MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 2,442 this week

The Scarlet Empress (1934)

7.7
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.7/10 from 3,077 users  
Reviews: 31 user | 24 critic

Young Princess Sophia of Germany is taken to Russia to marry the half-wit Grand Duke Peter, son of the Empress. The domineering Empress hopes to improve the royal blood line. Sophia doesn't... See full summary »

Writers:

(diary), (diary arranger), 1 more credit »
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 2309 titles created 5 months ago
 
a list of 250 titles created 5 months ago
 
a list of 1131 titles created 11 months ago
 
a list of 3111 titles created 16 May 2011
 
a list of 19 titles created 11 months ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Scarlet Empress (1934)

The Scarlet Empress (1934) on IMDb 7.7/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Scarlet Empress.
1 win. See more awards »
Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.

Director: D.W. Griffith
Stars: Lillian Gish, Spottiswoode Aitken, Mary Alden
Conquest (1937)
Drama | History | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

A polish countess becomes Napoleon Bonaparte's mistress at the urging of Polish leaders, who feel she might influence him to make Poland independent.

Director: Clarence Brown
Stars: Greta Garbo, Charles Boyer, Reginald Owen
Drama | History | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

An elaborate adaptation of Dickens' classic tale of the French Revolution. Dissipated lawyer Sydney Carton defends emigre Charles Darnay from charges of spying against England. He becomes ... See full summary »

Director: Jack Conway
Stars: Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver
Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X  

Based on a real-life case in 1925, two great lawyers argue the case for and against a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching evolution.

Director: Stanley Kramer
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly
Drama | History | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

In early 19th Century France an ex-convict who failed to report to parole is relentlessly pursued over a 20 year period by an obsessive policeman.

Director: Richard Boleslawski
Stars: Fredric March, Charles Laughton, Cedric Hardwicke
Gate of Hell (1953)
Drama | History | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

In 1159, during an attempted coup, one of the court's ladies in waiting disguises herself as the lord's wife, and a loyal samurai conveys her from the city. This diversion allows the royal ... See full summary »

Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa
Stars: Kazuo Hasegawa, Machiko Kyô, Isao Yamagata
Quo Vadis (1951)
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

A fierce Roman general becomes infatuated with a beautiful Christian hostage and begins questioning the tyrannical leadership of the despot Emporer Nero.

Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Stars: Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn
Drama | History | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

Sir Walter Raleigh overcomes court intrigue to win favor with the Queen in order to get financing for a proposed voyage to the New World.

Director: Henry Koster
Stars: Bette Davis, Richard Todd, Joan Collins
Drama | History | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

In eighth century China, the Emperor is grieving over the death of his wife. The Yang family wants to provide the Emperor with a consort so that they may consolidate their influence over ... See full summary »

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Stars: Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Sô Yamamura
Drama | History | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X  

After King David sees the beautiful Bathsheba bathing from the palace roof, he enters into an adulterous affair which has tragic consequences for his family and Israel.

Director: Henry King
Stars: Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Raymond Massey
Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

The second in a trilogy of movies about Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria, the film chronicles the married life of the young empress as she tries to adjust to formal and strict life in the palace and an overbearing mother-in-law.

Director: Ernst Marischka
Stars: Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider
Mayerling (1968)
Drama | History | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.8/10 X  
Director: Terence Young
Stars: Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve, James Mason
Edit

Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
Princess Sophia Frederica / Catherine II
John Lodge ...
Count Alexei
...
Louise Dresser ...
...
Prince August
Gavin Gordon ...
Olive Tell ...
Princess Johanna Elizabeth
Ruthelma Stevens ...
Countess Elizabeth 'Lizzie'
Davison Clark ...
Erville Alderson ...
Philip Sleeman ...
Count Lestoq (as Phillip Sleeman)
Marie Wells ...
Marie Tshoglokof
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski ...
Ivan Shuvolov (as Hans von Twardowski)
Gerald Fielding ...
Lt. Dmitri
Maria Riva ...
Sophia as a Child (as Maria)
Edit

Storyline

Young Princess Sophia of Germany is taken to Russia to marry the half-wit Grand Duke Peter, son of the Empress. The domineering Empress hopes to improve the royal blood line. Sophia doesn't like her husband, but she likes Russia, and is very fond of Russian soldiers. She dutifully produces a son -- of questionable fatherhood, but no one seems to mind that. After the old empress dies, Sophia engineers a coup d'etat with the aid of the military, does away with Peter, and becomes Catherine the Great. Written by John Oswalt <jao@jao.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

empress | russia | germany | duke | russian | See more »

Taglines:

The Reigning Beauty of the Screen!

