Queen Kelly (1932)

A convent girl is abducted and seduced by a prince before being sent off to a brothel in East Africa.

Directors:

Erich von Stroheim (as Erich Von Stroheim), Richard Boleslawski (uncredited)

Writers:

Erich von Stroheim (based on an original story by) (as Erich Von Stroheim), Marian Ainslee (titles) (as Marion Ainslee)

Stars:

Gloria Swanson, Walter Byron, Seena Owen

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gloria Swanson	...	Kitty Kelly / Queen Kelly
Walter Byron	...	Prince Wolfram
Seena Owen	...	Queen Regina V

Storyline

Prince Wolfram is the betrothed of mad Queen Regina V of Kronberg. Supreme ruler, her word is law and he is a playboy. On maneuvers as punishment for partying with other women, he sees Kelly walking the the other students of a convent. He is intrigued by her beauty and wants her. He kidnaps her that night from the convent and takes her to his room and professes his love for her. When the Queen finds them together the next morning , she whips Kelly and throws her out of the castle. Regina then puts Wolfram into prison for not wanting to marry the Queen. Kelly goes to German East Africa to visit her dying Aunt and is forced to marry the disgusting Jan. The Aunt dies after the wedding and Kelly refuses to live with Jan and becomes the head of Aunties Brothel. Her extravagances and style earn her the name 'Queen Kelly' and Prince Wolfram does not marry Queen Regina V.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | nickname as title | surname in title | queen | prince | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

18 October 1932 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

The Swamp

Filming Locations:

Selig Mission Zoo - 3800 Mission Road, Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gloria Swanson Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min (1985 restored) 75 min (Swanson Version)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System) Silent

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

After shooting only one-third of the picture (four hours), director Erich von Stroheim was fired by producer-star Gloria Swanson. Two years later, additional footage was shot to complete the picture. Since von Stroheim owned part of the property, he refused to grant releasing rights in the U.S. and elsewhere for this bastardized version. It was not exhibited in the U.S. until after Sunset Boulevard (1950), when it received minor theatrical release and a showing on television in 1966.

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Goofs

The positions of the two different groups, the troops and the convent girls, are constantly changing in relation to the shrine on Kambach road.

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Quotes

[as Wolfram and Fritz are racing their horses down the street]
Girl 1: Come on, Wild Wolfram! I've bet my nightie on you!
Girl 2: Come on, Fritz! She hasn't GOT a nightie!

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Alternate Versions

In the Force Video version the conditions of the Queen's letter are that the Prince must consummate the marriage to Kelly before the next sundown, or he must marry the Queen. This suggests that the Queen knows of Kelly's death. The additional scenes complete the European portion of the film's plot, and were probably filmed in the two days that the cast and crew re-convened under the direction of Richard Boleslawski, seven months after Von Stroheim was sacked. In her autobiography, however, Swanson claims that these two days were spent trying to turn the movie into a musical!

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood: Autocrats (1980)

User Reviews

A Luminous "Queen Kelly"

The restored version of "Queen Kelly' shown on TCM recently was a revelation to those of us who only knew Gloria Swanson from "Sunset Boulevard" in the '50's. Swanson in 1928 had incredibly large and luminous (?green?) eyes, as well as that curiously angular lower jaw still evident in "Boulevard". She seemed fairly tall and almost husky in "Kelly", compared to many women (and men) of the 20's to the 50's who were physically quite small, and looked it in their screen roles. She was lovely in a unique way.

More importantly, I thought Swanson was GREAT in the part. What an incredible range of facial and body expressiveness! Given the restrictions of the plot, and doubtless a domineering director, Swanson did a tremendous job in making her character seem believable. Yes, perhaps she did look older than 18, but in my opinion, she could pass for 21 or so. She certainly didn't look older than her 31 years, as another reviewer opines. Perhaps her sheer acting skill and range of motion were convincing enough to play 10 years younger than her true age. It's done all the time on the stage and screen, why wouldn't it be acceptable in this 1928 film?

I found Walter Byron gorgeous, and strangely modern in his good looks. Not of the now-hackneyed strong-profile leading man variety popular in early films. Instead, he was impeccably groomed and costumed, with short, straight, slicked-back hair. A beautiful sight to behold. He did a very good job within the constraints of silent acting. I'll be looking for more of his work.

The Jan VanHeidt character was almost too-disgusting to be credible, but archetypes were more pronounced in the silent genre. The actor did a very credible job, doubtless under the director's specific instructions about how to convey his debauched and depraved condition.

Perhaps it's because so much of the film was lost and/or cut, but Kelly's acquiescence to marrying the dissolute Jan seemed inexplicable to me. Von Stoheim went to a lot of trouble to give Swanson a L-O-N-G flashback while the wedding ceremony was being read which included the Prince's admonition to Kelly not to "forget him", "forsake him", or words to that effect. Yet she says yes anyway. You have to make a lot of assumptions about Kelly's character and personality to justify her decision, and rationalize in your own mind why on earth she didn't manifest some gumption and say after due consternation and anguish, "No, No, Never!".

This is a technically beautiful film. The lighting, sets, costumes, etc. are wonderful! Well worth seeing, even with the missing film and downbeat ending.