Amazon.com

Alec Guinness, best known for the serious dramatic roles and authoritative presence of his later films, made his mark early as a versatile character actor and a gifted comic performer. These talents are shown to their best in this bewitchingly black-hearted 1949 comedy of a poor cousin murdering his way up the inheritance ladder of a titled, old-money family. Guinness, in only his third film, becomes practically the entire family tree, starring in no less than eight hilarious roles. Handsome Dennis Price is the scheming relative, the progeny of an unfortunate marriage that turned his mother into a family pariah. Determined to earn the title he believes is rightfully his, he ingratiates himself back into the family and plots his ascension through a succession of Guinness-created social dinosaurs, joyfully killing off his kin in a series of inventive assassinations. It's class warfare in action, and Price is winning the war. The delectable Joan Greenwood costars as the married object of Price's affections, whose own venomous nature becomes apparent when Price falls for Valerie Hobson, the cultured widow of one of his victims. Robert Hamer directs with a light touch and dry wit, marrying the understated Ealing Studios comic style with the dark, satirical edge of John Dighton's sharp screenplay. The wiliest of all Ealing comedies, right down to its splendidly sardonic conclusion. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Murder Has Never Been So Hilarious.
Louis D'Ascoyne Mazzini (Dennis Price) is the forgotten heir of the aristocratic D'Ascoyne family, who ostracized his mother when she married well below her station. But Louis was raised to value his blue-blooded heritage, with the understanding that he was in line to inherit the Dukedom of Chalfont and its accompanying wealth, although it was a very long line. Louis eventually becomes frustrated by his professional prospects and so spiteful of the D'Ascoyne's arrogance that he decides to elevate himself to the Dukedom...by murdering the 8 heirs that stand before him in the line of inheritance.

"Kind Hearts and Coronets" is probably the most acclaimed and widely appreciated of the "Ealing Comedies", which Great Britain's Ealing Studios produced after World War II under the reign of studio boss Michael Balcon. The film was directed by Robert Hamer and brilliantly adapted for the screen by Hamer and John Dighton. It is loosely based on the 1907 novel "Israel Rank" by Roy Harniman, although the novel is not a comedy, and its tone as well as the personality of its protagonist are very different from the movie. "Kind Hearts and Coronets" is probably best known for Alec Guinness' multiple comic performances. He plays all 8 members of the D'Ascoyne family, who range in age from 24 to about 80, with comic but convincing flair. Dennis Price, as Louis, recounts the film's events with wonderfully dry wit. His one-liners are priceless. Sociopathic behavior has never been more delightful. The filmmakers shamelessly lampoon the hereditary aristocracy, all in the form of Alec Guinness. "Kind Hearts and Coronets" is simply a thoroughly enjoyable film.

The DVD: Bonus features include a rather long theatrical trailer and a written bio for Sir Alec Guinness, also long. Dubbing is available in French. No subtitles.

A droll and hilarious case study in the gentle art of murder
Alec Guiness is justly celebrated for playing eight roles in the classic 1950 Ealing Comedy "Kind Hearts and Coronets," but you do have to remind yourself when you are enjoying this film that there is a reason the actor was not given top billing. Guiness plays a long line of murder victims, all of whom are dispatched in various ways by Louis Mazzini (Dennis Price), a newly minted Duke who, as the film opens, is going to be hung the next morning at 8 o'clock for murder (Price also plays his father, but no one makes a big deal of this effort). We find the Duke spending his final night writing his memoirs, which will explain how he came to this unfortunate end, so as not not to deny the public a full appreciation of his fate; for the same reason he has ordered not only coffee and toast for his final breakfast, but grapes, so that the public will not feel disappointed with the news of his meager taste.

