The Rise of Catherine the Great

...from producer Alexander Korda and director Paul Czinner. Elisabeth Bergner stars as the naive young German princess who is arranged to marry Peter II (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), the heir to the Russian throne. Peter is a moody, petulant brat, long suffering the animosity of the reigning Empress Elisabeth (Flora Robson). While it appears that Catherine and Peter may just be what the other needed, soon Peter's attentions wander, and Catherine sets out to gain the throne for herself.

It was interesting comparing this to the same year's The Scarlet Empress, which I just rewatched recently. That film is far superior, one of the best of the year, but this one isn't bad, either. The biggest weakness of this version is Bergner, a very peculiar actress in both look and demeanor. She was a major star of the Austrian and German stage world, and she moved to London to escape the Nazis. She had high profile roles in this, Escape Me Never (1935) which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, and the Shakespeare adaptation As You Like It in 1936, opposite a young Olivier. She fades in the shadow of Marlene Dietrich in the role, and Bergner fails to convincingly imbue her with the strength needed for the later scenes.

The largest difference between the two is the depiction of Peter. In The Scarlet Empress, he's played by Sam Jaffe as a jabbering man-child barely able to operate in the civilized world. Conversely, Fairbanks plays him as a spoiled rich kid, but one with shades of maturity trying to break out, and he also adds a romantic attraction that Jaffe couldn't on his best day. The great Flora Robson is a treat here, just as spoiled and temperamental as her nephew, and she gives the equally revered Louise Dresser in the other film some stiff competition for who played it best. This version features very good costume and set work, but again, the sets can't match the grotesqueries in the other film nor that film's exquisite cinematography.

Alexander Korda produced this lavish film, "The Rise of Catherine the Great," starring Elizabeth Bergner, Flora Robson, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. It's the story, not wholly accurate but still interesting, of, as the title suggests, Catherine the Great's (Bergner)ascension to the throne as it was wrested from her crazy husband Peter (Fairbanks). Though in the film this all seems to happen somewhat quickly, Catherine and Peter were married for 17 years and had children before the Empress Elizabeth dies and Peter becomes tsar.

In the film, Peter cheats on Catherine on their wedding night, and she pretends to take many lovers. This makes him jealous, and the two reconcile. However, after the Empress Elizabeth dies, the decisions that he makes as tsar on behalf of Mother Russia are outrageous, and Catherine is encouraged to go along with a coup.

Wide-eyed, girlish Bergner is Catherine. Bergner was a noted stage actress in Europe who unfortunately never caught on in Hollywood; nevertheless, she worked in Europe until she was 87 years old. Supposedly an incident in her life was the inspiration for "All About Eve." Tiny, she nevertheless had authority as an actress, with line readings that were at times reminiscent of Garbo. She is a good Catherine. The showier roles were those of the Empress Elizabeth and Grand Duke Peter. Flora Robson is a wonderful Empress Elizabeth, and Fairbanks, always an underrated actor, is brilliant as the volatile, mad Duke.

Worth seeing for the performances.

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.

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.