Katharina die Große

The drama and characters in this movie about "Catherine the Great" are generally pretty good, although often non-historical, and the atmosphere is often quite good. The settings and many of the details were crafted with care, and apparently with ample resources available.

Elisabeth Bergner often gives distinctive, sometimes unusual portrayals of her characters, and this is no exception. Yet Catherine was such a complex figure that it's almost a moot point as to how accurate Bergner's portrayal may be, especially since the story here is mostly concerned about her younger days, before she became Empress. Bergner definitely makes Catherine interesting and worth caring about.

The story itself is interesting, and though it should not be viewed as accurate history, as a movie it works well enough, and sometimes it works quite well. As Peter, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. gives his character a nature that is probably quite different from the historical Peter, but in itself it is a believable and effective portrayal.

The story of the ongoing intrigues involving Peter, Catherine, Elizabeth (a well-cast Flora Robson), and others, has some good moments. The historical situation was complicated, and it lends itself easily to a movie adaptation. The settings work well in conveying both the historical period and also the atmosphere of plots and counter-plots. The movie as a whole was overshadowed, even in its own time, by other features on the same subject, but it is still a good effort that is worth watching.

Some actors just emit a sort of magnetism through the camera - and Douglas Fairbanks Jr (Grand Duke Peter) does it in spades in this rather prosaic depiction of the early life of Catherine II of Russia. When Princess Sophie (Elisabeth Bergner) is chosen to marry the young Grand Duke by his aunt, Empress Elisabeth (Flora Robson) and the Kaiser, she arrives in a court where it isn't just the weather that is ice cold. Their relationship develops, in fits and starts, as she decides she is not going to simply be his trophy bride. Bergner depicts the young woman well, combining the personas of naive flightiness soon tempered by a steeliness of character. There is a strong, lively, performance from Robson as the Empress with her own coterie of lovers and a rather fun contribution from Gibb McLaughlin as Bestujhev. Overall, however, the film lacks the intrigue and the chemistry of Von Sternberg's "The Scarlet Empress" - It is a little dry; but the dark cinematography lends much to the integrity of the depiction of 18th Century Russian court life and the narrative does engender some sympathy for the young woman who was in no way equipped for what destiny had in store for her.

The alternative title "The Rise of Catherine the Great" is much more accurate since the picture ends with her getting the throne.

The costumes and sets are Grade A Hollywood (compliment).

Flora Robson (Empress Elisabeth) has the best lines and delivers them impressively. Elisabeth Bergner (Catherine) does well in her scenes with the Empress. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (Grand Duke Peter) seems out of his depth.

Alexander Korda took the audience back to 18th century Russia to offer his account of a timorous, quaking German teenager, who rose to become one of the most powerful, consequential monarchs in world history. He did this a mere 14 years after American women gained their suffrage with passage of the 19th Amendment. Elizabeth Bergner does a fine job in the title role of someone raised since childhood to marry Grand Duke Peter (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), as directed by his childless aunt, Empress Elizabeth (Flora Robson). The sets and costumes are impressive as is the brisk 94 minute account, which may inspire further research.

Yet more intrigue from the court of imperial Russia, which (at least according to movie history) must have functioned entirely on plots, counter-plots, rumors, gossip and scandal. Produced in England by the celebrated Alexander Korda, this handsome spectacle stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (less dynamic but a better actor than his father) as the petulant heir to the royal throne who marries the petite German princess Catherine more or less against his will. Favored by the Queen Mother and beloved by her subjects, the sensible and modest Catherine has only one flaw in her character: an unquenchable love for her power-mad, playboy husband. Their bittersweet love/hate rivalry must have seemed quite sophisticated to a 1934 audience, and seen today the film still possesses a freshness rarely seen in early sound productions, thanks in large part to a quality script and some lively, natural performances.