Kind Hearts and Coronets (United Artists) (1949)

The Vice is Versa For Dennis Price In New Murder Film The satiric murder comedy hit, “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” a J. Arthur Rank presentation, re¬ leased by Eagle Lion Films and opening .... at the .... Thea¬ tre, is the picture that gives Den¬ nis Price the chance to kill in¬ stead of being killed. He stars as an urbane young man who removes an entire fam¬ ily in order to attain a dukedom and almost, but not quite, gets away without retribution. Up to “Kind Hearts and Cor¬ onets” Dennis Price was usually on the receiving end—in pictures, of course—when it came to vio¬ lent death. His screen “deaths” are some sort of record. He has sunk into a bog and disappeared; he has succumbed to typhoid; he has been the victim of gas poisoning; he has died on the gallows; he has suffocated under a collapsed wall; he has been murdered; he has committed sui¬ cide; he has died of fever and he has drowned. Out of all this he has emerged as one of Filmdom’s most engaging young stars. Price originally intended to enter the ministry, but changed to acting. He has played in stock and has appeared on the London boards in Shakespearean roles. He is married and the father of two girls, who do not consider him a villain. In addition to Price, the pic¬ ture stars Alec Guinness, who plays eight different roles, Valerie Hobson and Joan Greenwood as the women in the murderer’s life. Prelude to Murder Plenty of Laughs, Chills In ‘Kind Hearts’ Satire Everything comes in bunches in “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” the J. Arthur Rank production released by Eagle Lion Films, a gory and satirically funny story of a self-made duke, which opens .... at the .... Theatre. The film deals with the career of a disinherited young man who kills his way into a dukedom and arrives at the House of Lords— a nobleman, but a prisoner on trial for murder. Speaking of bunches, there is no precedent in screen history for the whole crowd of roles por¬ trayed by Alec Guinness in “Kind Hearts and Coronets.” This one man alone appears in eight roles in the film, playing every one of the victims, includ¬ ing a female. Guinness can cur¬ rently be seen in the Broadway smash hit, “The Cocktail Party.” The business of bunches per¬ tains to Dennis Price, too, as the urbane young killer who not only gets rid of eight persons in the path towards the dukedom he covets, but he also has two women in his life. Valerie Hob¬ son and Joan Greenwood star in these roles; and one of them is the widow of a man he slays. Hold It! Dennis Price, the handsome young star of J. Arthur Rank’s “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” now at the .... Theatre, almost killed himself while playing the gory but satiric role of an urbane killer who removes an entire family in his drive towards a dukedom. In the witty, suspense¬ ful murder-comedy, released by Eagle Lion Films, Price has to ride a 50-year-old bicycle. Though long a cyclist—that is, on modern wheels—he found that learning to handle the ancient vehicle was no cinch. After a few crashes, which could have been disastrous, he finally got a grip on his problem. ‘Kind Hearts, Coronets’ Witty Comedy of Murders Murder and comedy are cleverly mixed in the witty and suspenseful film, J. Arthur Rank’s “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” which opens .... at the .... Theatre, through Eagle Lion Films release. Starring Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood and Alec Guinness, “Kind Hearts- and Coronets” deals with the gory story of a self-made duke, a poor young man who really kills his way into a noble title. Finally, arrived in the House of Lords as a duke, he is put on trial for murder and almost, but not quite, escapes retribution. Amazing Role Critics have hailed the amaz¬ ing make-up feat performed by Alec Guinness in portraying all eight members of the family— including a woman—who must be eliminated before the mur¬ derer, played by Dennis Price, can reach his coveted goal. There is no precedent parallel in film history for the achieve¬ ment of Guinness in playing an entire family. One of the high- spots of the picture is a scene showing six members of the ill- fated clan in the same room at the same time—and Guinness is every one of them. On Broadway Currently starring in the Broadway stage hit, “The Cock¬ tail Party,” Guinness shares co- starring honors in “Kind Hearts and Coronets” with Price, Valerie Hobson, who plays a woman the murderer marries after widowing her, and Joan Greenwood, who enacts the role of the killer’s fickle girl friend who ultimately betrays him. “Kind Hearts and Coronets” was produced by Michael Balcon and directed by Robert Hamer, who also co-authored the screen¬ play. Balcon has won screen honors in the past with such outstand¬ ing suspense film hits as “The 39 Steps.” Gives Up Screaming For ‘Kind Hearts’ Valerie Hobson loved her star¬ ring role in J. Arthur Rank’s “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” the murder-comedy hit which opens .... at the .... Theatre, through Eagle Lion Films re¬ lease. The reason that Miss Hobson enjoyed her work so much was that for once, though “Kind Hearts and Coronets” is a sus¬ penseful film of wholesale mur¬ der, she didn’t have to scream once. This time she plays the dignified widow of an aristocrat. In all the other murder-pictures in which she has appeared she screamed so effectively that her vocalistics became the feature of each movie. “Kind Hearts and Coronets” is a satiric giggle provoker dealing with the career of an urbane young man who takes on the