The Queen of Spades (1916 film)

The Queen of Spades
Directed byYakov Protazanov
Written byAleksandr Pushkin
Yakov Protazanov
Fedor Ozep
Produced byJoseph N. Ermolieff
StarringIvan Mosjoukine
CinematographyYevgeni Slavinsky
Music byRafal Rozmus
Release dates
  • 1 April 1916 (1916-04-01) (Russian Empire)
  • 18 November 1917 (1917-11-18) (U.S.)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryRussian Empire
LanguagesSilent film
Russian intertitles

The Queen of Spades (Russian: «Пиковая дама», romanizedPikovaya dama) is a 1916 film adaptation of the 1834 Aleksandr Pushkin short story of the same name. It is noted for its high production values, directorial technique and psychological depth of acting, especially by Ivan Mosjoukine. It is considered to be one of the best pre-revolutionary Russian films.

The film was the second production of the story, the first being the silent short film adaptation of the Pyotr Tchaikovsky opera by Pyotr Chardynin in 1910. Yakov Protazanov uses a wide combination of narrative, staging and camera techniques, many of which were unusual for that time, including retrospection, visions (prototypes of the stream of consciousness), split screen combination shots, flashbacks, jump cuts, deep focus and deep staging, and dissolves.