User reviews

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.

...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.

The drama and characters in this movie about "Catherine the Great" are generally pretty good, although often non-historical, and the atmosphere is often quite good. The settings and many of the details were crafted with care, and apparently with ample resources available.

Elisabeth Bergner often gives distinctive, sometimes unusual portrayals of her characters, and this is no exception. Yet Catherine was such a complex figure that it's almost a moot point as to how accurate Bergner's portrayal may be, especially since the story here is mostly concerned about her younger days, before she became Empress. Bergner definitely makes Catherine interesting and worth caring about.

The story itself is interesting, and though it should not be viewed as accurate history, as a movie it works well enough, and sometimes it works quite well. As Peter, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. gives his character a nature that is probably quite different from the historical Peter, but in itself it is a believable and effective portrayal.

The story of the ongoing intrigues involving Peter, Catherine, Elizabeth (a well-cast Flora Robson), and others, has some good moments. The historical situation was complicated, and it lends itself easily to a movie adaptation. The settings work well in conveying both the historical period and also the atmosphere of plots and counter-plots. The movie as a whole was overshadowed, even in its own time, by other features on the same subject, but it is still a good effort that is worth watching.

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.

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.

The story of Catherine the Great's rise to power in 18th Century Russia. Von Sternberg covered much of the same ground as Paul Czinner's British biopic, but he had Marlene Dietrich whereas Czinner had only Elisabeth Bergner, who has little of Dietrich's magnetism but at least manages to keep Catherine sympathetic. Douglas Fairbanks Jr gives the film's stand-out performance as the psychologically frail heir apparent (a far different interpretation to Sam Jaffe's in Von Sternberg's picture), although a young Flora Robson is a hoot as his feisty Aunt. A satisfying movie with an unexpectedly downbeat ending which sews the seeds of Catherine's unseen downfall.

This is the first of 6 films I intend to watch about the famous Russian sovereign (albeit of German origins) as part of the Josef von Sternberg retrospective, whose masterpiece THE SCARLET EMPRESS – from the same year – also deals with her. It was obviously intended as the British response (through renowned producer Alexander Korda) of the afore-mentioned Paramount release; ironically, the latter had been made – as a vehicle for Marlene Dietrich – in the wake of the classic Greta Garbo title QUEEN Christina (1933)!

Even so, the result here is quite a good film taken on its own merits – though lacking the ornate visual sense and other idiosyncrasies that Sternberg deployed in his version (and which made it so fascinating to watch in the first place). In any case, this has all the virtues and faults of a typical Korda effort: low-key approach undermined by stiff production and buoyed by reliable casting. The latter sees Elizabeth Bergner – the director is her husband – in the title role (though she does well by the character on a human plane, there is little to suggest her 'great' qualities as monarch!), top-billed Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (an ambivalent characterization as he goes all-too-swiftly from being submissive to his Empress aunt through a pre-arranged marriage to tyranny: his is a valiant try, but the star's dashing looks makes this incongruity that more conspicuous!) and Flora Robson (as the ailing Empress who conspires with Catherine to depose her own unstable nephew: the distinguished actress would virtually make a career out of playing monarchs!).

Plot-wise, court intrigue (easily the more interesting aspect to the narrative) is too often swamped by romantic complications and that worst trapping of costumers i.e. archaic dancing…but, having grown up watching the Korda films on Italian TV (even if not among its very best examples, this one is solid enough), I kind of have a soft spot for them and, in fact, over the years I managed to collect virtually all of the more notable titles in that popular cycle (including the same year's THE PRIVATE LIFE OF DON JUAN which, coincidentally, starred Fairbanks pere!). By the way, while this one was originally released in the U.S. as THE RISE OF CATHERINE THE GREAT, it was recently issued on R1 DVD through Criterion's sister label Eclipse as part of a Korda Box Set (along with DON JUAN itself and two superb Charles Laughton vehicles – namely the Oscar-winning THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII {1933} and, arguably his masterpiece, REMBRANDT {1936}).

