The grandson of a Duke whose mother married a commoner and was shunned by her relatives as a consequence, plots his revenge against the pompous D'Ascoyne family who spurned her so cruelly. One by one he bumps off the eight people whose bloodlines stand between him and the Dukedom, but a female admirer begins to suspect his schemes.
Arguably the best of the great Ealing comedies, and one of the greatest black comedies ever made, this is a mannered, twisted, delicious peach of a film. As a piece of simple melodrama it would be entertaining enough, but its wit and satirical bite - Oscar Wilde meets Agatha Christie - elevates it to a near masterpiece. Price is unforgettable as the dastardly yet lovable Louis Mazzini; a man whose moral double-standards are both admirable and detestable. His smooth, measured delivery of some of the best British film dialogue ever written is a sheer delight. The rest of the cast are equally to be treasured, especially Greenwood as the vain, preening Sibella, whose hideous self-absorption is matched only by the ugliness of her hats. This movie is most famous however for Guinness' incredible Star Turn as the unfortunate D'Ascoynes - eight of them (a dandy, a banker, a photographer, a parson, a suffragette, a general, an admiral and a duke) - all of whom Price gleefully murders. Guinness is both amazing and amazingly funny; my favourite is the doddery old vicar ("Sir, the port is with you."), but it's Price's movie all the way. Brilliantly written by Hamer and John Dighton (very loosely based on Roy Horniman's novel Israel Rank, with a title from Tennyson's Lady Clara Vere De Vere), with tremendous photography by Douglas Slocombe, this is an absolute gem of a picture, polished to perfection.
Arguably the best of the great Ealing comedies, and one of the greatest black comedies ever made, this is a mannered, twisted, delicious peach of a film. As a piece of simple melodrama it would be entertaining enough, but its wit and satirical bite - Oscar Wilde meets Agatha Christie - elevates it to a near masterpiece. Price is unforgettable as the dastardly yet lovable Louis Mazzini; a man whose moral double-standards are both admirable and detestable. His smooth, measured delivery of some of the best British film dialogue ever written is a sheer delight. The rest of the cast are equally to be treasured, especially Greenwood as the vain, preening Sibella, whose hideous self-absorption is matched only by the ugliness of her hats. This movie is most famous however for Guinness' incredible Star Turn as the unfortunate D'Ascoynes - eight of them (a dandy, a banker, a photographer, a parson, a suffragette, a general, an admiral and a duke) - all of whom Price gleefully murders. Guinness is both amazing and amazingly funny; my favourite is the doddery old vicar ("Sir, the port is with you."), but it's Price's movie all the way. Brilliantly written by Hamer and John Dighton (very loosely based on Roy Horniman's novel Israel Rank, with a title from Tennyson's Lady Clara Vere De Vere), with tremendous photography by Douglas Slocombe, this is an absolute gem of a picture, polished to perfection.