Themes: Rise To Power, Political Unrest, Crowned Heads
Main Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Elisabeth Bergner, Flora Robson, Gerald du Maurier, Irene Vanbrugh, Diana Napier
Release Year: 1934
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 88 minutes
Plot
This historical drama recounts the events that led up to the rule of Russia's 18th-century Catherine the Great. Arriving from Germany as a young woman who is to wed Grand Duke Peter, she soon becomes caught up in the court intrigue and marries the lit-fuse duke. As the Grand Duke's mother lays dying, she relates her fears about her son's mental states, leaving Catherine to contend with his irrational and cruel behavior. When he goes too far with his antics, he is overthrown and put to death, though not by her wishes. Soon, however, Catherine is made the new Czaritza and restores order to her country. Elisabeth Bergner stars with Douglas Fairbanks in this British production. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
Review
As biopic, Catherine the Great is uneven and certainly plays loose with the truth (and certainly with the legend) surrounding one of Russia's most famous imperial rulers. Excusing the empress' supposed sexual insatiability by claiming it was all part of a plan to make her wandering husband jealous is but one of the liberties the screenwriters have taken with history (as is telescoping the time between Catherine and Peter's marriage and her assumption of the throne from seventeen years to two or three), but this wouldn't matter so much if the script had a dramatic life and vibrancy. Unfortunately, much of it is disjointed, with sections where it feels as if whole scenes have been cut. Catherine's transformation from shy waif to a towering ruler is totally missing, making the sudden appearance of a woman who wears military clothing and jokes and flirts with her soldiers seem odd, to say the least. Fortunately, Catherine has a trio of fascinating performers to help smooth over these bumps. Elizabeth Bergner, all saucer eyes and seemingly fragile as a bird, perfectly captures the young Catherine's vulnerability. More impressively, she is entirely believable as Catherine the supremely powerful ruler, summoning forth stores of anger and strength that one would not expect could come from such a small figure. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. has less to work with, but he handles the character's madness with aplomb, and Flora Robson is a delight as the elder empress, leavening her regal bearing with a sneer and a love of the commonplace. Though Paul Czinner cannot pull the disparate threads of the screenplay together, he handles the actors well and has a fair visual flair (helped immensely by the lavish sets and cos ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
John Armstrong - Costume Designer, Paul Czinner - Director, Stephen Harrison - Editor, Harold Young - Editor, Ernst Toch - Composer (Music Score), Muir Mathieson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Robert Lapresle - Camera Operator, Vincent Korda - Production Designer, Georges Périnal - Cinematographer, David B. Cunyngehame - Production Manager, Alexander Korda - Producer, A.W. Watkins - Sound/Sound Designer, Marjorie Deans - Screenwriter, Arthur Wimperis - Screenwriter, Lajos Biró - Play Author, Melchior Lengyel - Play Author
This historical drama recounts the events that led the accession of Catherine the Great, Empress of all the Russias. The film opens with the arrival of Princess Sophie Auguste Frederika – whose name would be changed to ‘Catherine’ – from her father’s court of Anhalt-Zerbst (in modern Germany) to the court of the Empress Elizabeth. “Little Catherine” is to marry the Grand Duke Peter, nephew and heir apparent of the unmarried and childless Empress Elizabeth.
Peter already displays signs of mental instability and a sharply misogynist streak. He rejects Catherine on their wedding night, reacting to something innocently said by his French valet, claiming that she used feminine tricks to win him over. In time though, Peter accepts her and they have a happy marriage for a while. Meanwhile, Catherine gains important experience of government from working as principal aide to the empress.
The empress dies and Peter becomes tsar, but his mental illness is starting to get the better of him, along with sheer boredom in the job. Catherine still loves him despite beginning a very public love affair with one of her best friends – until one night when Peter goes one step too far in publicly humiliating his wife. She ceases to love him, which enables her to be clear-headed in supporting a planned coup d’état. The following morning, he is arrested and Catherine is made Empress of All the Russias.
The elevation is marred by Peter’s murder that very morning, contrary to Catherine’s command. Grigory Orlov explains that everything has a price, and the crown has the highest price at all. The film ends, with Catherine in tears on her throne, while the cheers of the crowds are heard outside.
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1920s
A 111-es ·The Prince and the Pauper ·Herren der Meere ·Die Tragödie eines verschollenen Fürstensohnes ·Samson and Delilah ·Das unbekannte Morgen ·Jedermanns Frau ·Tragödie im Hause Habsburg ·Dance Fever ·Madame Doesn't Want Children ·A Modern Dubarry ·The Stolen Bride ·The Private Life of Helen of Troy ·Yellow Lily ·Night Watch ·Love and the Devil ·The Squall ·Her Private Life
