Catherine the Great (1934)

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Movie
German title Katharina the great
Original title The Rise of Catherine the Great
Country of production Great Britain
original language English
Publishing year 1934
length 100 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Paul Czinner
script Marjorie Deans ,
Arthur Wimperis
production Alexander Korda ,
Ludovico Toeplitz
music Ernst Toch
camera Georges Périnal
cut Stephen Harrison ,
Harold Young
occupation

Catherine the Great (Original title: The Rise of Catherine the Great ) is a British biopic by Paul Czinner from 1934. The film, whose script is based on the play The Czarina by Lajos Biró and Melchior Lengyel , tells a very free version of the career the Russian Tsarina Catherine the Great . The German premiere took place on March 8, 1934 in Berlin. Shortly afterwards, the film was banned by the Nazi regime. On July 15, 1949, the film ran again in German cinemas.

action

Russia in 1745: The heir to the throne, Peter , who is considered a spendthrift, learns to his displeasure that he should marry. The order comes from his aunt, Tsarina Elisabeth , whom he secretly despises. Peter's wife is said to be the young and petite German princess of Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg . However, the young woman must first change her religion and her name in order to be a suitable bride for the heir to the throne. Elisabeth has the princess renamed Katharina. Peter, who refuses the planned wedding and offends Elisabeth with it, is mistaken for an officer by Katharina. Peter is enchanted by the woman and changes his mind. But shortly before the wedding he feels he has been tricked. Peter spends his wedding night with another woman.

Katharina later tells her husband that she has had 17 lovers in the past two years. However, her mother-in-law exposes the story as a lie that is supposed to make her son jealous. Peter and Katharina speak out and make up. The meanwhile aged and sick Tsarina Elisabeth is sure that Katharina can prevent an impending revolt of the citizens by the planned shipment of food. In addition, not the leaders of the revolution should be hanged, but the ministers responsible for the need.

When the Tsarina dies, Peter takes over his inheritance. But the new tsar, previously ignored by the citizens, is emotionally unstable. He orders all women to be banished from court. He also goes in search of a mysterious unknown soldier. Katharina now lives in a distant wing of the palace. To her humiliation, Peter takes a new lover, Countess Vorontzova. The officer Orlov , who is in love with Katharina, informs her about planned coup attempts. He urges her to claim the throne. She accepts, Peter is deposed and taken into custody. The citizens celebrate Katharina. But Orlov informs her that Peter was killed in dungeon and that it is the price of power.

Financing and Politics

According to Variety , the film cost around $ 400,000 (7,624,000 euros), making it the most expensive British film production to date. The Australian Robert Krasker was used as a camera technician. Vincent Korda , the brother of producer Alexander Korda , who directed some of the recordings, was responsible for the equipment for this film. Elisabeth Bergner , who played Katharina, was the wife of director Paul Czinner .

On March 14, 1934, a member of the British House of Commons addressed the ban on film in Germany. He asked the (unanswered) question: "Can we understand that in future no British film in which a Jewish actor appears will be shown in Germany?"

The film is in the public domain and the original version can be viewed in the Internet Archive .

Reviews

The lexicon of international film found: “Well-groomed, if historically very freely moving chamber play based on historical motifs; thanks to the exquisite acting - especially in the title role - still remarkable today. ” Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times described the film, despite all cinematic freedom, as“ considerably closer to history than most similar productions ”. It is a "respectable film".

The TimeOut film guide said the film fell sharply against the US film Die Scarlet Empress by Josef von Sternberg with Marlene Dietrich , which was released at the same time . But director Czinner can rely on Vincent Korda's buildings and the fabulous performances of the actors.

More films about the tsarina

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Rise of Catherine the Great . In: Variety , 1934.
  2. ↑ At the same session, Germany was in several ways the subject of the House of Commons. Some MPs are concerned about the “fairly rapid” armament that is taking place. Others reported to parliament about the arrests of farmers in Germany by the Gestapo for having Jewish employees.
  3. ↑ Catherine the Great in the Internet Archive (English)
  4. ↑ Catherine the Great. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 26, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  5. ↑ Elizabeth Bergner and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in the British Production, "Catherine the Great." . In: The New York Times , February 15, 1934.
  6. ↑ See timeout.com