Alec Guinness Would Be 100 Years Old Today If He Weren't, You Know, Dead

F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote that American lives have no second act, but Alec Guinness, being British, had three—first, as a comedic actor, then as a dramatic one, then as Obi Wan Kenobi.

Here are my three favorite Alec Guinness movies. If you skipped to the end of his story, you really need to go back to the beginning.

Kind Hearts and Cornonets

Alec Guinness plays eight murder victims in this black comedy classic about a would-be British aristocrat determined to climb the family tree.

The Lavender Hill Mob

A caper comedy proving once again that (to very loosely paraphrase Fraiser) the only thing better than a perfect crime is a perfect crime with one tiny flaw you can pick at for the rest of the movie.

The Horse's Mouth

My absolute favorite Alec Guinness movie, a comedy about a painter in the single-minded pursuit of his artistic vision.

"But there have to be artists!"
"And lunatics too! But why go and live in an asylum before you're sent for?"

Have at it.