Kind Hearts and Coronets

 

Vintage Ealing Studio comedy released on 4K UHD from Studiocanal on 22nd April

In a series of re-releases and new prints upon the Vintage Classics label from Studiocanal, the company has taken the legendary series of post-World War 2 films from the Ealing Studios archive.

These films are long-established in the canon of British public consciousness and yet they remain vintage in every sense of the word - regal from a bygone era, original in their gestation and witty still despite the advancement of culture and society. This film appears as a satire upon the British fascination of nobility and the pursuit of social mobility.

After spending an hour and a half in the mere presence of Dennis Price's serial killing cousin, one will feel quite jolly and wish for the days when people would harken back to the days full of lavish production design and featuring the well-equipped acting of an ensemble who went from film to film delivering exquisite performances. 

While Price is the figurehead of the film and upon repeated viewings, his role is one of quiet restraint that is befitting a sociopath who is more in need of social ambition he feels is owed rather than earned. Yet this film remains most memorable as a showcase for the ever growing reputation of Alec Guinness. This is after his double bill of appearing in David Lean's Charles Dickens' adaptations most notably as Fagin in Oliver Twist. In this he portrays the D'Ascoyne family - those who Price as Louis - wants to dispose of so his lineage to the Duke of Chalfont can be obtained.

Guinness embues so much character into each of the family, it led to his scaling the heights of British film with The Lavender Hill Mob and The Ladykillers to follow before Hollywood and his Award winning role as Captain Nicholson in Lean's The Bridge over the River Kwai.

What is most striking though along with the performances is the erudite script that while based upon a novel is witty and astute in its understanding of social class, aspiration and norms in the post-war era. Credit also to Robert Hamer for marshalling proceedings with such precision and care.

If film fans have not heard nor seen this film, they should seek it out and enjoy the darkly black comedy that became familiar from the Ealing Studios, in a post-war world which should have been full of optimism, there remained those grains of doubt and pessimism that maybe good times may never return and you have to set out and make your own path in life perhaps to better yourselves.

The film is released on UHD on 22nd April, it features an introduction by fan John Landis, an audio commentary by film critic Peter Bradshaw, director Terence Davies and Matthew Guinness, an alternate US ending, gallery and trailers.

Kind Hearts and Coronets is released on UHD from 22nd April 

The Lavender Hill Mob

 

Ealing Studio classic THE LAVENDER HILL MOB

 rereleased in 4K Restoration from Studiocanal

Originally released in 1951, Ealing Studios' veteran Charles Crichton with a script by T.E.B Clarke and starred Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway and Sid James as the most unlikeliest of gold bullion robbers.

Guinness plays Henry Holland, a faithful bank transfer agent of 20 years who has never put a foot wrong and is non-descript to his employers. He dreams of the perfect gold bullion heist, yet does not know what to do with the bullion when stolen. Holland befriends new housemate Pendlebury (Holloway) who as a smoulder, they happen upon the idea of forging the gold into miniature Eiffel tower paperweights smuggling it from England to France.

The pair hire two professional criminals Lackery (James) and Shorty (Alfie Bass) and together the foursome put the plan into place full of unexpected twists and turns.

To think this film is over seventy years old is how swift and economical the script is and it is not surprising that the film won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Yet the x factor of the film is Alec Guinness, whose chameleon like ability to become an character he inhabits is to the fore again in the role of Henry Holland. When we first encounter Holland he is in some Caribbean island flaunting his wealth and fame around the resort, flirting with a young Audrey Hepburn and giving money to the help around the hotel. He promptly tells the story to someone sitting with him and so the story is told in flashback as all good heist films tend to be. Guinness up to this point had been the supporting player in such works as Oliver Twist and Kind Hearts and Coronets, yet this was the launching pad for his leading man career garnering a Best Actor nomination from the Academy Awards.

Shot at Ealing Studios but also embracing the post-war London with real-life locations for chases near London landmarks, the film is a breath of fresh air throughout. One note of criticism would be that once the heist is completed, the hapless pair running around Paris is somewhat not wanted but that is merely a slight note to be forgotten.

The moral integrity remains by the film's end and all you can remember is that the smiles elicited by the cast are real, the story is well told and Crichton deploys an even hand across proceedings.

The new 4K restoration is being released in cinemas from 29th March (Easter weekend) and will garner a 4K UHD and Digital release from 22nd April. Kind Hearts & Coronets will be released on UHD from 22nd April also.

The release offers a treasure trove for the British film lovers. Essays and Q&A's by Benedict Morrison and Paul Merton. An introduction by Martin Scorsese, audio commentary by film historian Jeremy Arnold, stills, two posters, four pop-art artcards by Art and Hue. Pre-order here

My thanks to Studiocanal UK for the review copy

Dark Road Home - Sheila Bugler

New novel by Eastbourne based, Irish born author Bugler from Canelo Crime

As a vivacious reader of crime novels and thriller reads from the publication house, Canelo, and its sub-print Canelo Crime I have taken pleasure in reading and following the careers of Marion Todd, Rachel Lynch, MJ Lee and Bugler.

