Kind Hearts and Coronets

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Directed By: Robert Hamer Screenplay: Roy Horniman (novel Israel Rank); Robert Hamer, John Dighton
Cast: Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood, Alec Guinness

I just watched this movie in International Films. It is absolutely hilarious. It is a classic Ealing Comedy and I have to say that I have never enjoyed an old movie this much. The star, Dennis Price, plays an Englishman whose mother has noble blood, but was disinherited when she married for love. After his mother's death Louis (Price) sets out to kill all his relations that are between him and his Dukedom. Guiness plays many parts in the movie, including Lady Abigail (one of Louis' ill-fated relatives), which helps to consolidate the 'evil' nobility as a group. Each noble is killed in a way that is uniquely suited to him or her. Louis' affair w/ a married woman is also promenant in the plot. I didn't know that this type of comedy was permissable in at this time period and I was very pleased with the whole experience.