Yvonne Mitchell told me that the screenwriter, Rodney Ackland, directed the first three weeks of shooting and that his work included the discovery of the secret passageway scene. Fortunately, Ackland's footage melts into Thorold Dickinson's seamlessly. In fact, I noted in a late 1950's review that this adaptation of Alexander Pushkin's short story was "brilliantly directed by Thorold Dickinson" and produced on a lavish scale. But the narrative does tend to sag badly in the middle and the interesting story of the old countess's supposed witchcraft is not developed as well as it might have been. Fortunately, the players all acquit themselves well, particularly Dame Edith Evans (in her first screen role, according to the movie's publicist). I do have one important reservation, however: Not even a single member of the English players make even the slightest attempt at a foreign accent. It's a bit disconcerting to find Anton Walbrook surrounded by all these very British voices in an allegedly Russian setting – and most especially such an atmospherically opulent setting as was here designed by Oliver Messell.
Review of The Queen of Spades
