Queen Kelly

Play trailer

1:31

Queen Kelly

In Theaters Jan 16

1h 45m

Romance

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

9 Reviews

78%

Popcornmeter

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).

Coming Soon

In Theaters Jan 16

Reserve Tickets

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

Lee Jutton

Film Inquiry

14h

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.

Go to Full Review

Jacob Mauceri

InSession Film

Oct 13

B

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

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

Donald J. Levit

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

02/03/2012

A compelling curiosity deserving recognition beyond trivia value as the 'Sunset Boulevard' clip projected by Gloria Swanson's faded Norma Desmond.

Go to Full Review

Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

03/02/2008

4/5

Gloria Swanson in one of her more famous roles, directed by Von Stroheim.

Go to Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

07/05/2006

B

Only stands as an incomplete work that represents what might have been great if so much of it wasn't missing.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Thomas M

@TMProofreader 02/02/2019

The best romance movie ever made!

See more

10/11/2015

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

See more

06/13/2012

Damn you, Joe Kennedy!

See more

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.

See more

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.

See more

12/20/2011

Fun silent film from von Stroheim

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Queen Kelly: Re-Release Trailer

1:31

View more videos

View more photos

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
Runtime: 1h 45m
Aspect Ratio: Academy (1.33:1)