With Louis as our narrator we go back to the beginning of the story, when his Mama (Audrey Fildes) was disowned by the aristocratic D'Ascoyne family after she ran away with an Italian tenor, who promptly died upon the announcement of the birth of a son. Attempts to reconcile by Louis's mother with the family were coldly rejected and she raised the boy in relative poverty, but with a sense of class that would serve him well in the future. It was the dream of his mother that Louis might one day inherit the title, which descends through the women as well as the men; the title was given for service to King Charles II during the Interegnum by the first Duke and the right of the women to inherit was added by services of the Duchess after the Restoration. When his mother denies and is refused burial in the D'Ascoyne family crypt, Louis vows to make her dream come true by bumping off all of his relations that stand between him and his goal, using his mother's copy of the family tree to help make sure he does it right.

Guiness plays eight different D'Ascoyne family members, from an Admiral and a General to a Parson and a dowager suffragette, creating distinct characters even when reduced to only a line or two of dialogue; too bad the opening credits give away the game. However, "Kind Hearts and Coronets" really is Dennis Price's movie polite killer and would be Duke. Price had been born into an upper class family and after this effort two of his next three films would find him playing Lord Byron. Therefore, it is not surprising that he hits the proper mark with the impeccable sense of propriety and reserved indignation he brings to his quest. His effort is ultimately complicated by his affections for both his childhood sweetheart, Sibella (Joan Greenwood), who refused to wait for him to become a Duke and married another, and Edith D'Asoyne (Valerie Hobson), the wife of one of his early victims, who would make a most suitable and deserving Duchess.

This is a film where we root for the "hero" to succeed in his quest although we are well aware that he is a naughty boy who should be punished and have reason to believe Fate is helping Louis along with his efforts because some of the offending D'Asoyne relatives manage to meet their own ends without his assistance. Besides, there is some creativity involved in most of the murders that has to be appreciated as well; if not totally ingenious, at least he does not cheapen his efforts by using the same trick twice. The ending of the film presents a series of ironies that seem totally appropriate give the fact that our hero is a serial killer.

"Kind Hearts and Coronets" begain a string of classic roles for Guiness is Ealing comedies, amply seen the following year when he made both "The Lavender Hill Mob" and "The Man in the White Suit." But this film clearly has the driest wit as well as teh most charm and elegance of them all. It presents a perfect little exercise in the gentle art of murder.

The best black comedy ever filmed
It`s useless to state we are in the presence of the biggest black comedy in all the cinema's story. Every detail is perfect, from the direction, passing through the superb cast, in which Dennis Price gives the best role of his brilliant career. Alec Guiness shows us why he's who he's. A wonderful actor. Not only because in this film gives us eight different roles, but the elegance , the organical flow of its monumental script.
Together with Lavender hill mob, Hobson's choice, the man in the white suit and The lady killers, the english cinema never before had literally had an explossion of talents in multiple aspects.
Ironic, cynical, ravishing, ambitious, with a lot of laughs and surrealistic situations, this movie reminds us the other side of the coin about Richard III, because no matter how many crimes you have to commit for reaching your goal.
A must for everyone who loves the craft's cinema.

The best comedy ever made
This film is outstanding. Exhilarating, superb with an overpowered cast. Dennis Price in the best role of his life and Sir Alec Guiness showing once more why he is in the top list of england actors,altogether with Laurence Olivier,Michael Redgrave,Leslie Howard, Gielguld, Burton,O Toole, Albert Finney, Trevor Howard,Dennis Price,Dick Bogarde, John Mills,Michael Caine amog others.
England experienced a sudden creative explossion of talent in that decade like no other country in the world. And the golden age of the english comedy places in this decade like no one else.
Remember the lavender hill mob,the lady killers, the Hobson choice, the man in the white suit. Unbelievable,do not you.
The fact that Sir Alec Guiness has played eight roles in that movie is just a little detail.
When you think it deeper,you will notice that this is an irreverent film . The plot is so well made,the sense of ambition reminds us the laughable side of the sinister Richard III and his epic efforts to reach the top.
All this puzzle flows with such organical coherence that leaves you stunned. The edition, the amazing plot, the creative situations will not let you indifferent.
If not for that movie, I would consider Dr.Strangelove like the most enjoyable black comedy ever filmed, but this film heads the five supremes comedies ever filmed. Kind hearts, Dr. Strangelove, The lavender hill mob, the lady killers and the gold rush can be in this group.May be you do not agree but in this particular selection. Three of this five are from the fifties decade and enriched with the presence of Alec Guiness, somehow the godfather of Peter Sellers, partner with Alec in Lady killers.

