Queen Kelly

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Queen Kelly

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1h 45m

Romance

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12 Reviews

78%

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500+ Ratings

Queen Kelly opens in the imaginary European country of Cobourg-Nassau, sometime before the first World War, where the vain and cruel Queen Regina V (Seena Owen) obsesses over her feckless fiancé (Walter Byron), Prince "Wild" Wolfram. When the dissolute prince encounters an innocent but flirtatious convent girl, Patricia Kelly (Gloria Swanson), he falls in love. Desperate to see her before his upcoming wedding to the Queen, he kidnaps Kelly and brings her to his rooms in the palace. When the Queen discovers the lovers, she whips the nightgowned girl and throws her out into the night. After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, Kelly returns to the convent, where she receives a telegram, summoning her to the bedside of her dying aunt (Florence Gibson) in Dar-es-Salaam, German East Africa. There, the innocent young girl is shocked to find herself in a seedy bordello. On her deathbed, Kelly's aunt begs her niece to wed the syphilitic brothel owner, Jan (Tully Marshall).

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Nicolas Rapold

New York Times

Jan 15

A wild stew of the sacred and profane follows (aided by a game supporting cast).

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Ethan Padgett

Film Threat

Jan 16

9.5/10

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.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Jan 16

4/5

…the first half of what would have been a silent movie up there with Metropolis, Greed or Sunrise. Even half a von Stroheim movie is bigger and better than what most big name directors produce over a career…a blast from a verboten, opulent past…

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Lee Jutton

Film Inquiry

Jan 13

Watching it fills me with sadness for what we lost when Swanson suddenly stopped production; nonetheless, some Queen Kelly is better than no Queen Kelly.

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Jacob Mauceri

InSession Film

Oct 13

B

Queen Kelly is a masterpiece that was deprived of its ability to grow.

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Sarah Manvel

In Their Own League

Sep 29

The final three reels are summed up with intertitles, appropriately similar footage shot in the late 1920s and the occasional publicity still.... But what remains is so fascinating that any student of cinema needs to see this immediately.

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Thomas M

@TMProofreader 02/02/2019

The best romance movie ever made!

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10/11/2015

how this mess ever got made who knows this was the end of Swanson's career.

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06/13/2012

Damn you, Joe Kennedy!

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03/21/2012

Von Stroheim's final film was never completed, but what we have here is still impressive, cementing his status as one of the great early directors.

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01/26/2012

Unfortunately, the abridged version of Queen Kelly isn't as good as what Stroheim must have had in his mind. The first hour was great but then the story comes at a complete halt and it's completely butchered until the end.

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12/20/2011

Fun silent film from von Stroheim

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Erich von Stroheim

Director

Gloria Swanson

Kitty Kelly

Walter Byron

Prince Wolfram

Seena Owen

Queen Regina V

Tully Marshall

Jan Vryheid

Madame Sul-Te-Wan

Kali Sana

Queen Kelly: Re-Release Trailer

1:31

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Synopsis

Queen Kelly opens in the imaginary European country of Cobourg-Nassau, sometime before the first World War, where the vain and cruel Queen Regina V (Seena Owen) obsesses over her feckless fiancé (Walter Byron), Prince "Wild" Wolfram. When the dissolute prince encounters an innocent but flirtatious convent girl, Patricia Kelly (Gloria Swanson), he falls in love. Desperate to see her before his upcoming wedding to the Queen, he kidnaps Kelly and brings her to his rooms in the palace. When the Queen discovers the lovers, she whips the nightgowned girl and throws her out into the night. After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, Kelly returns to the convent, where she receives a telegram, summoning her to the bedside of her dying aunt (Florence Gibson) in Dar-es-Salaam, German East Africa. There, the innocent young girl is shocked to find herself in a seedy bordello. On her deathbed, Kelly's aunt begs her niece to wed the syphilitic brothel owner, Jan (Tully Marshall).

Director: Erich von Stroheim
Producer: Joseph P. Kennedy, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim
Production Co: Gloria Swanson Pictures
Genre: Romance
Release Date (Theaters): May 8, 1967, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jan 16, 2026
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 14, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $19.9K
Runtime: 1h 45m
Aspect Ratio: Academy (1.33:1)