United Kingdom
1934
95 minutes
Black and White
1.33:1
English
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.
| Catherine | Elisabeth Bergner |
| Grand Duke Peter | Douglas Fairbanks Jr. |
| Empress Elisabeth | Flora Robson |
| Lecocq | Gerald du Maurier |
| Princess Anhalt-Zerbst | Irene Vanbrugh |
| Katushienka | Joan Gardner |
| Countess Vorontzova | Diana Napier |
| Director | Paul Czinner |
| Story, dialogue, and continuity | Lajos Biro, Arthur Wimperis and Melchior Lengyel |
| Cinematography | Georges Perinal |
| Supervising editor | Harold Young |
| Editing | Stephen Harrison |
| Settings designed by | Vincent Korda |
| Musical direction | Muir Matheson |
| Costumes | John Armstrong |
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