A sublime masterpiece.
This film is perfect. The humor, dry, understated but unwavering; the acting, positively first-rate by all parties. Dennis Price & Joan Greenwood have never been better. To see Alec Guiness 8 times in one film is a heavenly blessing.

Like first-rate Oscar Wilde. ... Read more

Amazon.com

While horror conventions may change from generation to generation, there are ideas that will scare us no matter what time period we inhabit. Dead of Night is a classic horror anthology that effectively plays on those timeless fears. Mervyn Johns stars as a man who has been summoned to a house with a group of strangers he has never met but has seen in his dreams. As they convene, he predicts certain events will happen as they do in his dreams, and when they do, the other guests relate their own experiences with the supernatural, including tales of a possessed mirror, a sinister ventriloquist's dummy, and an eerie premonition of death.Throughout the group meeting, the protagonist fears something horrible will happen to him, and we are left to wonder what it might be. The film's final, revelatory sequence offers an unexpectedly horrific surprise.It may have been made in 1945, but Dead of Night is still spooky. --Bryan Reesman ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Witness the birth of the horror anthology.
Granted much of Dead Of Night isn't going to hit home with a lot of people. It's old and, as such, doesn't strike a cord with our modern sensibilities (just watch the segment about the two golf players and you'll know what i mean). But in a way, that's good. It's like sitting around with your friends in the... ahem... dead of night and telling each other ghost stories. They may not have a lasting effect on you but when you're there, in the moment, they work under your skin. The movie is more fun than frightening. It also has the most amazing ending I have seen in a long time, more then a typical pay-off. It's like witnessing your own horrific nightmares all coming true at once. The last segment of the film is also it's strongest and deserves to be a classic all by itself, featuring Michael Redgrave as a ventriloquist fighting a losing battle with his evil dummy. This brief 15 minutes of film easily qualifies Dead Of Night as a classic of British horror.

ENGLISH SPOOKS
A popular and critical sensation in its time, DEAD OF NIGHT was the first horror film to be released in Britain since the beginning of WWII. It's a splendid anthology of occult stories told by five people in a country house visited by a young architect, who had anticipated the scene in a nightmare. Each recounts a bizarre personal tale, and after hearing the last, the architect strangles the sole remaining guest, a disbelieving psychiatrist. Awakened the next morning, the architect discovers he had dreamed it all.............Or has he? As a lifetime fan of ghost stories and the like, I recommend this movie highly; it's definitely of the best in the genre to this day. Essentially, it's a group of 5 (really four) horror stories loosely and cleverly linked together. The Christmas ghost story is good material a little weakly done; however the haunted mirror sequence (with Googie Withers) is first-rate; actually one of the most gripping ghost stories you'll see in any film. An antique mirror reflects the tortured life of the previous owner (who commited suicide) ......... The knockout finale, however is the brilliant and justly famous climatic ventriloquist sequence with Redgrave. The film evokes rather than depicts horror, and waves its symmetrical spell with the magic of a good script and good direction. Contributing in no small measure to the uncanny mood is the ominous, Wagnerian score by Georges Auric. who had written the music for Jean Cocteau's films. The whimsical golfing episode is ridiculously out of place and it could be completely omitted from all prints and one would never know the difference. There is an obscure 1945 British film entitled "A Place of One's Own" with James Mason and Margaret Lockwood which sounds interesting -a story of spirit possession; I hope it finds it's way to video soon!

