'Kind Hearts and Coronets' is one of the most famous British films. It was released in 1949 and was one of a series of highly acclaimed comedy films produced by Ealing Studios after World War II. The fun story, skillful script and excellent performances resulted in a movie that is loved by all. It is No. 6 in the British Film Institute's list of 'Top 100 British Films' list. Similarly, in 2005, it was included in Time magazines's Top 100 Best Movies.

“Kind Hearts and Coronets”

“Kind Hearts and Coronets”是英国最著名的电影之一。它于 1949 年上映，是二战后由 Ealing Studios 制作的一系列广受好评的喜剧电影之一。有趣的故事，精湛的剧本和出色的表演造就了一部深受所有人喜爱的电影。它在英国电影学院评选的“英国电影百强”榜单中排名第六。同样，在2005年，它被列入《时代》杂志的100部最佳电影名单。

The title is taken from a verse in a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson called 'Lady Clara Vere de Vere'.
‘      "Kind hearts are more than coronets
       And simple faith than Norman blood"

This effectively states that a man's character counts for more than the nobility of his birth.

标题取自英国诗人阿尔弗雷德·丁尼生 (Alfred Lord Tennyson) 的一首名为“Lady Clara Vere de Vere”的诗。

      “善良的心胜过冠冕

      纯洁的信仰胜过高贵的血统”

 这句诗恰当地表达了一个人的品格比他的出身更重要。

The plot is very simple. The youngest daughter of the seventh Duke of Chalfort runs away with an Italian opera singer and as a result she is disavowed by her father. The couple give birth to a boy, Louis, who is well acquainted with the history of the Chalfont lineage, including the unusual fact that the Chalfort title can be passed down through female heirs

情节很简单。第七代查尔福特公爵的小女儿与一位意大利歌剧演员私奔，结果被父亲拒绝。这对夫妇生下了一个男孩，路易斯，他非常熟悉查尔福特家族的历史，包括查尔福特头衔可以通过女性继承人传承的不寻常事实。

 

As soon as Louis becomes an adult, his mother tries to find a job for him at a bank owned by a relative, Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, but she is rejected. So Louis is required to work in a fashion store. Louis has an additional setback when his marriage proposal to a childhood sweetheart, Sibella, is refused. Sibella marries Lionel Holland instead, a former classmate of Louis, who has a wealthy father. Louis suffers a final humiliation when he is fired from his job after he argues with a client, coincidentally, a member of the D'Ascoyne family.

路易斯一成年，他的母亲就试图为他在亲戚阿斯科因·达斯科因勋爵 (Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne) 拥有的银行找一份工作，但被拒绝了。所以路易斯需要在一家时装店工作。当他向青梅竹马西贝拉求婚被拒绝时，路易斯遇到了额外的挫折。西贝拉嫁给了莱昂内尔·霍兰德，他是路易斯的前同学，父亲很富有。路易斯在与一位客户发生争执后被解雇，这使他遭受了最后的羞辱，巧合的是，他是达斯科因家族的一员。

When his mother dies, Louis decides to kill Lord Ascoyne d'Ascoyne and the seven other members of the D'Ascoyne family, between him and the Duchy of Chalfont. He begins by killing the banker's son by organizing a boat accident. After sending a letter of condolence to Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, the banker relents and offers Louis a job at the bank.

当他的母亲去世时，路易斯决定杀死 Ascoyne d'Ascoyne 勋爵和 D'Ascoyne 家族的其他七名成员，在他和 Chalfont 公爵的头衔之间。他首先组织了一次划船事故，杀死了银行家的儿子。在向 Ascoyne D'Ascoyne 勋爵发送了一封吊唁信后，这位银行家心软了，并为 Louis 提供了一份在银行的工作。

Through hard work, Louis is promoted to a senior position at the bank. At the same time, Louis carries out his plans to kill the other members of the D'Ascoyne family. Henry D'Ascoyne, an avid amateur photographer is killed in his darkroom by an explosion. Louis poisons the Port wine of another member of the family. A bomb in a pot of caviar kills another, and so on.

