Pique Dame

If you can get hold of a copy of this film - do so!

The plot centers around a card game in which certain cards are said to be lucky. However, a certain countess is said to have made a pact with the underworld in order to know the secrets of the cards. This dreadful woman keeps her servants and paid companions in constant fear and spends her every day complaining about every single thing. What she does not reveal however is her mortal fear of death.

There is a young soldier who would love to get the secrets of the cards from her and agrees to take the sins of her soul upon his in exchange for the knowledge - which does him no good.

Photography and suspense is superb from filmmakers who knew their craft. A must see.

Although marred by an unlikely happy end -probably imposed by the producers - and a weak leading actress (Madeleine Ozeray whose little girl's voice is a bit irritating) ,"La Dame De Pique" ,which got unanimous thumbs down from French critics -not even one star on the "Guide Des Films"- is a real tour de force of acting (Pierre Blanchar and Marguerite Moreno) and directing ( Fedor Ozep) It was a time when Russian stories were very popular in France.Most of these flicks ("Les Nuits Blanches de Saint Petersburg" ,Jean Dreville,"La Citadelle du Silence" Lherbier same year ")were failure when it came to render a Russian atmosphere.This is the reason why I do not go much for Renoir' s "Les Bas Fonds"(1936) either.

Fedor Ozep ,who was Russian ,had no problem with that.Pierre Blanchar ,who was blamed for overacting ,was the ideal actor though.Chenal's "Crime Et Chatiment" did belong to him.His eyes who "must be seeing things" (and they do in a way ) literally haunts the viewer.His face ,just before the mushy final which spoils this scene,makes me think of Anthony Perkins' in "Psycho".Few French actors could express madness as he did.

Marguerine Moreno is as always admirable;she's so convincing that even the detractors of the movie praise her performance.She portrays a woman of another age ,who knew Voltaire,Marie-Antoinette and the Count of Cagliostro who confided the secrets of the three cards to her.

Greatest moment: the funeral of the countess during which the chorus seems to sing "Trois Sept As " the three magic cards,then the careered out of control coach.

Remake by Leonard Keigel in 1961 starring Dita Parlo.