Great Film, Horrible Quality
Each episode of this masterpiece conveys a sense of dread and impending horror. This is achieved by gradually turning reality askew until it's a nightmare. No need for chainsaws and chop-chop. Unfortunately, the print I received must have been pirated by a drunken one-armed lodger with Parkinson's Disease, sitting in a vibrating chair in a dumpy London flat while struggling to keep his Toys R Us video camera trained on the flickering blue screen of a 10-inch Dumont TV situated behind the dirty window of an apartment on the other side of the Thames during a foggy night.

The nightmare is real life
This is a classic. The film is very entertaining in its succession of paranormal stories that a psychiatrist questions systematically to propose explanations that are farfetched and have to be farfetched because he does not want to accept the idea that there may be some paranormal activities and events in the world. The whole range of such events is explored and leads to a very disquieting ending. What if what we consider the real world were nothing but an illusion, a nightmare, something happening in our own minds, something that only existed in our minds ? What if this dreamlike and nightmarish world became blocked on one particularly event ? What if psychosis were the real natural normal state of tle mind instead of what we generally call normality ? What if schizophrenia were nothing but enhanced consciousness and not some deranged illusion of the brain ? ETC. You will look at the world with different eyes after this film. You may even be tempted to go to sleep and finally enter the reality of a nightmare or just a plain dream. Do so and bring the reliefs of this nightmare or that dream into what you have so far considered and called the normal world. You will discover then that most people around you will consider you as a real nightmare and that you will consider them as either real dummies or real monsters from the dead of night. Anyway life will become a lot more interesting and fascinating.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

The Best Horror Film
You've seen the plots if you ever watched The Twilight Zone or half a dozen other series which generously stole the idea from Dead Of Night. But even if you are familiar with the tales, no film manages to invoke such fright as Dead Of Night.

A series of stories told by a group who are in an isolated English cottage on the moors, the suspense starts with the first tale and doesn't let up until the surprise, knock-out ending that beats them all.

Slightly Hitchcock in feel, the movie plays beautifully, even today, despite the lack of technological gimmickery.

Look for Sally Anne Howes in one of her first roles and a very young John Mills in the last tale.

Although the film does slow down with a comedic tale in the middle, it makes up for it with the John Mills episode.

Even if you are not a horror film fan, this movie will stun and fascinate you and is not to be missed. ... Read more

Description

With IAN CARMICHAEL, TERRY-THOMAS, JANETTE SCOTT, ALASTAIR SIM, DENNIS PRICE. This witty and thoroughly entertaining farce is aptly subtitled "How To Win Without Actually Cheating." It is the story of Henry Palfrey, a self-described failure. Henry is a bona-fide wimp, the type of poor soul who fades into the wallpaper at parties. He has just met April Smith, the girl of his dreams. However, he quite rightly senses that he is in danger of losing her to the more aggressive and self-assured Raymond Delauney (played in his own peerless style by Terry-Thomas). Henry is not only desperate to capture Aprils heart but is weary of going through life being pushed around and ignored. So he enrolls in the "College Of Lifemanship," where he hopes to transform his personality. The headmaster (a perfectly cast Alastair Sim) promptly informs him that "the world is divided into winners and losers. In a word, the one-up and the one-down. Lifemanship is the science of being one-up!on your opponent at all times, making them feel less desirable and less worthy." Who are your opponents? Everybody in the world who is not you! At the college, Henry takes courses in "Gamesmanship" and "Woo-Manship." He proves to be an apt student, learning his lessons well and even receiving personalized tutoring from the headmaster. Then he gets to put his classroom learning into real-life practice, with surprising and hilarious results. Anyone who has ever owned a British car is in for a special treat...and you deserve one! You will be cheering for Henry as he attempts to one-up the caddish Delauney. The finale is especially clever and revealing. We wont be giving too much away if we say that it involves that most dreaded of emotion-sincerity! Recommended. Letterboxed. 90 minutes. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

He who is not one up is one down! This movie, 5-up!
"... the moment when Adam bit into that apple. At which moment, the first loser was born. Yes, the pattern was set. The world was divided not into male and female, that's a mere superficial division of minor importance. No, there is another division, another dichotomy more basic, more profound. At that fateful moment, the world was divided into winners and losers, top men and underdogs. In a word, the one up and the one down." --from Professor Potter's lecture at the College of Lifemanship, Yeovil.

