Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948)

With the thrones of Great Britain likely to head into Hanoverian hands following the death of the last Stuart queen, Anne, there is quite a bit of jostling going on at the court of the Elector (Frederick Valk). He decides to marry his son “Louis” (Peter Bull) to the young “Sophie” (Joan Greenwood) and with the assistance of his manipulative wife (Françoise Rosay) hopes to take pole position for this plum of an inheritance. Thing is, the newlyweds don’t really get on and after delivering two children, “Louis” spends most of his time carousing and womanising whilst his wife stays at home, dutifully. Meantime, the manipulatrix “Countess Platen” (Flora Robson) excels at pulling the strings and she takes a shine to visiting Swedish Count “Konigsmark”. She’s used to getting her way and he’s no slouch when it comes to ambition, so initially their alliance delivers well for both, but as he sees more of the disillusioned princess, their relationship begins to burgeon to the chagrin of just about everyone else. Meantime, “Louis” plays games with real lives and when that forces “Konigsmark” to make tough choices, things all start to come to an head as the lovers, the schemers and the ambitious face a reckoning. This is one of my favourite roles from a Robson who was so often typecast into supporting roles, but here manages to get her teeth into a one that is part Catherine the Great and part Nell Gwynn. Granger is in his element as the dashing officer caught up in intrigues of his own making and the combination of Bull, Valk and a Rosay doing her own imperious impersonation of Dame Edith Evans works well at illustrating just why the population at large has little time for these tubby, self-indulgent and entitled individuals who cared only about their own political advancement. It looks great with a sumptuousness to the production design and considerable effort has gone into turning Sir Winston Churchill’s birthplace into a German palace. If you like your costume drama packed with characters and double-dealing, then this might do. I enjoyed it.