Katja, the uncrowned empress (1959)

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Movie
German title Katja, the uncrowned empress
Original title Katia
Country of production France
original language French , German
Publishing year 1959
length 93 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Robert Siodmak
script Charles Spaak
production Michel Safra
for Spéva-Films
music Joseph Kosma
camera Michel Kelber
cut Luise Schuster
occupation

Katja, the uncrowned Empress (original title: Katia , also spelled Katja the uncrowned Empress ) is a French film drama by director Robert Siodmak from 1959, based on the novel by the French writer Princess Marthe Bibesco , who in turn freely describes the life story of Yekaterina Dolgorukova tells. The main roles are occupied by Romy Schneider and Curd Jürgens .

action

"St. Petersburg 1865: In the middle of the last century Russia was ruled by Tsar Alexander II . He went down in history as the liberator of the serfs. ”The married Tsar Alexander II met and fell in love with the rebellious Princess Katja Dolgoruki while visiting a boarding school for girls. He invites her to the court ball in his winter palace, where he opens the ball with her with the appropriate dance. To avoid the gossip at court, because the love of both of them is no longer a secret, he sends Katja to France for a long time.

At the Paris World Exhibition in 1867 , at which he was met by Napoleon III. is received, the tsar barely escapes an assassination attempt. Katja witnesses this incident, whereupon she and Alexander II promise each other that they will never part again. He brings Katja back to St. Petersburg, where she lives first as a lady-in-waiting to his wife and later at his side as a morganatic wife. Again and again there are attacks on the couple who share a deep love.

The tsar, who has been working on a new constitution for some time, which is supposed to bring his subjects considerably more rights and freedoms, falls victim to an assassination attempt shortly before the planned announcement, which he does not survive.

Production notes, publication

The film was shot from August 3 to October 7, 1959. The Studios de Boulogne, Paris served as a studio. The outdoor shots were taken in Paris and Vienna. Jean d'Eaubonne created the film structures, Rosine Delamare designed the costumes .

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the film was distributed by Gloria Filmverleih AG. The premiere took place on December 22, 1959 in the Ufa-Atlantic cinema in Bochum and in the Astoria Wanne-Eickel. The French premiere was on January 20, 1960 in Paris. Alternative title in France Une jeune fille un seul amour .

The film was also released in Finland in 1960, in Mexico and Portugal in 1961 and in the USA (New York) in 1963. Further publications followed in Bulgaria, Brazil, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Turkey and Yugoslavia. The English titles are Adorable Sinner and Magnificent Sinner .

The film was released on December 2, 2003 by Studiocanal as part of the "Romy Schneider Edition" on DVD. Another release on DVD took place on October 14, 2013 by Alive.

useful information

In Magnificent Sinner is the remake of a well-known French pre-war film. Maurice Tourneur shot Katia in 1938 with Danielle Darrieux and John Loder in the roles of Romy Schneider and Curd Juergens.

Catherine Dolgoruki

Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova (1847-1922) was indeed the youthful lover and then the morganatic wife of Tsar Alexander II of Russia (1818-1881). There was an age difference of 29 years between the two. Contrary to what is suggested in the film, the Tsar has been looking after Katharina and her siblings since he met the almost ten-year-old whose father died impoverished due to his extravagance. He had the children educated at his own expense and confessed his love to Katharina at an early age. In 1866 she listened to him, in 1867 the affair of the two became public. In 1868 the couple had their first son who died in infancy, another son was born to them in 1872, a daughter in 1873, another son in 1876 and another daughter in 1878. Tsarina Maria Alexandrovna died in 1880, a month later Alexander married Katharina and legitimized both children as his own. He was even ready to abdicate in order to lead a life with his family on the French Riviera. On March 13, 1881, the Tsar fell victim to a bomb attack. Only a few days after the funeral, Katharina left Russia forever and in 1888 moved to Nice, the place where she and her husband had wanted to live after his abdication. She died there, largely forgotten, at the age of 75.

criticism

The publicist and author Dirk Jasper said that the production company had “no slouch”: “Magnificent buildings, glamorous decorations and, in addition to an excellent Curd Jürgens, of course the star Romy Schneider draw this remake of the film of the same name by Maurice Tourneur (from 1938) out."

“Highly popular picture book film about the mistress of Tsar Alexander II, who fell victim to an assassination attempt in 1881 before he was able to crown the young lady as Tsarina. A kind of 'Sissi' with Russified names "

- Film service

“ Katja, the uncrowned Empress ” is the new edition of the drama of the same name by Maurice Tourneur from 1938. Robert Siodmak (“ Night when the devil came ”) wanted to build on the success of the “ Sissi ” series, which he did not succeed, however. "

- Franziska Bürklin, film reporter

literature

  • Renate Seydel and Bernd Meier: Romy Schneider - A life in pictures. Henschel Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-89487-264-0 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jean-Claude Sabria: Cinéma français. Les années 50. Paris 1987, no.497
  2. ↑ CineGraph - Lexicon for German-language film - Robert Siodmak - Katja, the uncrowned Empress
  3. ↑ Katja the uncrowned Empress Fig. DVD cover Studiocanal / Kinowelt
  4. ↑ Katja. The uncrowned Empress Fig. DVD case Alive / Atlas Film
  5. ↑ a b Katja, the uncrowned Empress sS film-lexikon.de. Retrieved September 28, 2018.