Or How To Win Without Actually Cheating. That's the subtitle of School For Scoundrels, this brilliant piece of British comedy from 1960, a title my father saw long ago and which I got him for a Christmas present, with a screenplay by Peter Ustinov no less adapted from three Stephen Potter novels.

Poor Henry Palfrey! Clearly, he's constantly in a one-down position to the whole world. In a flashback, we see how despite being an executive in his late uncle's firm, he's dominated by his chief clerk Gloatbridge, who treats him like a non-entity. He literally bumps into the girl of his dreams, April Smith, a stunning but sweet, clean girl who's a brunette version of Betty Grable. However, a rascally, gap-toothed, smooth-talking acquaintance, Raymond Delawney, impresses April with his savoir-faire in wines and food, and even his snazzy Bellini sports car. Palfrey ends up getting a lemon and horribly losing a tennis match, where Delawney replies with a plummy "hard cheese!" every time he misses a point, causing him to lose face in front of April.

He thus enrolls in Professor Potter's classes on lifemanship. What is lifemanship? It's "the science of being one up on your opponent at all times. It's the act of making him feel that somewhere, somehow, he's becoming less than you, less desirable, less worthy, less blessed." After graduating in classes of gamesmanship, onemanship, businessmanship, and that most important one, woo-manship, he gets back at those who caused him to lose face, and how! Next time I find somebody's who a life of the party, I'll use Potter's technique in deflating him/her. If Dingle, the gangly student in the class where that technique was demonstrated is familiar, that's Jeremy Lloyd, who would have a bit part jumping up and down in a club in A Hard Day's Night and the co-writer of Are You Being Served? in the 70's, and Allo Allo in the 80's.

There are some misogynistic references on the "woo-manship" part, where Potter advises Henry to use a blase attitude to April in one scene. "Leave her alone and she'll come back home wagging her tail." Ouch, but good ones, Prof!

Ian Carmichael (Henry) would later be known to American audiences watching PBS's Mystery as Lord Peter Wimsey in the Dorothy Sayers series. Terry-Thomas (Delawney) has another one of his comedic supporting roles, and it's incredible to see how he's suave when with poise, to a point where his frustration causes him to lose his temper. But hands down, veteran Alistair Sim as the impish Potter steals the show with his characteristic expressive eyes, toothy grin, and droll wit. Janette Scott shines as April, showing she could handle adult roles as well as child roles (James Stewart's super-intelligent daughter in No Highway In The Sky). Six years later, she'd have singer Mel Torme as her second of three husbands.

Being someone constantly in a one-down position to the world, taking Potter's class would've been better than all those years I wasted in college. If I could do it all over, I'd take those classes and be one-up on everyone. However, Potter leaves the audience with a final warning: "once sincerity rears its ugly head, lifemanship is powerless." Me sincere? From now on, never! This movie is clearly one-up-up-up-up-up!

"How did you meet this not-quite-blonde?"
In the British comedy, "School for Scoundrels" Ian Carmichael plays mild-mannered, docile Henry Palfrey. Palfrey is a nice man--too nice. His employees are disrespectful, waiters are rude to him, but the final blow comes when acquaintance Raymond Delauney (Terry Thomas) steals Henry's girlfriend. In desperation, Henry enrolls at the College of Lifemanship.

At the college, Henry learns that "the world is divided into winners and losers," and he is instructed in the art of Lifemanship or "the art of being one up on your opponent." The college's founder and head scallywag is Mr. Potter (Alistair Sim). He takes a special interest in Henry, and soon Henry learns how to manipulate circumstances to his advantage.

