Robert Hamer
- Writer, director, producer and editor
Press clippings
Why Ealing's murderous comedy is the greatest UK film
For as long as I can remember, I have considered Kind Hearts and Coronets to be the greatest film in the history of British cinema.
Simon Heffer, The Telegraph, 30th June 2019On the set of Kind Hearts and Coronets - in pictures
Released in 1949, Kind Hearts and Coronets remains one of the all time classics of British cinema. As a 4k restoration is released for its 70th anniversary, we see actors Dennis Price, Alec Guinness and Joan Greenwood and director Robert Hamer at work.
The Guardian, 6th June 2019Kind Hearts And Coronets gets 70th anniversary re-release
Classing Ealing Studios film Kind Hearts And Coronets is returning to cinemas in June, fully restored and remastered to mark its 70th anniversary this year. Blu-ray and DVD editions are also available to order.
British Comedy Guide, 30th April 2019Robert Hamer's last film, made as his alcoholism was taking a heavy toll, lacks the delicious wickedness of earlier works, such as Kind Hearts And Coronet, but there's much to enjoy. Based on Stephen Potter's bestselling books Gamesmanship, Oneupmanship and Lifemanship, it stars Ian Carmichael as the naive Palfrey, who joins Alastair Sim's College of Lifemanship to turn the tables on his oppressors: a snooty waiter, a pair of secondhand car swindlers and, worst of all, tennis cheat Terry-Thomas, who has stolen his girlfriend.
Paul Howlett, The Guardian, 7th May 2016The Ladykillers review - the greatest comedy caper
Ealing Studio's two greatest directors, Robert Hamer and Alexander Mackendrick, both made near flawless black comedies on the state of the nation starring Alec Guinness and involving multiple murders, and there is little to choose between the former's Kind Hearts and Coronets and the latter's The Ladykillers, a special edition of which is being released this week to mark its 60th anniversary.
Philip French, The Guardian, 25th October 2015Kind Hearts and Coronets: Telegraph 1949 review
Kind Hearts and Coronets is considered one of the finest British post-war comedies. This Ealing Comedy masterpiece, which was digitally restored in 2011, starred Alec Guinness and was directed by Robert Hamer. The original Daily Telegraph review, published on June 27, 1949, was listed under the section 'Film Notes' and carried the simple byline 'R. P. M. G'. He saw the film in London's Leicester Square. The film's title derives from Tennyson's 1842 poem Lady "Clara Vere de Vere": "Kind hearts are more than coronets/And simple faith than Norman blood."
The Telegraph, 31st December 2013