A Royal Scandal (film)
| A Royal Scandal | |
|---|---|
 theatrical poster | |
| Directed by |
Ernst Lubitsch Otto Preminger |
| Produced by | Ernst Lubitsch |
| Written by |
Edwin Justus Mayer Bruno Frank (adaptation) |
| Based on |
a play by Lajos Bíró and Melchior Lengyel |
| Starring |
Tallulah Bankhead Charles Coburn Anne Baxter William Eythe |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography | Arthur Miller |
| Edited by | Dorothy Spencer |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,500,000[1] |
A Royal Scandal, also known as Czarina, is a 1945 film about the love life of Russian Empress (Czarina) Catherine the Great. It stars Tallulah Bankhead, Charles Coburn, Anne Baxter, and William Eythe. The film was based on the play Die Zarin (The Czarina) by Lajos Bíró and Melchior Lengyel.
Plot
Catherine discards her latest lover, Variatinsky, the commander of the palace guard. General Ronsky schemes to have his oafish nephew Boris (an uncredited Grady Sutton) be his replacement, so he and his cabal can stage an uprising and dethrone the Czarina. Catherine's chancellor, Nicolai Ilyitch, is determined to see to it that nothing disturbs his delicate negotiations for a treaty with France, so he tells his underling Malakoff he does not want anybody new to see her majesty. However, a determined young officer, Alexei Chernoff, insists on an audience with her for the sake of Russia.
Cast
- Tallulah Bankhead as Catherine the Great
- Charles Coburn as Chancellor Nicolai Ilyitch
- Anne Baxter as Countess Anna Jaschikoff
- William Eythe as Lieutenant/Captain/Major/General/Private Alexei Chernoff
- Vincent Price as Marquis de Fleury
- Mischa Auer as Captain Sukov
- Sig Ruman as General Michael Nicolai Vladimirovich Ronsky
- Vladimir Sokoloff as Malakoff
- Mikhail Rasumny as Drunken General
Production
Ernst Lubitsch was the initial director, but fell ill and had to be replaced by Otto Preminger.[2] However, Lubitsch directed the rehearsals, and he worked with Edwin Justus Mayer in the scripting process. A Royal Scandal is a remake of Lubitsch's silent film Forbidden Paradise. All of the scenes were developed under Lubitsch. So it is considered a "Lubitsch film".