This is an extremely funny and clever film. It does not seem dated at all as the issues have not altered one bit in the last 40 odd years. The scenes between Sim and Carmichael illustrate the subtle nuances of one-up-man-ship in social settings, and after watching these scenes, it's easy to see how poor Henry is maneuvered by everyone in his life. Henry has his revenge on all the cads in his life--including Terry Thomas and a couple of unscrupulous car salesmen. Terry Thomas is at his fiendish best here as the playboy Delauney--he is such a great comic actor. "School for Scoundrels" is a black and white film, and the copy I saw was excellent quality--displacedhuman ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Lesser-known Horror Anthology - Mediocre until the End
Dan Curtis, of Dark Shadows fame, created "Dead of Night" in order to follow up on his immensely popular "Trilogy of Terror." Like "Trilogy," "Dead of Night" consists of three horror stories, and also like "Trilogy," the first two stories are only mediocre. In each film, it is the third and final story that packs the most punch (and what a punch!).

The first story in "Dead of Night" involves a young man who comes into possession of a supernatural antique vehicle. This story was very slow-paced, uninspiring, and thoroughly forgettable. I cannot even recall the title.

The second story, "No Such Thing as a Vampire," starring Patrick MacNee, is much better. MacNee portrays a jealous husband seeking revenge on his wife's "secret" lover, a revenge exacted via the beliefs of the superstitious townsfolk.

The third story, "Bobby," a teleplay penned by the legendary Richard Matheson, is, as another reviewer put it, "paydirt." This genuinely frightening story involves a guilt-ridden mother who resorts to black magic to resurrect her drowned son, and is worth the price of this rather hard to find video by itself. It's classic short-story format horror and leaves a lasting impression. Dan Curtis tried to reinvent this tale with Lysette Anthony in "Trilogy of Terror II," but the remake comes nowhere near close to capturing the dark, claustrophobic horror of the original.

In short, if you're a horror fan, "Dead of Night" is certainly worth a look, particularly for the last tale.

1945 British Horror Classic
The "Dead of Night" pictured on the cover of the box as shown is for the 1945 British anthology film, NOT the made-for-televion 1977 film as reviewed in the two reviews I just read. There is a mix-up here. Which of the two films is actually for sale? The 1945 film is excellent. It has five different stories, each told by a different character. Each story has also been handled by a different director. The characters who tell these stories are all wrapped up in a sixth story which starts and ends the film.

Worth it for the last story alone!
I'd caught the last 15 minutes of this movie on television a few years ago, and spent some time and effort tracking it down. Being 41 myself, I well remember the wonderful old "ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week" telefilms of the 70's (and Wednesday MOW's and so on). This, I guess I'd missed the first time around.

Anyway, as "horror anthology" this isn't a success at all. I understand this was the pilot for a possible series of strange and unusual tales, so it isn't all horror. In fact, the first story is an interesting romantic time-travel tale, by noted writer Jack Finney. In that story, a man who restores a classic, antique car, is taken by that car back in time to before the car was wrecked. ...

The second story, is about a man using his village's fear of vampire legends to dispatch his own enemies - not much interest or tension there.

The third story - aha! PAYDIRT!!!

This is the story worth waiting for, the story you want to see, the story like no story you've ever seen before, and that will keep you jumping throughout. I'll tell you nothing about it - you'll have to buy this video to see it yourself, and believe me - you'll be glad you did!

If You Liked Trilogy of Terror...
People who like horror anthologies should enjoy this made for TV feature. In 1975 Trilogy of Terror was a success so Dan Curtis directed this follow up although it is not as well known. There are three stories about a trip into the past involving an antique car, a vampire and a woman who brings her drowned son back from the dead. A cast of familiar faces include Ed Begley Jr, Anjanette Comer, Horst Bucholz, Patrick Macnee, Elisha Cook Jr, Joan Hackett and Lee H.Montgomery. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

a rare find
In some ways, this is a charming but minor British comedy, most memorable for yet another in a seemingly infinite collection of excellent
comedic performances by Alec Guinness and for the opportunity to see a couple of great character actors in unusual roles : Bernard Lee (M in
the Bond Movies), as a police inspector and Peter Finch (of Network fame) as the debonair thief, Flambeau. You can take it for just that and
enjoy the film thoroughly.

