The Rise of Catherine the Great
1934·United Kingdom·95 min.
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A quick-witted and compelling dramatization of the troubled marriage of Catherine II (played by German actress Elisabeth Bergner, in her English-language debut) to Peter III (a randy Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) and her subsequent ascension to the throne as Empress of Russia. With its luxurious renderings of the eighteenth-century St. Petersburg royal court and its nearly screwball evocation of Catherine and Peter’s teasing relationship, The Rise of Catherine the Great was a wise and worthy follow-up to Henry VIII.
MusicErnst Toch
CinematographyGeorges Périnal
CastElisabeth Bergner·Douglas Fairbanks Jr.·Flora Robson·Gerald du Maurier·Irene Vanbrugh·Joan Gardner·Dorothy Hale·Diana Napier·Griffith Jones·Gibb McLaughlin·Clifford Heatherley
Original titleThe Rise of Catherine the Great
Also known asCatherine the Great