Number 137 on IMDb's Top 250
Louis Mazzini's mother's frequent tales of how her titled D'Ascoyn family shunned her after she eloped with an Italian commoner causes a simmering resentment in him. On being spurned because of his lowly status by his lifetime (if devious and fickle) sweetheart Sibella he decides to permanently remove all the D'Ascoyns standing between him and the Dukedom. There are eight of them: Duke Etherel (Alec Guinness), The Banker (Alec Guinness), Reverend Lord Henry d'Ascoyne (Alec Guinness), General Lord Rufus D'Ascoyne (Alec Guinness), Admiral Horatio d'Ascoyne (Alec Guinness), Young Henry d'Ascoyne (Alec Guinness), Lady Agatha d'Ascoyne (Alec Guinness), and Lord Ascoyne d'Ascoyne (Alec Guinness). Hilarity ensues. Becoming romantically involved with one of the widows he has created, he finds Sibella's jealousy could seriously threaten his grand design.
Trivia: In addition to the eight roles played by Alec Guinness, a painting may be seen in the Duke's castle showing an ancestor - a painting for which Guinness sat. The scene where six members of the D'Ascoynes family, all played by Guinness, are seen together took two days to film. The camera was set on a specially built platform to minimize movement. A frame with six black matte painted optical flat glass windows was set in front of the camera and the windows opened one at a time so each of the characters could be filmed in turn. The film was then wound back for the next character. Most of the time was spent waiting for Guinness to be made up as the next character.
This was a cute little movie. It is considered one of the best of the Ealing Comedies. Ealing Studios was a movie studio in England that made a series of critically acclaimed comedies in the forties and fifties. Alec Guinness really impressed me by playing eight different roles. It was fun to watch.
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