.