MovieChat Forums > Kind Hearts and Coronets Discussion > Joan Greenwood is possibly the most allu...

Joan Greenwood is possibly the most alluring woman in any fim, ever


She is. Her beauty, her voice, her demeanour. A woman you couldn't help but fall in love with, even knowing that it was the most foolish mistake you'll ever make, but falling none the less. She'd take your heart and grind it to powder, then smile, and you'd still say "thank you".

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I always thought sly and cutthroat Sibella was a much better match for Louis than the prudish widow. After all Louis got to go from rugs to riches trough murder and unscrupulous wits. But it was different times back then. Marrying for the status and prestige was more important than being a good match personality wise. Sibella was nobody in social standings

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The allure of the two very different, yet attractive women, just adds another dimension to the film, in Sibella's case, one character the American censors of the time had difficulties in dealing with.🐭

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Greenwood is amazing as Sibella. I think there's something about Greenwood in this role that makes her seem very like a UK 'it'-girl of the '60s (Julie Christie, Jane Asher, Charlotte Rampling, Marianne Faithfull, et al.) a look and attitude (w/ Felicity Kendall's voice!) that itself has continued to be very influential (Kate Moss, Kate Beckinsale, Sienna Miller et al.). As a result, watching Greenwood/Sibella now has a kind of shock of recognition built into it: *here* is where a whole *side* of femininity and sexiness in pop culture begins.

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I found Greenwood far more intriguing than all those ladies you mentioned...

She is definitely sexy while many actresses are just beautiful. Her brand of sexy is based on intelligence and a sense of the wicked, as her Sibella character personified. She reminded me most of Vivien Leigh, though I still think Joan Greenwood would win in a catfight.

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Have you seen The Man in the White Suit?

She is amazing in that one too.



Hitler! C'mon, I'll buy you a glass of lemonade.

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Have you seen The Man in the White Suit?

She is amazing in that one too.
I *have* seen TMITWS, but only once so my eyes and attention were firmly on Guinness's character and the plot throughout. When I get around to watching TWITWS again (it's very good), I'll definitely keep a sharp eye on Greenwood.

Greenwood has a small but important role in Fritz Lang's Moonfleet (1955), a film that you have to be French to love it seems (French critics such as Godard hailed it as a masterpiece early on and it's never lost that status in France). The film's pretty awful in my view, but Greenwood is terrific (hinting at a much naughtier movie that we don't see) and the best thing in it by miles.

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She was also great in The Importance Of Being Earnest
(1952). Somehow, she conveyed that her character was quite sexually experienced without at any point actually saying so.

"Chicken soup - with a *beep* straw."

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She really was smoking hot in KH&C. The voice just adds to it. She was the perfect choice to play Sibella.

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My introduction to Greenwood was "Tom Jones", on a late broadcast when I was under 10 years old. She and Hugh Griffith grabbed me and never let me go. The voices for both of them, the wonderful atmosphere Greenwood spins (and the eyebrows of Mr. Griffith).

I'm always happy to see Joan Greenwood in just about anything.

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The OP is correct. Sibella is beautiful, alluring and (in the words of another poster) driven to play with fire. At the time, KH&C was seen as testing boundaries with its themes of witty serial murder and adultery; I wonder if anybody dared to consider giving Joan Greenwood a similar role after KH&C?

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I agree with every word that the OP wrote and commend him on his honesty and candor in his expressing a joyful willingness to fall prey to the lovely creature that Joan Greenwood portrayed in this film. Alluring indeed!

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