A rarity: King Queen Knave, 1972

I did a piece some months ago on Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski, and the impossibility of seeing his earlier films now.

Since then DEEP END from 1970 has been rescued by the BFI and there is now a 3 disk dvd (as per previous post on it), and I have finally got my hands on a copy of his 1972 KING QUEEN KNAVE, another quirky oddity. Given that it stars David Niven and Gina Lollobrigida with again John Moulder-Brown, its surprising that it was shown so little at the time and hardly since then. It is a very black comedy from the Nabokov novel and features Brown as the orphaned teenager who has to go and stay with his uncle and his attractive wife Martha (Lollo). Before too long of course the teenager has erotic fantasies about his glamorous aunt, there is that hilarious seduction scene and it seems the aunt has a plan of her own to get rid of her husband ....




Brown as the clumsy, short-sighted teen, wearing thick spectacles, is very funny here and Gina is as ever, sensational. Good to finally catch it, now where is THE ADVENTURES OF GERARD? Jerzy's new one ESSENTIAL KILLING is just out on dvd too, one to investigate.

Next rarity: Visconti's THE STRANGER, from the Camus novel, from 1967 with Marcello Mastroianni and Anna Karina.

Back to DEEP END, 1970

I wrote here a while back on Skolimowski's DEEP END and the impossibility of seeing his other films. We now have a new BFI release of DEEP END, on their Flipside label (featuring British rarities of the 60s and 70s) and are now spoiled for choice: its a 3-disk issue with the ordindary film, the Blu-Ray and an extra disk of extras including a new interview with Jane Asher and John Moulder-Brown - both of whom obviously have mouldering (!) portraits in their attics.

I have admired Jane for decades ever since THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH and others, whereas the more mysterious Moulder-Brown (his IMDB page does not have very much on him) seems to have been low key since those films like Visconti's LUDWIG or Schell's FIRST LOVE. Here they are looking terrific, as is the film in a sparking new print. Jane's apricot hair and that yellow mac are such an ideal colour combination with that dolly bird dress and boots are perfect for the period in that run-down baths ... Nice to see two artists being proud of their work which they did back then, and it getting a new lease of life now.

Jerzy Skolimowski's fascinating movies

Above: Gina Lollobrigida and (presumably) John Moulder-Brown in KING QUEEN KNAVE (from a novel by Nabokov), 1972.
Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski, now in his '70s and still-making movies also writes, paints, presides over Film Festivals and is certainly highly-regarded and attracts quality casts - but somehow his films are practically impossible to see! There was, finally, a recent dvd issue of his 1970 oddity DEEP END, but KING QUEEN KNAVE in '72 seems impossible to see now and I think it barely surfaced in London, despite its stars David Niven, Gina Lollobrigida (looking sensational) and John Moulder-Brown again, who was the lead in DEEP END, set in that East London swimming pool where tease Jane Asher works, he is the new attendant who becomes fascinated by her, and Diana Dors in her blowsy era is also on hand looking for satisfaction!



Jerzy began in the Polish cinema of the early '60s, scripting Polanski's highly-regarded debut KNIFE IN THE WATER - one of his early films as director is the 1967 THE DEPARTURE with Jean-Pierre Leaud which was popular at the time. THE ADVENTURES OF GERARD though in 1970 was tossed away as a dubbed supporting-feature, which I did see at the time, with Peter McEnery as the hussar of Conan Doyle's stories, with Claudia Cardinale, Eli Wallach and Jack Hawkins. THE SHOUT in 1976 was regarded as an oddity and little-seen too, despite the presence of Alan Bates, Susannah York and John Hurt - as I said, top quality casts! MOONLIGHTING with Jeremy Irons about Polish workers stranded in then early-80s London was premiered on the BBC here, and the 1984 SUCCESS IS THE BEST REVENGE with Michael York and Anouk Aimee (reunited from JUSTINE!) was only ever shown once here on the BBC2 channel!



Skolimowski now though has a new film, which has been getting some attention, so hopefully we may get to see it in London before too long - ESSENTIAL KILLING, about a Taliban member who lives in Afghanistan is taken captive by the Americans after killing three American soldiers. He is transferred to Europe for interrogation but manages to escape from his captors and becomes an escaped convict on a continent he does not know. Topical stuff! with Vincent Gallo and Emanuelle Seigner.

John Moulder-Brown is one of those fascinating actors one knows nothing about - even his IMDB page is blank - but he keeps working, now in his 50s. When he was young and pretty, apart from the two Skolimowski titles above, Visconti cast him as Prince Otto in the monumental LUDWIG, 1972, and Maximilian Schell cast him as the lead in his 1970 version of Turgenev's FIRST LOVE which was a nice period piece I caught at a film festival screening, with Dominique Sanda and writer John Osbourne!

DEEP END is now being re-released in selected cinemas (here in the UK) from May 6 and a new dual-format dvd is out in July from the BFI. Interesting comments on it in this weekend's papers by Jane Asher and John Moulder-Brown (now 57). It will be good to see a good print of it again - Now for those other titles like KING QUEEN KNAVE and GERARD!