Saturday, September 3, 2011

The Abdication (1974)


Warner Bros.
Directed by Anthony Harvey
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Brooding account of Swedish Queen Christina's revocation of her throne and embrace of Catholicism, based on the play by Ruth Wolff. Like so many adaptations, it never completely escapes its stage origins. Set mostly in the walls of the Vatican, where the former queen is being interviewed by a cardinal played by Peter Finch. At question is the sincerity of her conversion. In flashbacks, we learn of the tortured past of the poor queen, mostly a sordid tale of sexual frustration. She transfers her affections to the cardinal, who admirably resists.

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