(Pikovaya dama, Yakov Protazanov, Russia 1916, 68 min., 35mm)
Mary, Queen of Tots
(Robert F. McGowan, US 1925, 20 min., 35mm)
Queen of Spades
(Pikovaya dama, Yakov Protazanov, Russia 1916, 68 min., 35mm)
Protazonov’s pre-revolutionary film is based on Aleksandr Pushkin’s short story of the same title. A young man (Ivan Mosjoukine) who is hesitant to gamble for fear that he will lose hears a story about an old noblewoman with a secret to quick gambling success and wealth. He seduces the woman’s ward to get close to her and discover her secret. Ghosts and visions come into play as he pursues his ill-gotten gains. Preceded by Mary, Queen of Tots, an Our Gang comedy in which young Mary dreams of her beloved dolls, thrown out by her governess, each one modeled after a member of the Gang.