Genres:

Drama | History | Romance

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

15 September 1934 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Catherine the Great  »

Box Office

Budget:

$900,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. See more »

Goofs

When the flag is being lowered for the dead empress, we see the flag flapping in the wind but the fake backdrop is flapping also. See more »

Quotes

Capt. Gregori Orloff: There is no emperor. Only an empress.
See more »

Connections

Featured in You've Got Beautiful Stairs, You Know (1986) See more »

Soundtracks

"Marche Slave"
Written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Excerpts incorporated into the score often, but predominately when Catherine
is about to capture the throne at the end
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
While cold and emotionally distant, it still is an amazing film due to its artistic vision
15 January 2007 | by (Bradenton, Florida) – See all my reviews

This is an absolutely amazing film to watch. I have seen several other collaborations between director Josef Von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich and I think this is the best--mostly due to it being like a giant painting or tapestry that was almost mesmerizing. The film is a rather odd look at a brief period of the life of Catherine the Great of Russia. It follows her from her betrothal (when she is a Germanic princess) to her ultimately killing her husband and assuming the throne--the space of just a few years).

During the entire picture, what stood out were the amazing sets. The film begins with some very graphic torture chamber scenes that are definitely "Pre-Code" in that they are so frightening and because of the copious amounts of gratuitous female nudity. While this never could have been allowed once the stronger Production Code was implemented around 1935, it is a captivating and bizarre introduction to the movie and it certainly got your attention!! Then, throughout the film, the sets were magnificent and very twisted--almost like they had been inspired by a combination of LSD, Jean Cocteau's version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch! Twisted and grotesque anthropomorphic statues, banisters, candelabras, chairs, etc. grace practically every scene inside the palace--making it look like a combination of Hell and whimsy!! You really just have to see it all to believe it. What was also amazing was how Paramount was able to construct all this without the production bankrupting the company!!! While the dialog and acting is fine, they take a definite backseat to the sets. It's very obvious that Von Sternberg really wasn't trying to humanize the characters or shed too much light on the life of Catherine--it was really more of a work of performance art. And if you accept it as this and NOT an absolutely true recounting of the life of Catherine, then you will be in for a treat.

As for the historical side of the film, there has long been some disagreement about the coup and subsequent execution of Catherine's husband. While it is almost undoubtedly true she orchestrated it (after all, they made her their leader after Peter's death), what isn't so certain is the character of Peter. Some accounts have described him as half-witted or insane (exactly how he's shown in the film) but others doubt if this was exactly the case--it could have just been propaganda used by Catherine to justify her actions. Plus, when Peter died, some apparently reported this was of natural causes and not murder! Considering everything, though, the film had to portray Peter III some way and the evil half-wit was an enjoyable choice--as Sam Jaffe looked so crazed and made the part come alive with his insane-looking eyes and wonderful delivery! Dietrich herself was also very good (perhaps due to her not being so "artificial-looking" like she was in some of her other films due to excessive makeup), but her performance was definitely overshadowed by the sets and Jaffe

By the way, I originally gave this film a very respectable score of 8. However, after seeing "The Rise of Catherine the Great" (which was made the exact same year and covered the exact same material), I saw that this Dietrich film was a lot better by comparison. I especially think that Dietrich and Jaffe were a much better Peter and Catherine than Elisabeth Bergner and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in the other film.


16 of 18 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Anyone know about the art director for this movie? nettwench
by far the best gothic movie mcrawford-4
Here's a nice topic for you: The infamous dinner table mothboy88
Origin of Dietrich worship Dr_Keating
Isn't this movie relatively famous? mothboy88
Best DVD transfer brendangcarroll
Discuss The Scarlet Empress (1934) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?