Kino Lorber and Milestone Film ring in the new year with this phenomenal restoration of Erich von Stroheim’s Queen Kelly. This film was famously featured in Sunset Boulevard, the critically acclaimed work from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Before the film begins, we read a prologue explaining its dramatic production history and restoration process. This romantic drama displays the beauty, passion, and gravitas of silent cinema.
Our story is set in the fictional European country, Cobourg-Nassau, before World War I. Queen Regina V (Seena Owen) is the last of her breed, a crazed monarch with an erotic lust for her fiancé, Prince “Wild” Wolfran (Walter Byron). But Wolfran does not love her, and his life changes the day before their wedding. While he and the royal troop are taking a stroll, Wolfran falls for a young woman in a convent orphanage, Patricia Kelly (Gloria Swanson). Patricia is no shrinking violet! Their meet-cute oozes with heat as he notices her charms. Later that evening, Patricia is punished by the nuns for her flirtatious behavior.
Wolfran cannot stop thinking about her, and he decides to see her again by sneaking into the convent. At the convent, he creates a fake fire and pulls the fire alarm. He quickly retrieves her during the chaos. Once he brings her back to the palace, they fall in love. Regina catches them, and she punishes Patricia by whipping her. After being traumatized by the Queen’s psychotic behavior, she tries to commit suicide. Her life turns for the worse when she is sent to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, to stay with her ill aunt (Florence Gibson). Patricia must live in the bordello and marry its slimy owner, Jan (Tully Marshall).
Restored by Milestone Films in collaboration with the George Eastman Museum at Metropolis Post, NYC.
“Queen Regina V is the last of her breed, a crazed monarch with an erotic lust for her fiancé, Prince ‘Wild’ Wolfran. But Wolfran does not love her…”
Dennis Doros, the founder of Milestone Film, did an incredible job with this restoration. Harold Miles’s lush art direction looks magnificent in 4K. Paul Ivano and Gordon Pollock’s soft lighting sparkles, revealing the versatility of Swanson’s dynamic performance as the titular character. The immaculate set design captures Erich von Stroheim’s sensual and sardonic visual style. Pay attention to clever details, such as Queen Regina’s bed lined with Cupid sculptures. Marion Ainslee’s intertitles have a witty bite and foreshadow innuendo seen in Pre-Code films of the early 30s. In many ways, Queen Kelly feels like an extension of von Stroheim’s other classic, Foolish Wives. It shares thematic elements, like carnal lust, royalty’s weak nature, and despair of failing one’s desires. These creative aspects reveal why von Stroheim did not gel with the traditional Hollywood studio system.
The performances are fantastic. Walter Byron excels as the charismatic Prince Wolfran. To some classic film viewers, Byron’s acting style may seem reminiscent of Maurice Chevalier and John Barrymore’s mannerisms. Seena Owen carries the film’s first half with her memorable performance of Queen Regina. While I have not seen all of Swanson’s vast filmography, this is one of her best performances. She was a natural; her best scenes are with Byron and in the baroque third act. Max Rée’s costumes accentuate her distinct angular features.
Queen Kelly is an impressive release by Milestone and Kino Lorber. Milestone is a strong brand in the world of film history, whether it’s their Blu-Ray, Made in Fort Lee: Films from Fort Lee, or Cari Beauchamp’s documentary, Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and The Power of Women in Hollywood. It was great to finally watch this film after hearing about it on the Nitrateville podcast. I’m also thrilled to see Doros’s upcoming restorations of Swanson’s other films. Seeing von Stroheim’s unfinished film get its chance in the limelight is amazing. Please check out this captivating and wonderfully absurd drama from the last days of the silent era.
"…impressive"