Unlike the other contemporaries, who have dealt with a series of detective fiction revolving around a central character, Bugler has dealt with different storylines and characters jumping from a different premise, location and environment from book to book. This book is her 10th release, a wonderful milestone.

In this instance, Dark Road Home, is a coming home of sorts for her. Set in the fictitious west Ireland coastal town of Dungarry; her conduit for this homecoming is Leah Ryan. She returns home after an absence of two decades to face the turmoil she left behind which led her to Australia. Upon her return though to visit her ailing, wheelchair bound mother, another tragedy hits as her first love Eamon is brutally murdered as his restaurant business.

It seems a mystery, but soon as in all small towns where everyone knows everybody's business, everything is connected and there are secrets behind every front door.

Leah starts a flirtatious relationship with a cop who is investigating and she tries to bury the hatchet with her brother, Frank, the sibling who was meant to leave in Leah's place and explore the world. Instead Frank has remained and is a shell of the man he was hoping to be, drinking too much and carrying a spare tyre.

Bugler writes about the Irish homeland - a place she would like to retire to - with such fondness and for fans of The Woman in the Wall and other Irish crime series (the returning Blue Lights) this will be a welcome addition to the canon. 

The story which has a dual narrative of now and twenty years prior which leads to Leah's departure for this reader felt like it was treading water, and yet as so often in Canelo releases the second half of the book picked up steam and went to a crescendo that is worthy of Bugler's talent. The delicate handling of Leah and Frank's relationship and the guilt Leah feels for her leaving is told effectively.

While for me not as good as Bugler's other earlier works or her last work Black Valley Farm, it nevertheless is a solid thriller and a well told standalone plot and story that was entertaining and full of twists.

Dark Road Home is out from Canelo on 18th April on all formats.

Home - Sheila Bugler

Dream Talk - Still Corners

New album Dream Talk from Still Corners out April 5th via Wrecking Light Records

The new album from duo of Tessa Murphy and Greg Hughes is an album they have been building towards as a two-piece since forming in 2009.

Dreampop would be a category you would attempt to pigeon hole Still Corners into, yet they are a band who are not restricted by such terms, they are a pop band with rock sensibilities or a rock band with electro stylings in abundance that tick so many boxes of influences.

Returning with new album material since 2021's The Last Exit which was well received, the duo return with new songs that are both ethereal and melodic. From the opener 'Today's the Day' which is sounds like a long lost cousin of Chris Isaak's 'Wicked Game' it has this earnest hook that yearns for attention. It is a great modus operandi opener for an album that does not deviate from the hypnotic course it is sailing. This idea of sailing comes full circle in a song like 'The Ship' which appears near the end of the album; a deeply affecting vocal featuring layered vocals and swooning production

Take for instance a song like 'Crystal Blue' a dreamy song that could be the access point for any such dreampop playlist yet it is Murphy's hushed delivery (reminiscent of Alice Boman) that makes it earworm worthy, the deliberate restrained nature of the production happening underneath her is mesmeric.

Fans who know their work will not be surprised by the content available, and for this listener who is familiar with the oeuvre of dream-gaze pop and such contemporaries as Mint Julep will be raptured by this album

The best moments of the album is when it lets the chains of dream-gaze fall away and veers closer to pop such as 'Lose More Slowly' or 'Faded Love' and these fleeting moments enhance an album that will be greatly appreciated on multiple listens. 

At times romantic, swooning and mysterious this is a yearning piece of stylish dream pop ripe for a wider audience and will be perfect for the summer (if it ever comes) as we sway to it as the sun goes down on a festival evening.

Dream Talk is out now via Wrecking Light records

The Assassin - Tom Fletcher

 

Sequel to The Ambassador by Tom Fletcher, out March 28th from Canelo

Tom Fletcher had a great success with his debut novel The Ambassador which told the tale of Ed Barnes, ambassador in Paris, France who survives an assassination attempt at his diplomatic household. The sequel shows Ed taking up a new position in Nairobi, Kenya.

The book starts breakneck and deals with two duelling narratives that eventually co-exist. Barnes must deal with a hostage situation at a major shopping mall in the city centre, where a Somali terrorist group take over and unfortunately his daughter, Stephanie, is amongst the captive group.

Having foiled those terrorists, Barnes returns to London to talk with the female Prime Minister Hermoine, who will attend a climate conference all amidst the wave of political assassinations taking place around the globe by the pseudonymous assassin who may or may not know Barnes.

The kills of the assassin are perhaps the best parts of the book - a real joy for the writer to throw caution to the wind eliciting different deaths for not very nice people in grand surroundings. 

It is the general narrative with the balance of family dynamics and climate change political wrangling that forces the book to sometimes slow down when the pace of terrorist attacks and surprise kills is where the excitement is.

