IMDb >
The Abdication (1974)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsThe Abdication (1974) More at IMDbPro »
| Photos (see all 2 | slideshow) |
Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
3 October 1974 (USA) moreTagline:
A woman with a profane love... for a man of God.User Comments:
THE ABDICATION (Anthony Harvey, 1974) **1/2 moreCast
(Complete credited cast)| Peter Finch | ... | Cardinal Azzolino | |
| Liv Ullmann | ... | Queen Kristina | |
| Cyril Cusack | ... | Oxenstierna | |
| Paul Rogers | ... | Altieri | |
| Graham Crowden | ... | Cardinal Barberini | |
| Michael Dunn | ... | The Dwarf | |
| Kathleen Byron | ... | Queen Mother | |
| Lewis Fiander | ... | Father Dominic | |
| Harold Goldblatt | ... | Pinamonti | |
| Tony Steedman | ... | Carranza | |
| Noel Trevarthen | ... | Ginetti | |
| Richard Cornish | ... | Charles | |
| James Faulkner | ... | Magnus de la Gardie | |
| Edward Underdown | ... | Gustaf II Adolf, Christina's father | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Franz Drago | ... | Birgito | |
| Suzanne Huddart | ... | Young Kristina | |
| Ania Marson | ... | Ebba Sparre | |
| Debbie Nicholson | ... | Young Ebba | |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
103 minCountry:
UKLanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoFun Stuff
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Abdication (1974)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Looking for this film | mutchmusic |
| This film can now be ordered on DVD | simonhowson |
Recommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| The Lion in Winter | Victoria the Great | Elizabeth: The Golden Age | Cardinal Richelieu | Anne of the Thousand Days |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Drama section | IMDb UK section | Add this title to MyMovies |




This film was shown once on local TV in the early 1980s (but I was too young to watch it) and then fell completely off the radar in the interim; however, thanks to the God-sent overhaul that TCM UK has finally decided to give its long-decaying schedule of endlessly-repeated titles, I was able to finally catch up with it after some 25 odd years! Not because the film has any kind of reputation per se but its credentials are certainly impeccable and European History has always been one of my favorite subjects in school (and one in which I excelled in). The story of Sweden's Queen Christina had already been dealt with magnificently by Rouben Mamoulian in his eponymous 1933 film which had provided Greta Garbo with arguably her greatest role; this being made a good 40 permissive years later, the independent-minded Protestant monarch (Liv Ullmann) renounces her faith and throne to sneak into the Vatican and pour out her lesbian longings for a childhood friend onto a Roman Catholic Cardinal (Peter Finch) engaged to investigate her well-documented wanton ways and her newly-professed piety! The two stars, reunited a year after Ross Hunter's maligned 1973 musical version of LOST HORIZION, are practically the whole show here despite being surrounded by opulent sets and a cast of thespian notables: Cyril Cusack (as Christina's guardian), Graham Crowden (as a fellow Cardinal), Edward Underdown and Kathleen Byron (as, respectively, Christina's chivalrous father and embittered mother) and diminutive Michael Dunn (in his last film as Christina's enigmatic servant). Celebrated cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth shoots the opening abdication scenes in moody candlelight, bathes the film in mist during Christina's childhood reminiscences and lends it a sunny look during her liberated passages; Nino Rota's music score is also appropriately sensitive or soaring according to the film's moods. Incidentally, another failed historical/religious charade featuring Liv Ullmann I would like to see is Michael Anderson's POPE JOAN (1972) who knows if TCM UK will likewise surprise me and provide the opportunity to catch up with it in the not-too-distant future?