King, Queen, Knave (1972)

Adopted by his rich uncle from Germany, British teenager Frank falls in-love with his uncle's Italian wife Martha, and has conflicting feelings when she suggests he should kill his uncle in order to have her and the family fortune.

Director:

Jerzy Skolimowski

Writers:

Vladimir Nabokov (novel), David Seltzer

Stars:

David Niven, Gina Lollobrigida, John Moulder-Brown

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
David Niven	...	Charles Dreyer
Gina Lollobrigida	...	Martha Dreyer
John Moulder-Brown	...	Frank
Mario Adorf	...	Prof. Ritter
Carl Duering	...	Enricht (as Carl Fox-Duering)
Christine Schuberth	...	Isolda
Erica Beer	...	Frieda
Felicitas Peters	...	Ida
Christopher Sandford	...	Hofmann
Sonia Hoffman	...	Sonia (as Sonia Hofmann)
Barbara Valentin	...	Optician
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Elma Karlowa	...	Hanna
Mogens von Gadow	...	Piffke

Storyline

On the death of his parents, Frank, a romantic teenager, moves in with his aunt and uncle He quickly falls in love with his beautiful, sophisticated aunt, Martha, and begins to fantasize about her. Frank is torn between his adolescent desires and his fondness for his Uncle Charles.

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Plot Keywords:

black comedy | 1970s | british teenager | puberty | sexual fantasy | 

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Taglines:

Based on a Vladimir Nabokov novel.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

West Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Herzbube

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bavaria Film, Maran Film, Wolper Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Niven and director Jerzy Skolimowski planned to re-team immediately on " The Barbary Light " based on the Penelope Mortimer novel, but the failure of " King, Queen, Knave " led to its cancellation.

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Connections

Referenced in Interview mit John Moulder-Brown (2017)

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Soundtracks

Voskin
written and performed by Tom Winter Jr.
electronics by Francis Monkman

User Reviews

Amusing Gem of a Forgotten Film

Imagine a wilder, wackier, weirder European take on The Graduate and you get the general idea of the themes underlying this picture. Niven is his usual smooth, urbane self, but Gina is just magnificent: gorgeous to look at, sexy and hilariously funny too! It's pretty clear why this movie is less well known than some of the others its stars appeared in: it's almost the antithesis of a Hollywood blockbuster. There are strange interludes which don't really come off. It's not quite in the class of Harold and Maude, but worthy of comparison in many respects. This is really the kind of film you have to accept on its own level - a diverting caper without that much depth, but no less amusing for all that. It's probably more of a man's film, by which I mean simply that most women may not enjoy it all that much. But I could be wrong! Anyway I hope so, because it IS worth seeing.