During the 18th century, German noblewoman Sophia Frederica, who would later become Catherine the Great, travels to Moscow to marry the dimwitted Grand Duke Peter, the heir to the Russian throne. Their arranged marriage proves to be loveless, and Catherine takes many lovers, including the handsome Count Alexei, and bears a son. When the unstable Peter eventually ascends to the throne, Catherine plots to oust him from power.
If anyone was to have actually filmed aspects of the life of the Princess at the time, then they could hardly have come up with anything more authentic than this fabulous Von Sternberg dramatisation of the rise, and rise of Catherine the Great. Marlene Dietrich is superb as the schemed against who becomes the scheming Grand Duchess married off to the imbecilic nephew (played by a superb Sam Jaffe) of the Empress Elizabeth (an imperious Louise Dresser). Through her series of lovers and strategic alliances, she deposes her idiot husband and accedes to the throne. The (lingering) intimacy of the filming of the star - almost bordering on adulation by the camera (and the director!?); the use of light and shadow - particularly the use of candles; and the marvellous Tchaikovsky score all more than compensate for some of the "train set" model scenery and make this a scintillating story of power. Great stuff.
