L'Impératrice rouge

Original title: The Scarlet Empress

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

7.5K

YOUR RATING

Marlene Dietrich, Sam Jaffe, and John Lodge in L'Impératrice rouge (1934)

A German noblewoman enters into a loveless marriage with the dim-witted, unstable heir to the Russian throne, then plots to oust him from power.

Play trailer2:18

1 Video

48 Photos

Period Drama Drama History Romance War

A German noblewoman enters into a loveless marriage with the dim-witted, unstable heir to the Russian throne, then plots to oust him from power.A German noblewoman enters into a loveless marriage with the dim-witted, unstable heir to the Russian throne, then plots to oust him from power.A German noblewoman enters into a loveless marriage with the dim-witted, unstable heir to the Russian throne, then plots to oust him from power.

Director
- Josef von Sternberg
Writers
- Manuel Komroff
- Eleanor McGeary
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

7.5K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Josef von Sternberg
Writers
- Manuel Komroff
- Eleanor McGeary
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win total

User reviews64

Featured review

One more reason the Golden Age of Hollywood was golden...

Truly one of the greatest films ever made (see the International Film Critics' Top 100 Films list as well). Dietrich was never more luminous, nor cinematography more gorgeous, than in THE SCARLET EMPRESS. It's in black and white, but you'll feel like it's in full and glorious color. History it's not, but who cares? This is the way things should have been.

R Becker
Mar 17, 2002
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Videos1

Trailer 2:18

Official Trailer

Photos48

+ 41

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Marlene Dietrich's own daughter Maria Riva portrayed young Sophia at the beginning of the film and it was her debut in movies.

Goofs
Most of the action takes place at The Kremlin in Moscow. The historical Empress Elizabeth, Grand Duke Peter and later Catherine spent most of their reigns in St. Petersburg, which during the 18th Century was a modern, Europeanized city.

Quotes
Grand Duke Peter: Why are those bells ringing?
[He opens the bedroom door and addresses a man in the hall]
Grand Duke Peter: Why are those bells ringing?
Capt. Gregori Orloff: I don't know, Peter.
Grand Duke Peter: How dare you address me like that! Who are you?
Capt. Gregori Orloff: My name is Orloff, and I'm on duty as guard.
Grand Duke Peter: I'll have your head for this insolence! You're addressing the emperor!
Capt. Gregori Orloff: There is no emperor. There is only an empress.

Connections
Edited from Le Patriote (1928)

Soundtracks
Symphony No.4 in F Minor, Op.36
Written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Excerpts played during the opening credits and incorporated into the score often