Something special here. British director Thorold Dickinson, with just a baker’s dozen feature credits (mid-‘30s to mid-’50s), retains his rep from a 1940 version of GASLIGHT, retitled ANGEL STREET when M-G-M made their 1944 prestige item (George Cukor; Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Angela Lansbury). But he really ought to be acclaimed for this gorgeous Pushkin adaptation which gets loads of Russian atmosphere from its Continental cast and super sophisticated tech lineup: composer Georges Auric, cinematographer Otto Heller, and most especially extraordinary settings from stage designer Oliver Messel. Anton Walbrook is unforgettable as a junior officer drawn to the ‘Faro’ gambling dens, but unwilling to play till he discovers the secret of winning from an aging Countess, nearly taking down her ward and the titled officer he plays against. The film feels closer in spirit to Dostoevsky than Pushkin (or at least to the story as known from the Tchaikovsky opera), generally far closer to a Russian outlook than other English-language filmmakers got to the great Russian novels. Or as here, novella. (Maybe that’s part of its success, since Dickinson can expand rather than contract from his source material.) Edith Evans is perfectly terrifying, alive or dead, as the old Countess, while stage actress Yvonne Mitchell scores in her debut as the young ward who realizes too late that Walbrook’s interest isn’t in her. But be aware, the film charts an unusual path, and you may only fully succumb upon repeated viewings, which are highly recommended.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: The recent restoration from Studio Canal (out on KINO) is essential here. Beware of dupe prints.
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