La Dame de pique (1937)
Directed by Fyodor Otsep

Film Review

Having successfully adapted one classic work of Russian literature, Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Russian born director Fyodor Otsep was well placed to tackle another, Pushkin's short story The Queen of Spades.  With a substantial budget at his disposal, Otsep was able to craft another opulent period piece, one which evokes the grandeur of Imperial Russia but lacks the drama and emotional power of his earlier Dostoevsky adaptation.  This was the fourth film that Otsep made during his stay in France, before his move to America at the outset of WWII, where he failed to make a name for himself in Hollywood before his premature death in 1949.

La Dame de pique is as visually striking as any other film made by Otsep, with elaborate period sets and costumes that can hardly fail to impress.  Armand Thirard's moody cinematography lends a subtle aura of expectant dread to the first half of the film, which is handsomely paid off in the film's dramatic conclusion.  It is in the film's final reel that it finally comes to life, with exaggerated shadows and frenetic editing used to great effect to express the inner turmoil and descent into insanity of the main protagonist as he succumbs to the curse of the woman whose death he caused.

Renowned for playing creepy and comical eccentrics, Marguerite Moreno is an obvious choice for the part of the ancient Countess Tomski and her portrayal of the waspish and sinister old woman is arguably the best thing the film has to offer.  Pierre Blanchar is equally impressive in the latter part of the film (few French actors played insanity as convincingly as he did) but before this he struggles to engage our sympathies and looks too similar to the cold-hearted Raskolnikov he had previously played in Pierre Chenal's Crime et châtiment (1935).  Far more engaging are Madeleine Ozeray and André Luguet, who provide the human feeling that is lacking in Blanchar's zombie-like portrayal.  La Dame de pique is by no means Otsep's best film but it is an admirable rendering of Pushkin's famous story, with an ending that really does chill the blood.

Film Synopsis

Lieutenant Hermann, an engineer officer in the Imperial Russian army, is in love with Lisa, the daughter of the wealthy Countess Tomski, but finds he has a rival in his friend, Captain Iretski.  One day, Tomski's grandson tells Hermann how the countess, nicknamed the Queen of Spades, once lost a fortune and gained another by betting on three cards.  Determined to discover the secret of the winning three cards, Hermann steals into the countess's house one evening and confronts her.  Startled by the officer's presence, the old woman dies suddenly, but as she does so she points to three cards that have fallen to the ground.  At the countess's funeral, Hermann is taunted by the spirit of the dead woman.  In a frenzy, he hastens to the gambling rooms and bets everything he has on the three cards, not knowing that the countess has one more surprise in store for him...