The Queen of Spades (1949)

Herman (Anton Walbrook), a 19th century Russian army captain, has ambitions of greatness. He discovers that an elderly countess had sold her soul to learn the secret to win at card games, so he plots to learn her secret.

Recommended by a youtube channel, I found it streaming and gave it a watch. He liked it better than me. Walbrook’s performance was great, but the slow burn made it something of an endurance test.

Pretty Yvonne Mitchell plays a would-be love interest. She had a fairly successful career in film. Married to film critic Derek Monsey, they would divorce, then remarry in 1978 only for him to die the following year. One month later, Yvonne herself would die of cancer. And so it goes. The elderly countess would outlive both her and Walbrook.

A bit slow as I mentioned, but The Queen of Spades has great atmosphere and cinematography, excellent performances, features some unique storytelling, and they totally stick the landing. It’s not for everyone, and I don’t think I would rush to rewatch it, but I am glad I saw it. AMRU 3.5.