King, Queen, Knave * (1972, Gina Lollobrigida, David Niven and John Moulder-Brown) – Classic Movie Review 12,269

Director Jerzy Skolimowski’s 1972 West German comedy film King, Queen, Knave is based on Vladimir Nabokov’s 1968 novel, and stars Gina Lollobrigida, David Niven and John Moulder-Brown.

King, Queen, Knave retells Vladimir Nabokov’s story of a clumsy but cute orphaned British teenage boy (John Moulder-Brown), asked over to Germany for a long-term stay with his rich adoptive uncle (David Niven). The teenager promptly falls for his seductive Italian aunt (Gina Lollobrigida), but she has plans for the kid to murder her husband so that she can inherit all his wealth.

This enticing black comedy story gets a disappointingly flat telling here, with unsympathetic, clumsy handling by Skolimowski and generally maladroit acting in underwritten roles. It is undoubtedly darkly comic and it retains the core of the novel, but it fails really to spark into life and engage the viewer. The production and cinematography are first rate, though, and the three appealing stars could have made a really convincing thing out of it with a better screenplay.

Also in the cast are Mario Adorf, Carl Duering [Carl Fox-Duering], Chris Sandford [Christopher Sandford], Barbara Valentin, and Erica Beer.

It was released on 8 June 1972 but was not released in the US until 1978.

Producer David Wolper had bought the screen rights to Nabokov’s novel on its 1968 publication and hired Skolimowski to direct the film in 1971, shooting at the Bavaria Studios in Munich, West Germany, and on location in London.

The cast are Gina Lollobrigida as Martha Dreyer, David Niven as Charles Dreyer, John Moulder Brown as Frank, Mario Adorf as Professor Ritter, Carl Duering [Carl Fox-Duering] as Enricht, Barbara Valentin as Optician, Sonia Hofmann as Sonia, Erica Beer as Frieda, Elma Karlowa as Hanna, Mogens von Gadow as Piffke, Felicitas Peters as Ida, Chris Sandford [Christopher Sandford] as Hofmann, and Christine Schuberth as Isolda.

Gina Lollobrigida (born Luigia Lollobrigida; 4 July 1927).

John Moulder-Brown (born 3 June 1953) is known for the films Deep End, First Love, Ludwig and The House That Screamed. He founded The Academy of Creative Training drama school in Brighton, Sussex, in 1997.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,269

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