The Queen of Spades to Be Re-Released
A once-lost classic fantasy-horror film has been released in time for Christmas. Thorold Dickinson’s ‘The Queen of Spades’ was released in cinemas on December 23rd and will come out on digital platforms, Blu-Ray and DVD a month later. Based on a short story by Alexander Pushkin, the film tells the haunting tale of a countess who sold her soul to devil in exchange for the secrets of a card game.
The 1949 classic has been restored in 4K for its December re-release. ©Tima Miroshnichenko/Pexels
Golden Age Gem
Thorold Dickinson’s dramatic 1949 tale of horror, conspiracy and a card game has been re-released just in time for Christmas. ‘The Queen of Spades’ is based on Russian poet, playwright and novelist Alexander Pushkin’s short story of the same name. First penned in 1833, the story has proved to have a lasting legacy and will be introduced to a fresh audience nearly two hundred years later.
‘The Queen of Spades’ was once considered to be lost. However, it was rediscovered and re-released in UK cinemas in 2009. The acclaimed film will return to the silver screen once more in a new 4K restoration on December 23rd. The film was positively received at the time of its original release in 1949. Writing for the New York Times, Bosley Crowther praised its accomplished cast, baroque production and tense staging.
Modern critics and directors now regard Dickinson’s film as a firm classic. Wes Anderson ranked it as the sixth best British film, while Martin Scorsese called it “one of the few true classics of supernatural cinema. The movie was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best British Film and entered into the 1949 Cannes Film Festival.
‘The Queen of Spades’ was reviewed positively by 95% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes and rated 7.2 out of 10 on IMDB. Despite the praise that has been heaped on this film, it remains a little-known gem of classic gothic cinema. Its new re-release seeks to redress that balance, exposing the film to a new audience of cinephiles.
The film was the eighteenth to be directed by Thorold Dickinson, who went on to become Britain’s first university professor of film. ‘The Queen of Spades’ stars Anton Walbrook, Edith Evans and Yvonne Mitchell in leading roles. Both Evans and Mitchell were better recognized at the time as stage actors, making their cinematic debuts.
Supernatural Cinema
‘The Queen of Spades’ tells the story of a countess who sold her soul to the devil in return for the secrets of a card game, and the ambitious military officer that tried to discover her secrets. Walbrook plays Suvorin, an officer based in St Petersburg. Low on money and keen to rise to the top, Suvorin visits a military club with his rather better-off friend, Prince Andrei.
Envious and fascinated by the gambling men there, Suvorin conspires to make his fortune. The gamblers’ game of choice is faro, a simple card game where the objective is to match cards with the banker. The players at the club are obsessed with the seemingly bad fortune involved in playing the queen of spades.
It is then that Suvorin hears the rumor of an ancient countess who sold her soul to learn the secret of winning at faro. Countess Ranevskaya was able to recover her husband’s money, which she had lost to a secret lover. The deal with the devil was brokered by the Count of St Germain, who in real life was a philosopher and adventurer.
Suvorin comes up with a devious plan to meet Countess Ranevskaya by seducing her young companion Lizaveta Ivanova. Played by Mitchell, Lizaveta is caught between the advances of the conspiring Suvorin and his good-natured friend Andrei. On learning of Suvorin’s intentions, Andrei warns Lizaveta that she is danger.
That warning falls on deaf ears, as Lizaveta mistakes Suvorin’s desperation for passion. His plan works and he is able to accost the countess, demanding that she reveal her secret. She refuses and Suvorin threatens her with a gun. As the film descends into horror the countess dies of fright, taking her secret to the grave.
Great Gambling Movies
For Suvorin is all is not lost. He is visited by the ghost of the countess, who reveals the three cards that will bring him good fortune on the condition that he will marry Lizaveta. Still angry and fearful of him after the death of the countess, Lizaveta rejects his advances dooming Suvorin to ill fortune.
Out of greed, Suvorin heads to the gaming salon where he bets his life savings. His first two games are successful, and out of greed he attempts to seal his fortune betting on the ace of spades. In a disastrous mistake, he places down the queen of spades and loses everything.
‘The Queen of Spades’ could be considered one of the great gambling movies. Suvorin’s self-destructive streak and obsession with fortune are his ultimate undoing, in a tale as old as time. Over seventy years on from its initial release, this melodrama still holds up as a gripping and eerie parable.
It is a film that will appeal to numerous audiences, including those that love golden age cinema and those that are interested in playing cards. In terms of great movies about gambling, viewers are spoilt for choice. Aaron Sorkin’s ‘Molly’s Game’ offers a thrilling glimpse in the world of underground poker.
A recent film that quickly became a cult favorite is Josh and Benny Safdie’s ‘Uncut Gems’. Adam Sandler is a star turn as gambling addict Howard whose life descends into a mesmerizing chaos of his own making. Another modern great is 2021’s ‘The Card Counter’. Oscar Isaac epitomizes the cool gambler escaping his past.
Earlier this year, Russell Crowe made his directing comeback after an eight-year break with ‘Poker Face’. Crowe stars as the lead and is supported by an impressive cast including Liam Hemsworth and RZA. The film did not perform as well as he might have hoped, scoring just 9% on Rotten Tomatoes.
