The unfortunate principessa Tarakanova was a pretender to the Russian throne. Catherine the Second sent count Alexis Orlov to take her back as a prisoner ;he seduced her and lured her into a Russian boat (1775);she was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul fortress where she died of tuberculosis in December.
This is the best version of the unfortunate would be
Catherine the Second's rival ; made by a great director , Raymond Bernard,whose silent works were sometimes remade as weaker talkies (see also "le miracle des loups" "le joueur d'échecs");Bernard made the best version of "les miserables" which ever was and his "croix de bois" compares favorably with Kubrick's "paths of glory" ; his forte was also the melodrama , often the costume melodrama such works as "le jugement de Dieu" "cavalcades " , "adieu chérie" ,and his remake of the tear-jerker " le coupable ".
Although based on historical facts , the first version of "Tarakanova" takes a lot of liberties with history and Bernard produces what he does best: "costume melodrama",and with an unexpected twist at that !
The screenplay is much more developed than in the talkie and begins in a convent ,then moves to a band of gypsies,before going to Italy (not Venice ,like in the remake,so no carnival!) .
Orlov's trap on the fatal ship climaxes the movie and Bernard uses the sound of the guns and of the clamors with stunning results :the heroine daydreams and does believe she triumphantly returns to her dear Russia where she is crowned and married her abductor (who of course had fallen in love with her) ; these make-believe scenes come back again when she's given away to the ruthless empress ; the film comes full circle and ends where it has begun : hence a different conclusion than in the remake (and in real life!!)
Though too unsung,Raymond Bernard's movies need reassessment.