Typical of books this reader has read lately, where the foundation and building blocks of the book in the first half are critical to the cut and thrust of the second half when tension is ramped up and pays off.

Credit to Fletcher who as a former foreign policy advisor has the legitimacy of knowledge to convey and commit to the story and in Barnes he has a genuine hero who wants to do the right thing despite the political climate around him.

The Assassin is out on 28th March from Canelo 

My thanks to them for the review copy via NetGalley.

The Coffin in the Wall

 

New novel by MJ Lee set in Cheshire

MJ Lee is a prestigious and prolific writer of crime thrillers. For the last five years he has written eight books featuring the everyman coroner officier DI Ridpath which saw him overcoming crimes in the Greater Manchester district as he navigated cancer diagnoses, loss and a growing teenage daughter.

In an interesting switch, Lee has started a new narrative series, this time set in and around the small city of Chester and following the tales of DI Emma Christie who must investigate a gruesome crime amidst the picturesque surrounding of the Roman city. 

This is a great move by Lee, I always admire those writers who are so married to their characters - a la Lee Child or Patricia Cornwell - yet they are never able to show other strings to their bow. Here, he is writing about a new city, a new lead character and of the opposite sex which comes with its own potential hiccups. 

However, the character of Christie is quite reminiscent of Ridpath - an everywoman quality resonates from her, she is determined to succeed despite the problems of caring for her ailing father/former cop who is beset with dementia. Those scenes featuring his dwindling memory are particularly heart-breaking. 

The case itself did remind me of Ridpath cases yet that is not a criticism, that familiarity was welcoming as the book is so well researched in terms of police procedure, Lee has done the legwork and it pays off convincingly as the narrative moves at such a clip it is richly rewarding.

The scenes within the force where they discuss the case is ripe for duelling dialogues as this hotchpotch of different ages, cultures and backgrounds come to the fore along with the class and hierarchy of the police force. With Christie you have a woman who has to overcome her gender and accusations of nepotism to reach her position on merit.

For fans of Mark Billingham along with those who like something new as well as the continued Marion Todd series set in St. Andrews, this is a crime read ripe for digesting and will garner wide attention when the word of mouth begins.

The Coffin in the Wall is self-published and available on Amazon and other platforms

The Red Hollow - Natalie Marlow

Second novel of Birmingham Noir by Natalie Marlow 

out 28th March from Baskerville

Natalie Marlow's highly anticipated sophomore novel set in the fracitious 1930s Birmingham backstreets made more relevant to people by the astronomical success of Peaky Blinders, Marlow has crafted a fascinating protagonist in William Garrett, a private detective who resides out of Needless Alley (title of the first book). Garrett has daily dalliances with the ne'er-do-well's of Birmingham's backstreets and he must maintain his head above the parapet as he always deals with problems.

While the first book became a gripping whodunnit, in this second novel Garrett and his now wife become entangled in what can be described as a what-dunnit. They are called to the titular stately manor on the outskirts of Warwickshire countryside to oversee a mysterious sequence of deaths in this house that now operates as a male-only sanatorium, overseen by Dr. Moon whose patients are leaving premises.

On the wettest day of the year, local flooding makes it hard for Garrett and Queenie to arrive at the site, and the tale of the mysterious mermaid who may or may not be responsible for the murder that has occurred. Disturbances that appeared to be pranks are now being claimed upon the ghost of the Red Hollow, a girl who seeks revenge upon the men who killed her. 

The placing of the narrative in a bottle format or self-contained environment is a clever tweak and acts as a homage to the works of Agatha Christie especially The Mousetrap. This is in stark contrast to the debut novel where Garrett was discovering different landscapes, traversing those places that do not exist anymore with Marlow/Garrett acting as our guide. 

In this novel, the limitations of the narrative by restricting it in one setting does a disservice to Garrett's potential as a character, one who needs to discover due to his job title and by restricting him to one location is a shame.

This reader hopes that Marlow returns Garrett to the cobble streets of the second city - the different districts encourage different cultures and language. In this setting, you have Garrett always being the smartest person in the room where you always felt he would overcome the problem he faces eventually in this instance. 

That is only a small note of criticism, credit where it is due, the professional relationship Garrett has with Phyll Hall, a fresh detective, is a winning one. They are a platonic pair who finish each other's sentences and the pain he feels when trouble arrives at Phyll's feet is clearly felt and well handled along with the precarious nature of the situation Garrett/Phyll have gotten themselves into.

Marlow also cleverly melds the influences of Gothic influences of British literature with the back and forth dialogue that effortlessly flies off the page, a book of atmospheric pressure that resonates creating a taut and scary tale. Marlow a self-confessed film fan brings those influences of the Haunting and The Innocents to her advantage in creating the eerie environment.

William Garrett is back and he will return. This is a character you cannot wait to see more of the future.

The Red Hollow is out on 28th March from Baskerville/John Murray Press