But, on another level, the movie offers a relatively rare instance of cinema taking religious ideas seriously. The more obvious concept that
plays out here is that of redemption. Father Brown (Guinness) is not just another in the long line of British amateur sleuths who solves crimes
as a hobby, he's also a priest, concerned with saving the malefactors' souls. For those of us raised on Dirty Harry movies, the very notion that
criminals have souls is disturbing enough. But there's an even grander idea at play here; for Father Brown believes--quite rightly--that his life
as a priest, rather than insulating him from the rough and tumble of the "real" world makes him uniquely qualified to understand it and to
comprehend the darkest parts of the human heart. He explains to Flambeau that he hears things in the confessional that reveal all our faults and
failings and :

The more you learn about other people, the more you understand yourself;
and the more you understand yourself, the more you understand other people.

In fact, part of Father Brown's technique is a kind of early form of profiling; time and again he places himself in the criminal's mind and works
out how he might be thinking. And this is fitting because it is the signal insight of Judeo-Christianity, specifically, and, thereby, of
conservatism generally, that lurking within even the best of us (like a Father Brown) is all of the capacity and desire for sin that defines the
worst of us. The film has great fun with this as Father Brown enacts or reenacts the very crimes he's supposed to be investigating, and as it
does we see the thin line that separates him, or any of us, from the heinous.

As always, Alec Guinness inhabits his role to almost supernatural perfection--he's every bit the pudgy, too clever, cleric, managing to be both
endearingly sweet and scampishly wise in the ways of the world. Watching him perform one of these trademark screen transformations, I'm
always reminded of the line from Leonard Maltin's review of The Ladykillers "even his teeth are funny!" Unfortunately the story meanders a
little bit--G. K. Chesterton's original Father Brown adventures are just short stories, perhaps for good reason--and certain actions of the good
Father are difficult to reconcile with his character (like fooling the police into arresting an innocent man). Still and all, it's a good deal of fun
and the moral issues it addresses give it an unexpected, but welcome, gravity.

GRADE : B

A Glimpse of the young Guinness
Alec Guinness gives a wonderful performance as the priest-turned-sleuth in 'The Detective', called 'Father Brown' in the UK. Guinness is fairly young in this film, and it is wonderful for any fan of his other work ('Kind Hearts and Coronets' and 'Captain's Paradise' come to mind as earlier examples, or later work when he had become more well-known here in America,) to see him as a younger man. He is also accompanied by a marvellous cast, with Joan Greenwood and Peter Finch. The plot line is not complex, it is a classic sleuth sort of film, with an art thief (played by Finch) whom Father Brown is determined to catch, not only to bring justice, but also to, in his priest's duty, save the man's soul. It is admittedly not full of high drama twists and turns, but it is a mystery in the classic sense, and Guinness makes it more than worth it. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves mysteries, old movies, Alec Guinness, or all of the above! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

He who is not one up is one down! This movie, 5-up!
"... the moment when Adam bit into that apple. At which moment, the first loser was born. Yes, the pattern was set. The world was divided not into male and female, that's a mere superficial division of minor importance. No, there is another division, another dichotomy more basic, more profound. At that fateful moment, the world was divided into winners and losers, top men and underdogs. In a word, the one up and the one down." --from Professor Potter's lecture at the College of Lifemanship, Yeovil.

Or How To Win Without Actually Cheating. That's the subtitle of School For Scoundrels, this brilliant piece of British comedy from 1960, a title my father saw long ago and which I got him for a Christmas present, with a screenplay by Peter Ustinov no less adapted from three Stephen Potter novels.