job of removing an entire family standing in the path to a duke¬ dom he covets. The gory story of the self-made duke, played by star Dennis Price, ends in one of the cleverest finishes ever filmed. Co-star Alec Guinness performs the unprecedented feat of portraying all eight members of the ill-fated clan—including a woman. A unique highspot in the film shows six persons—all played by Guinness—in one room at the same time. Joan Greenwood is also starred in the film. “Kind Hearts and Coronets” was produced by Michael Balcon, master of such suspense film hits as “The 39 Steps.” ‘Kind Hearts , Coronets 9 Earns Star New Laurels Already noted as one of the most versatile actors, Alec Guinness has earned new laurels from the critics for his spectacular eight-person performance in J. Arthur Rank’s “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” the witty and suspenseful murder-comedy hit opening .... at the .... Theatre, --<§>through Eagle Lion Films release. Guinness performs the unpre Hatless Star Hatted In New Film Comedy Joan Greenwood, starring as the “bad girl” in J. Arthur Rank’s murder-comedy, “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” which opens .... at the .... Theatre, through Eagle Lion Films re¬ lease, is a young lady who doesn’t usually wear hats, preferring scarves or “nothing at all.” So, as luck and Producer Michael Balcon would have it, in her latest film she is obliged to wear several hats which she con¬ siders “staggering.” The hat that staggers Miss Greenwood most is a little num¬ ber with a basket not only of fruit but flowers, too, and a few animals for extra touches. Among the items included are: roses daffodils, narcissi, grapes, cher¬ ries, mimosa, corn, birds and butterflies. Otherwise, the hat is perfectly plain. “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” starring Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness, as well as Miss Greenwood, is the gory story of a self-made duke, a young man who removes a whole family in order to help himself to a noble title. Price plays the urbane killer and Guin¬ ness sets the record feat of per¬ forming the role of every mem¬ ber of the ill-fated clan. cedented feat of depicting — through changes in make-up, of course—every member of a fam¬ ily, including a woman, marked for murder by a young man who covets the noble title the family isesses. Currently, he is also starring in the Broadway stage hit, “The Cocktail Party.” Lured to Stage Originally an advertising copy¬ writer, Guinness yielded to the lure of the stage, worked in stock and eventually joined John Giel¬ gud and then the Old Vic Reper¬ tory Theatre. Audiences will re¬ member him for his great screen performance in the prize-winning film of a few seasons back, “Great Expectations.” Dennis Price co-stars in the role of the young man with tte murderous intentions. Lovely Valerie Hobson, who has starred in a number of memorable Holly¬ wood screen chillers, notably “Bride of Frankenstein” and “The Werewolf of London,” co- stars in “Kind Hearts and Cor¬ onets” as the woman the killer marries after widowing her. Joan Greenwood is also co- starred as the murderer’s fickle girl friend. “Kind Hearts and Coronets” was produced by Michael Balcon. Versatile Actor Plays Eight Roles Has First ‘Bad Girl’ Role In ‘Kind Hearts, Coronets’ Although vivacious Joan Greenwood began her acting ca¬ reer as a child and was acting for the screen before she was out of her teens, she gets her first opportunity to portray the role of a “bad girl” in J. Arthur Rank’s witty comedy of murders, “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” which opens .... at the .... Theatre, through Eagle Lion Films release. “Kind Hearts and Coronets” is the satiric and suspenseful story of a self-made duke. It deals with the amazing career of an urbane young man who removes a whole family standing in his path to a coveted dukedom. Miss Greenwood portrays the fickle girl friend of the mur¬ derer. When he is poor and un¬ known she jilts him and marries another man. But when he has grasped the title and wealth of the family she reappears in his life—only to betray him in the end. Sharing top star honors with her in “Kind Hearts and Cor¬ onets” are Dennis Price, lovely Valerie Hobson and Alec Guin¬ ness, who is currently starring on Broadway in the smash stage hit, “The Cocktail Party.” Produced by famous film pro¬ ducer Michael Balcon, “Kind Hearts and Coronets” was di¬ rected by Robert Hamer, who also co-authored the screenplay. Coming Soon Murder—made witty and sa¬ tiric, set against a background of deep suspense—comes to the screen in J. Arthur Rank’s new film presentation, “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” which opens .... at the .... Theatre, through Eagle Lion Films release. Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood and Alec Guin¬ ness head the cast of the film. Critics have hailed the high¬ spot scene in J. Arthur Rank’s “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” in which Alec Guinness appears in no less than six (count ’em) ver¬ sions of himself, all at the same time in the same room. The pic¬ ture is being released by Eagle Lion Films and will open .... at the .... Theatre. The spectacular six-in-one scene is called for by the scritf| which depicts a funeral in a fam¬ ily of eight members—all played hilariously by Guinness. Busy Star Mat 1A Still 721-P-35 Noled stage and screen star Alec Guinness is kept busy play¬ ing no less than eight roles in J. Arthur Rank’s rollicking com¬ edy hit, “Kind Hearts and Coro¬ nets,” which starts ... at the .... Theatre, via Eagle Lion Films release.