What to expect
Robert Hamer gives revenge the polish of memoir, manners, and elegant composition. Alec Guinness’s multiple roles make hereditary privilege look both absurdly varied and structurally identical.
How to ease in
The voice-over is the organising pleasure. Keep Louis’s romantic relationships distinct and enjoy each D’Ascoyne as a variation on the same obstacle rather than a realistic family tree.
Heads-up
A quick, non-exhaustive note Includes serial murder played for comedy, class prejudice, misogyny, infidelity, hanging, suicide references, and dated racial language.
Momo's Note Who is Momo? →
Louis writes murder with the rhythm of etiquette. I laugh at the precision, then notice how easily good manners turn every victim into a grammatical inconvenience.
— Momo
- Louis recounts his pursuit of the dukedom in memoirs written in prison, as Adam Scovell’s account explains. Adam Scovell — Kind Hearts and Coronets locations (BFI)
Credits & versions
- Cast
- Dennis Price · Valerie Hobson · Joan Greenwood
- Screenplay
- Robert Hamer · John Dighton
Credits
Version map
Where to go next
Want a gentler, shorter, or stranger next film? Ask Momo for something like this →
Momo is on shift. Visit Momo Cinema →
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