Kind Hearts and Coronets: Difference between revisions

 

Based on the 1907 novel ''Israel Rank'' by Roy Horniman where the eponymous character is half-Jewish rather than half- Italian. The film changed Israel's name and heritage because the film had a Rank (J. Arthur) as its producer and a film about a half-Jewish serial-killer wouldn't have gone down very well so shortly after the fall of the Nazi Regime in Germany, though the book itself is not anti-Semitic.

* [[Acting for Two|Acting For Eight]]: Alec Guinness plays all of the murdered D'Ascoynes.

* [[Adaptation Distillation]]: Quite a few things are taken away (mostly relatives/victims) and a few things added; the twist ending being the biggest thing. But the book is over 400 pages long so some changes were bound to be made.

* [[Fate Worse Than Death]]: Louis references the Victorian meaning (a woman who has been seduced) when he kills the younger D'Ascoyne and his mistress: "I was sorry about the girl, but found some relief in the reflection that she had presumably during the weekend already undergone a fate worse than death."

* [[Femme Fatale]]: Sibella

* [[Goodbye Cruel World]]: Lionel's suicide note is necessary to clear Louis of the charge of his murder. Ironically, this is one of the few deaths in the movie for which Louis is not responsible.

* [[Gorgeous Period Dress]]: The actresses in this film, especially Valerie Hobson and Joan Greenwood, are often seen clad in the height of [[The Edwardian Era|Edwardian Era]] fashion.