I watched this series on Prime Video. I expected just the standard story how Catherine came to power, as previously portrayed for example in Young Catherine with Julia Ormond in the title role. However, this series goes far beyond that and gives us a glimpse into Russian history, which I have to admit I did not know all that well for this particular time period. The series is made very much like modern TV series meant for American audiences, so no problem in that respect, everything was as I expected. Beautiful settings, much of it I assume shot in the Ekaterinsky Palace and Winter Palace and other notable imperial locations. I enjoyed the fact that the dialog was always in the appropriate language. My only complaint would be the English subtitles. I presume they were done by the Russians, because here and there some very odd words were chosen and at times the meaning was not readily clear. I have checked out some of the more unbelievable plot lines and they seemed to be historically accurate, based on what is known and documented. Overall it was a refreshingly different experience, since we are usually flooded with shows based on British history, but rarely that of other countries and Russian history is not a popular subject of TV programming. I very much enjoyed watching this series and highly recommend it.

This is the story of CATHERINE THE GREAT, Czarina of All The Russias. Summoned by a fierce, dying Empress to marry the Russian heir, young princess Catherine soon learns that her bridegroom is both unfaithful & insane. After the death of the old Empress, Catherine's danger increases and she must learn to be very cunning in order to save herself from her unpredictable royal husband...

Vienna-born Elisabeth Bergner, in her first English-language film, is radiant as the obscure German princess who would become the most powerful woman in Russian history. Hers is an excellent performance in a difficult role, where it would have been easy to be upstaged by the other, flashier, characters. As Grand Duke Peter - later Czar Peter III - Douglas Fairbanks Jr. behaves like a homicidal Hamlet, all moodiness & flares of deadly temper. He makes an interesting effort to create a charmer out of a pathetic man who was obviously a maniac.

(Actual history relates that Catherine & Peter were married 17 years and had 3 children before Peter's ascension to the throne - a time period necessary for Catherine to build her strength, but which the movie makers ignore.)

Miss Bergner & Mr. Fairbanks are given an excellent supporting cast. Dame Flora Robson is wonderful as the Empress Elizabeth. Suspicious, domineering & rather wanton, Dame Flora makes the viewer want to know the story of this noteworthy monarch, overshadowed in history by her colorful successor. Celebrated stage actress Dame Irene Vanbrugh makes a rare screen appearance as Catherine's mother.

The small role of Peter's French valet is performed by Sir Gerald du Maurier, one of the great English actor-managers of the early days of the century. In this, his penultimate role & a few months from his death, Sir Gerald had become largely forgotten by his once enormous public. He gives his few lines great dignity. In his autobiography, Fairbanks relates that upon arriving at the studio prior to filming and before the other cast members, he discovered that he had been assigned a large dressing room, whilst Sir Gerald had been given a tiny one. Deciding this was not a proper way to treat the legendary actor, Fairbanks switched names on the doors. Sir Gerald soon arrived, sweeping majestically into the larger room, as if this was only natural...

It is fascinating to compare this very fine historical drama with Marlene Dietrich's SCARLET EMPRESS, also produced in 1934.

From the new Eclipse box set Alexander Korda's Private Lives. I debated on whether or not to buy this one. I love The Private Life of Henry VIII, starring Charles Laughton, but haven't seen the others. They don't have very good reputations. And I usually say that I like neither biopics nor costume genres. Yet, strangely enough, I do like loopy historical biopics where the filmmakers have no real sense of history. They can be a lot of fun. The Rise of Catherine the Great is a pretty uneven film. It has its overly stuffy moments, and the acting is all over the place. The sets and visuals are nice, though not quite as opulent as in the other Catherine the Great movie made the same year in Hollywood, The Scarlet Empress. Neither of these movies are great, unfortunately. Neither are very well directed. The Rise of Catherine the Great works somewhat because of a couple of performances in it, as well as a small handful of excellent scenes. Elisabeth Bergner plays the titular character. Unfortunately, she's one of the most uneven parts of the film. As the ingénue Catherine, she's quite annoying. Her strong German-accented English makes her sound mentally retarded at times. But she is rather good later in the film when she is learning the ropes of royalty, or when she's trying to quell her husband's anger. The husband, Grand Duke Peter, is played by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. He might be the best thing about the film. Can't say I'm overly familiar with his career, but his performance is extremely good here. Flora Robson is also quite good as the empress Elisabeth.

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. is Peter III, the heir to the throne of Russia in the mid-1700s. A tempestuous character, he shouts out orders and is unhappy. Well, who wouldn't be? He's dressed in some kind of bear skin outfit and is made up like Frankenstein's monster, with a silver wig, black eyebrows, black false eyelashes, a black mustache, and two black beauty spots. He could clear a room without a gun.

