A Dream Of Kings

1969, Movie, R, 109 mins

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Five years after ZORBA THE GREEK, Quinn was still doing one version of the role or another. In this film, he plays a Chicago Greek who lives from hand to mouth, losing the little money that he makes in marathon poker games. His wife, Papas, is a shrew, and Quinn is resigned to an uhappy life with her for the sake of their son, Pera. Quinn's easy-going attitude is shattered when he discovers that Pera is dying of an unnamed disease. Quinn is convinced that what the boy needs to get well is the sun of Greece. Meanwhile, Quinn is having an affair with Stevens, a local widow who owns a successful bakery. At church, Pera has an attack of whatever it is he's suffering from and Quinn knows that he must get the boy away from the cold of Chicago and into the warmth of his native land. Levene, Quinn's best friend, offers him money for the air fare. But the next day, before Levene can withdraw the money from the bank, he dies of a heart attack. Quinn approaches Stevens for the cash, but she refuses him. Desperate, Quinn loads some dice and gets into a game of craps. The loaded dice are soon discovered and he allows himself to be beaten brutally by Haggerty, in penance for what Quinn knew all along was the wrong thing to do. Finally, Papas steals the necessary money from her mother's life savings. Well-directed and -acted, A DREAM OF KINGS suffers from its characters' lack of depth. Stevens is excellent as the widow in her final screen appearance before committing suicide. leave a comment
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A Dream Of Kings
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