通过努力工作，路易斯被提升为银行的高级职位。与此同时，路易斯实施了杀死达斯科因家族其他成员的计划。狂热的业余摄影师亨利·达斯科因 (Henry D'Ascoyne) 在他的暗房中死于爆炸。路易斯在另一位家庭成员的波特酒中下毒。一罐鱼子酱中的炸弹会再杀死一个，依此类推。

Along with his progression to becoming the Duke of Chalfont, Louis embarks on an affair with Sibella, who bemoans her annoying husband. However, he also decided to woo and marry Edith, the elegant and virtuous widow of one of his victims. In addition, Louis refuses to grant credit to her Sibella's husband when his financial situation turns bad. Because of this refusal, Sibella's drunken husband attacks Louis but he only succeeds in falling to the ground in a stupor.

随着他逐渐成为查尔方特公爵，路易斯开始与西贝拉有染，西贝拉为她烦人的丈夫哀叹。然而，他也决定追求并娶了一位受害者的优雅贤惠的遗孀伊迪丝。作为银行的一名高级雇员，当西贝拉的丈夫财务状况不佳时，路易斯拒绝向他提供信贷。由于拒绝，西贝拉的丈夫后来袭击了路易斯，但他只是成功地在醉酒昏迷中倒在地上。

 

The final member of the D'Ascoyne family, Lord Ascoyne D'Asoyne, dies of a heart attack when told that he has inherited the Duchy of Chalfort. Having eliminated the entire D'Ascoyne family, Louis finally becomes the Duke of Chalfont.

 D'Ascoyne 家族的最后一位成员，Lord Ascoyne D'Asoyne，在得知他继承了查尔福特公爵领地后死于心脏病发作。消灭了整个 D'Ascoyne 家族后，路易斯最终成为查尔方特公爵。

His success, however, does not last long. Sibella's husband is found dead and the police arrest Louis for his murder. At his trial, he marries Edith and the scheming Sibella gives false testimony that her husband was about to file for divorce because of her affair with Louis.

然而，他的成功并没有持续多久。西贝拉的丈夫被发现死亡，警方以谋杀罪逮捕了路易斯。在审判期间，他与伊迪丝结婚，诡计多端的西贝拉作假证说，她的丈夫因为她与路易斯的婚外情而准备提出离婚。

Louis is found guilty of murder. While awaiting execution, Louis decides to spend his time writing a detailed confession of how he killed seven members of the D'Ascoyne family to acquire the title of Duke of Chalfort. Sibella, however, pays a surprise visit to Louis in prison and she suggests that if the authorities were to discover a suicide letter written by her former husband and if Edith were to die suddenly, they whould be able to marry. Louis quickly accepts this ‘possibility’.

路易斯被判犯有谋杀罪。在等待处决期间，路易斯决定花时间写一份详细的供词，讲述他如何杀死 D'Ascoyne 家族的七名成员以获得查尔福特公爵的头衔。然而，西贝拉出人意料地拜访了监狱中的路易斯，她建议如果当局发现她前夫写的一封遗书，如​​果伊迪丝突然死去，他们就可以结婚。路易斯很快就接受了这个‘可能性’。

As he prepares to go to the gallows, the prison warden arrives with an announcement that a suicide letter has been found and that Louis has been pardoned. Louis is freed to find that both Edith and Sibella are waiting for him outside the prison. The film ends as Louis suddenly remembers that he left his written confession in his prison cell.

就在他准备上绞刑架时，监狱长来了，并宣布发现了一封遗书，路易斯已被赦免。路易斯获释后发现伊迪丝和西贝拉都在监狱外等他。电影结束时路易斯突然想起他在牢房里留下了书面供词。

Whilst there are lots of great performances from British actors in this film, the most notable performance is by Alex Guinness. He is best known outside the U.K. for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars film. What is extraordinary is that in the film 'Kind Hearts and Coronets', Alex Guinness plays all eight members of the D'Ascoyne family, not only the male roles but also a female role.

虽然这部电影中有许多英国演员的精彩表演，但最引人注目的表演是亚历克斯吉尼斯。这位演员在英国以外最著名的是他在星球大战电影中扮演的欧比旺克诺比。这部电影的精彩之处在于，Alex Guinness 扮演了 D'Ascoyne 家族的所有八名成员，不仅有男性角色，还有女性角色。