His bride-to-be is brought to him from Germany. They've never met before and she mistakes him for an ordinary castellan of no particular prominence. He quickly twigs but Catherine carries on about how much she's dreamed of marriage to him and how little she cares for empire. It all sounds a bit like Fred and Ginger.

Gradually, Fairbanks comes to accept her as the genuine artless article and whisks her off to be married. This is quite a mental achievement for Fairbanks. After all, she's Prussian, not Russian, doesn't speak the language and is Lutheran rather than Russian orthodox. On top of that -- the real obstacle -- is that she was born Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg. I ask you, would you marry someone with a name like that? Even if she looked like Botticelli's Venus? So they called her Yekaterina.

As played by Elisabeth Bergner, who never looks more than vaguely cute, the new bride is all winsome and proud and overwhelmed by the sumptuousness of the Russian court. Flora Robson is Fairbanks' aunt, Empress Elizabeth, always impatient and angry. Florid Robson -- I mean Flora, of course -- was always some kind of Empress or Queen, whether in England or China or Russia. It didn't matter. She radiated disdain. She glowed with authority. Her Empress here is sexier than usual. In fact, young as she was, her big face was compellingly ugly. And she got what she wanted. Historically, she was a terrible rake and played doctor with everyone.

Alexander Korda's direction is functional and expressive. He really manages to capture the splendor of the court, even if it's rendered in fuzzy black and white. When Fairbanks and Bergner are married, the priest puts the wedding ring on Bergner's right hand, as he should.

This is no place to recount the history of Russia, so putting it in a nutshell: Robson dies, Fairbanks takes over, goes increasingly nuts, until Bergner finally consents to exile Fairbanks and rule Russia herself. The end. There is only the barest hint of what her rule would be like.

She became a benign dictator, brought Russia into the modern world, implemented all sorts of reforms, and corresponded with Voltaire. What we've watched is a filmed play about palace love and intrigue, and not a bad one. There are no outdoor scenes, not a shot is fired or a sword lifted in anger. Someone should have made "Catherine the Great, Part II." As it is, at Bergner's moment of triumph, she stands on a balcony, arms raised, listens to the cheering crowd, and almost swoons as she cries, "They love me!" And then the host presents her with the Academy Award.

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 man who was in no way equipped for what destiny had in store for him.

While most people are more familiar with the Marlene Dietrich version of this movie, released the same year as The Scarlet Empress, those interested in romance will prefer this one because it shows a Czar Peter III exactly the opposite of the one that really lived. Douglas portrays someone tall, thin, intelligent, and unethically gorgeous. The other cast members seem more experienced than him, however, at the sort of historical drama roles this film called for. But one also must remember that the British cinema was still developing at this time. The early 30's were the years in which it began to become as great as American cinema (the same goes for films from countries other than England). So, give this film a chance. I personally found it fantastic. It's a bit rare, but worth every second of searching. And as a Korda classic, well, I'll leave the rest up to you. It's not historically accurate , but it's almost like another story in itself. The main flaw is the print is a bit dark. But overlook this and you have one of the greatest films of all time.

Elisabeth Bergner is a great actress and always lovable, but she is not convincing as Catherine the Great - she is too lovable for that, and an Austrian at that, while Marlene Dietrich in Sternberg's "The Scarlet Empress" of the same year was more appropriate and more convincing as a Prussian princess. On the other hand, Douglas Fairbanks Jr makes perhaps the most interesting Peter III on screen, showing nuances and possibilities that usually are ignored in all those other Catherine films. Flora Robson is perfect as usual in one of those many roles of queens and empresses that suited her perfectly. The direction by Paul Czinner (also from Austria) is very meticulous and carefully planned in well considered dramaturgy, so there is nothing wrong with this excellent costume film of the early thirties, although Marlene Dietrich's and von Sternberg's version is more stylistic and impressing in more artistic liberty. Paul Czinner went on with Elisabeth Bergner in Shakespeare's "As You Like It", a triumph of Shakespeare in Hollywood, and then to ballet films and opera films, in which he constantly surpassed himself.

