Back to trending
Kind Hearts and Coronets

Kind Hearts and Coronets

Comedy · Crime · 1949

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.

Movie details

Kind Hearts and Coronets

“He chopped down the family tree...”

1949 Comedy · Crime 1h 44m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.6 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Kind Hearts and Coronets?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Arsenic and Old Lace

Arsenic and Old Lace

Comedy · 1944

Mortimer Brewster, a newspaper drama critic, playwright, and author known for his diatribes against marriage, suddenly falls in love and gets married; but when he makes a quick trip home to tell his two maiden aunts, he finds out his aunts' hobby - killing lonely old men and burying them in the cellar!

The Ladykillers

The Ladykillers

Comedy · 1955

Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.

Shadow of a Doubt

Shadow of a Doubt

Thriller · 1943

In sleepy Santa Rosa, restless young Charlie’s world brightens when her sophisticated Uncle Charlie arrives for a long visit. But as his behavior grows increasingly strange, she begins to suspect that her beloved uncle may be hiding a terrible secret—and that danger has quietly entered her home.

Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood

Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood

Comedy · 1996

When Ashtray moves to South Central L.A. to live with his father (who appears to be the same age he is) and grandmother (who likes to talk tough and smoke reefer), he falls in with his gang-banging cousin Loc Dog, who along with the requisite pistols and Uzi carries a thermo-nuclear warhead for self-defense. Will Ashtray be able to keep living the straight life?

Ministry of Fear

Ministry of Fear

Crime · 1944

Stephen Neale is released into WWII England after two years in an asylum, but it doesn't seem so sane outside either. On his way back to London to rejoin civilization, he stumbles across a murderous spy ring and doesn't quite know to whom to turn.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

Comedy · 1988

When the bumbling Lieutenant Frank Drebin investigates events following the shooting of his partner, he stumbles upon an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.

Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: An Inheritance to Die For

Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: An Inheritance to Die For

Mystery · 2019

A matriarch is poisoned during a family wedding reception and Aurora Teagarden vows to get to the bottom of the crime, especially when her mother, a friend of the dead woman, stands to inherit the bulk of the massive estate. 11th installment in Aurora Teagarden Mysteries.

Shadow of the Thin Man

Shadow of the Thin Man

Comedy · 1941

While attending a major horse race with their young son, Nick Jr., Nick and Nora Charles witnesse a shocking murder from the crowded grandstand. What first appears to be an isolated killing soon leads to a maze of corruption, blackmail, gambling scandals, and criminal intrigue. As Nick investigates, he encounters suspicious bookmakers, dishonest officials, rival gangsters, and a mysterious killer determined to stay ahead of the law. Nora, as always, is never far from the action, bringing her quick wit and fearless curiosity to the case.

The Killer Is Loose

The Killer Is Loose

Crime · 1956

A savings-and-loan bank is robbed; later, a police wiretap identifies meek bank teller Leon Poole as the inside man. In capturing him, detective Sam Wagner accidentally kills Poole's young wife, and at his trial Poole swears vengeance against Wagner. Poole begins his plans to get revenge when he escapes his captors.

Porridge

Porridge

Comedy · 1979

Times are hard for habitual guest of Her Majesty Norman Stanley Fletcher. The new prison officer, Beale, makes MacKay look soft and what's more, an escape plan is hatching from the cell of prison godfather Grouty and Fletcher wants no part of it.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Robert Hamer

Written by

Robert Hamer · John Dighton

Dennis Price

Dennis Price

Louis Mazzini / His Father

Alec Guinness

Alec Guinness

The D'Ascoyne Family: The Duke / The Banker / The Parson / The General / The Admiral / Young Ascoyne / Young Henry / Lady Agatha

Joan Greenwood

Joan Greenwood

Sibella

Valerie Hobson

Valerie Hobson

Edith D'Ascoyne

Audrey Fildes

Audrey Fildes

Mama

Miles Malleson

Miles Malleson

The Hangman

Clive Morton

Clive Morton

The Prison Governor

Court is in session

Put Kind Hearts and Coronets on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.