Catherine the Great [The Rise of Catherine the Great] *** (1934, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Elisabeth Bergner, Flora Robson) – Classic Movie Review 8155

The great style of the German-born Catherine II, Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796, captures the sympathy of the Russians in producer Alexander Korda’s typically lavish, costly version of the tale, intriguingly scripted from a play The Czarina by Melchior Lengyel.

The 1934 Catherine the Great [The Rise of Catherine the Great] is solidly directed by Korda’s Hungarian countryman Paul Czinner, who casts his Austrian wife Elisabeth Bergner in a skittish interpretation of the title role. It is an extravagantly dressed, enjoyable film, but alas, its grandeur has faded, its pace now seems too stately, and it suffers when viewed alongside the more imaginative Marlene Dietrich version of the tale, The Scarlet Empress, filmed simultaneously.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr is satisfying as Grand Duke Peter of Russia, who marries Catherine, but then goes potty, and Flora Robson steals the show as the Empress Elizabeth.

Also in the cast are Gerald Du Maurier, Irene Vanbrugh, Griffith Jones, Joan Gardner, Diana Napier, Dorothy Hale and Gibb McLaughlin.

It runs 95 minutes and is made in black and white by London Film Productions at Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK.

Other famous Catherine the Greats (1729-96) on film are: Tallulah Bankhead (A Royal Scandal, 1945), Bette Davis (John Paul Jones, 1959), and Jeanne Moreau (Great Catherine, 1968).

Alexander Korda’s Private Lives (The Private Life of Henry VIII / The Rise of Catherine the Great / The Private Life of Don Juan / Rembrandt) are available on DVD in The Criterion Collection.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8155

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