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The Rise of Catherine the Great
The more he hated her, the more she loved him...this girl of MANY loves who rose to rule a hundred million souls but could not govern her own heart.
The woman who will become Catherine the Great marries into the Russian royal family when she weds Grand Duke Peter, the nephew of Empress Elizabeth. Although the couple has moments of contentment, Peter's cruel and erratic behavior causes a rift between him and Catherine. Mere months after Peter succeeds his aunt as the ruler of Russia, a revolt is brewing, and Catherine is poised to ascend to the throne as the country's new empress.
- Original title
- The Rise of Catherine the Great
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US,GB
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
CinemaSerf
Jun 13, 2022 · via TMDB
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.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Grand Duke Peter
Elisabeth Bergner
Catherine
Flora Robson
Empress Elisabeth
Gerald du Maurier
Lecocq
Irene Vanbrugh
Princess Anhalt-Zerbst
Joan Gardner
Katushienka
Dorothy Hale
Countess Olga
Diana Napier
Countess Vorontzova
Griffith Jones
Grigory Orlov
Gibb McLaughlin
Bestujhev
Clifford Heatherley
Ogarev
Laurence Hanray
Goudovitch
Allan Jeayes
Colonel Karnilov
Charles Carson
English Ambassador
Stewart Granger
Regiment Soldier
Judy Kelly
Guest at Hunting Lodge
John Turnbull
Rumyantsev
Michael Wilding
Regiment Soldier
Arnold Lucy
Minor Role
Robert Krasker
Camera Operator
Georges Périnal
Director of Photography
Arthur Wimperis
Continuity
Lajos Biró
Continuity
Alexander Korda
Producer
Arthur Wimperis
Story
Lajos Biró
Story
Lajos Biró
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