The Queen of Spades (1949)

An elderly countess strikes a bargain with the devil and exchanges her soul for the ability to always win at cards. An army officer, who is also a fanatic about cards, murders her for the ... See full summary »

Director:

Thorold Dickinson

Writers:

Rodney Ackland, Arthur Boys,

Stars:

Anton Walbrook, Edith Evans, Yvonne Mitchell

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anton Walbrook	...	Capt. Herman Suvorin
Edith Evans	...	The Old Countess Ranevskaya
Yvonne Mitchell	...	Lizaveta Ivanova
Ronald Howard	...	Andrei
Mary Jerrold	...	Old Varvarushka
Anthony Dawson	...	Fyodor
Miles Malleson	...	Tchybukin
Michael Medwin	...	Hovaisky
Athene Seyler	...	Princess Ivashin
Ivor Barnard	...	Bookseller
Maroussia Dimitrevitch	...	Gypsy singer
Violetta Elvin	...	Gypsy dancer
Pauline Tennant	...	Young countess
Jacqueline Clarke	...	Milliner's assistant
Josef Ramart	...	Countess' lover (as Yusef Ramart)

Storyline

An elderly countess strikes a bargain with the devil and exchanges her soul for the ability to always win at cards. An army officer, who is also a fanatic about cards, murders her for the secret, then finds himself haunted by the woman's spirit.

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Plot Keywords:

gambling | supernatural | playing cards | pistol | russia | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Dama de Espadas

Filming Locations:

Welwyn Studios, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

De Grunwald Productions, Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ivor Barnard was working on Paper Orchid at the same time.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits, rather than simply reading "Screenplay By", "Music By", "Director of Photography", etc., as in most films, read "The Screenplay By", "The Music By", "The Director of Photography", "The Art Director", etc.

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Connections

Version of Pikovaya dama (1961)

User Reviews

Simply a Masterpiece

Tchaikovsky took Pushkin's ghost story and turned it into an opera. Producer Anatole de Grunwald turned it into one of the finest Gothic thrillers in film history. Why The Queen of Spades is so overlooked is a mystery to those who have seen it....it is a dazzling tour de force.

Anton Walbrook pulls out all the stops as the army officer obsessed with learning how to win at faro. When he discovers that an aged countess, played by Dame Edith Evans in her talking picture debut, holds the secret he becomes even more obsessed with wresting this secret from her. The countess sold her soul to learn the magic of the cards, 3,7 and Ace and, in the end, that does not bode well for Walbrook.

The baroque sets, assisted by wonderful lighting effects, builds an eerie, almost surreal atmosphere. It will hold you spellbound and haunt you long after it ends.