THE RISE OF CATHERINE THE GREAT, a/k/a CATHERINE THE GREAT (Premier Distributions Limited/London FiIms, 1934), directed by Paul Czinner, became Alexander Korda's production follow-up attempt in duplicating his earlier royal success of THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (1933) starring Charles Laughton in his Academy Award winning performance. While this could have been titled THE PRIVATE LIFE OF CATHERINE THE GREAT, this and HENRY VIII each show the visual and historical Korda techniques quite popular with Depression movie audiences. This impressive and lavish scale production, consisting of mostly British performers, stars the American-born Douglas Fairbanks Jr., with the Viennese born Elisabeth Bergner in the title role. With Fairbanks' attempt in a costume drama made famous by his father, Douglas Fairbanks, of the silent screen, CATHERINE THE GREAT would become a step forward for both its leading players, especially Bergner under the direction of her husband, Czinner.

The story opens in Russia, 1745, in the hunting lodge of Grand Duke Peter (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.). heir to the throne. During his gathering among his friends and female companions, Peter is given news that his aunt, Empress Elisabeth (Flora Robson), in order for him to have an heir, has arranged for he to marry Sophia Frederica (Elisabeth Bergner). At first, Peter refuses to give up his carefree lifestyle and marry a perfect stranger. He changes his mind after meeting the shy Sophia, renamed Catherine by Elisabeth, and consents to the proposed marriage. Catherine soon realizes the sort of man she's married when Peter leaves her alone on the wedding night to have an affair with another woman. It is Empress Elizabeth who encourages Catherine to change her ways by helping herself be stronger and forceful. During the course of their marriage, Peter becomes jealous of Catherine with rumors of her affairs with seventeen lovers. Knowing this is a falsehood, Elisabeth advises Catherine to actually have one lover in order to gain Peter's respect. At Elisabeth's deathbed, she warns Catherine her fear for the future of Russia once Peter takes command, especially with the startling news that Peter is actually insane. Now on her own, Catherine attempts to plot against Peter before he plots against her. Co-starring Gerald D Maurier (Lecoca, Peter's advisor); Irene Vanbrugh (Princess Anhalt-Zerbat); Griffith Jones (Gregory Orlov); Joan Gardner, Lawrence Hanray and Clifford Heatherley.

Released the very same year as Josef Von Sternberg's Catherine the Great production of THE SCARLET EMPRESS (Paramount, 1934) starring Marlene Dietrich, John Lodge, Sam Jaffe and Louise Dresser, many often compare these productions, considering the fact that no two productions are exactly alike. While Fairbanks' Peter is tall and handsome, Sam Jaffe's Peter is presented much more differently more in the manner of the wide-eyed Harpo Marx style instead. Louise Dresser's Empress Elisabeth for THE SCARLET EMPRESS steals the proceedings from the leads, though presents herself more American than Russian through her presentation. Flora Robson's Elisabeth, however, speaks loud and forceful, adding to much attention towards her character who favors Catherine more than Peter. Elisabeth Bergner does her best as Catherine the Great, though many prefer Dietrich and the offbeat performance by Jaffe over Korda's production, a success at the box office, over the misfire of Von Sternberg's heavily scored and titled presentation. Regardless of their reputations over the years, both CATHERINE THE GREAT and THE SCARLET EMPRESS are worth viewing for comparison reasons, especially when one can catch them playing together on a double feature bill.

CATHERINE THE GREAT enjoyed frequent revivals over the years, from its early days of television in the 1950s to public television and video cassette distribution in the 1980s, to DVD and cable television broadcasts, notably Turner Classic Movies since 2011. Though one would wonder which of the two Catherine the Great movies is more accurate as a history lesson, it could be said that CATHERINE THE GREAT offers more of Peter than Catherine, while THE SCARLET EMPRESS offers more Von Sternberg's artistic style along with more background on Catherine from child to her rise to the throne. (***1/2)

It figures that a glossy 1930s movie about one of Russia's most notable rulers would have to come from somewhere other than the Soviet Union. "The Rise of Catherine the Great" shows the Austrian princess moving to Russia, marrying the volatile Peter III, and eventually assuming the throne.

I understand that the movie got banned in Germany, as the star and director were Jews. We should consider this the occasional reminder that there are NO GOOD PEOPLE among the Nazis. But anyway, the movie is as fine as we can expect, with Elisabeth Bergner putting on an excellent performance as Catherine. I will admit that, due to the movie's inflated sense of itself, I threw out some MST3K-style comments. When she said "Say something gay!", I said in a Nathan Lane voice "Honey, that dress makes you look like Grace Kelly in 'High Society'."

Anyway, worth seeing. Dorothy Hale (Countess Olga) committed suicide in 1938 and was the subject of a Frida Kahlo painting.