I first saw THE QUEEN OF SPADES on a unique PBS series, CINEMATIC EYE, back in the early 1970s and never forgot it . It took over 30 years before I had the chance to see it again. That occurred when the old Anchor Bay double feature DVD set that coupled QUEEN with another legendary British film DEAD OF NIGHT, first appeared in 2008. This marvelously macabre film is based on a classic short story by Alexander Pushkin which is the same one used by Tchaikovsky for his opera of the same name. It stars Anton Walbrook (fresh from THE RED SHOES), Ronald Howard (son of Leslie and looking just like his father) and Dame Edith Evans in what marked her screen debut at the age of 61.
Set during the time of Napoleon, QUEEN is the story of a young man who is obsessed with the secret of winning at cards and the old woman who possesses that secret. It is turned into a tour de force by Thorold Dickinson who had earlier directed the original version of GASLIGHT (which also featured Walbrook) back in 1940. The movie is full of baroque chiaroscuro lighting and bizarre camera angles and looks like a cross between the films of Val Lewton and Orson Welles with a little F. W. Murnau thrown in for good measure. The acting by Walbrook, Evans, and a cast of British stalwarts ranges from flamboyant to quietly repressed and suits the material perfectly.
If you appreciate old school, atmospheric moviemaking (where what you don’t see can thrill you and all the various elements of the cinematic art are skillfully combined) then this is the movie for you. It’s a cliche’ but they just don’t make movies like this anymore. After being available in a Region 2 only DVD copy for several years, it has finally come to Region 1 Blu-Ray in a beautiful copy courtesy of Kino Lorber. The disc is full of bonus features such as an introduction by Martin Scorsese and two audio introductions from director Thorold Dickinson. THE QUEEN OF SPADES shows the power of black & white cinema at its best and is still unsettling and bizarre after 70 years.
The Capsule Critic 