Poor Henry Palfrey! Clearly, he's constantly in a one-down position to the whole world. In a flashback, we see how despite being an executive in his late uncle's firm, he's dominated by his chief clerk Gloatbridge, who treats him like a non-entity. He literally bumps into the girl of his dreams, April Smith, a stunning but sweet, clean girl who's a brunette version of Betty Grable. However, a rascally, gap-toothed, smooth-talking acquaintance, Raymond Delawney, impresses April with his savoir-faire in wines and food, and even his snazzy Bellini sports car. Palfrey ends up getting a lemon and horribly losing a tennis match, where Delawney replies with a plummy "hard cheese!" every time he misses a point, causing him to lose face in front of April.

He thus enrolls in Professor Potter's classes on lifemanship. What is lifemanship? It's "the science of being one up on your opponent at all times. It's the act of making him feel that somewhere, somehow, he's becoming less than you, less desirable, less worthy, less blessed." After graduating in classes of gamesmanship, onemanship, businessmanship, and that most important one, woo-manship, he gets back at those who caused him to lose face, and how! Next time I find somebody's who a life of the party, I'll use Potter's technique in deflating him/her. If Dingle, the gangly student in the class where that technique was demonstrated is familiar, that's Jeremy Lloyd, who would have a bit part jumping up and down in a club in A Hard Day's Night and the co-writer of Are You Being Served? in the 70's, and Allo Allo in the 80's.

There are some misogynistic references on the "woo-manship" part, where Potter advises Henry to use a blase attitude to April in one scene. "Leave her alone and she'll come back home wagging her tail." Ouch, but good ones, Prof!

Ian Carmichael (Henry) would later be known to American audiences watching PBS's Mystery as Lord Peter Wimsey in the Dorothy Sayers series. Terry-Thomas (Delawney) has another one of his comedic supporting roles, and it's incredible to see how he's suave when with poise, to a point where his frustration causes him to lose his temper. But hands down, veteran Alistair Sim as the impish Potter steals the show with his characteristic expressive eyes, toothy grin, and droll wit. Janette Scott shines as April, showing she could handle adult roles as well as child roles (James Stewart's super-intelligent daughter in No Highway In The Sky). Six years later, she'd have singer Mel Torme as her second of three husbands.

Being someone constantly in a one-down position to the world, taking Potter's class would've been better than all those years I wasted in college. If I could do it all over, I'd take those classes and be one-up on everyone. However, Potter leaves the audience with a final warning: "once sincerity rears its ugly head, lifemanship is powerless." Me sincere? From now on, never! This movie is clearly one-up-up-up-up-up!

"How did you meet this not-quite-blonde?"
In the British comedy, "School for Scoundrels" Ian Carmichael plays mild-mannered, docile Henry Palfrey. Palfrey is a nice man--too nice. His employees are disrespectful, waiters are rude to him, but the final blow comes when acquaintance Raymond Delauney (Terry Thomas) steals Henry's girlfriend. In desperation, Henry enrolls at the College of Lifemanship.

At the college, Henry learns that "the world is divided into winners and losers," and he is instructed in the art of Lifemanship or "the art of being one up on your opponent." The college's founder and head scallywag is Mr. Potter (Alistair Sim). He takes a special interest in Henry, and soon Henry learns how to manipulate circumstances to his advantage.

This is an extremely funny and clever film. It does not seem dated at all as the issues have not altered one bit in the last 40 odd years. The scenes between Sim and Carmichael illustrate the subtle nuances of one-up-man-ship in social settings, and after watching these scenes, it's easy to see how poor Henry is maneuvered by everyone in his life. Henry has his revenge on all the cads in his life--including Terry Thomas and a couple of unscrupulous car salesmen. Terry Thomas is at his fiendish best here as the playboy Delauney--he is such a great comic actor. "School for Scoundrels" is a black and white film, and the copy I saw was excellent quality--displacedhuman ... Read more