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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.
The Scarlet Empress (1934) is a drama, history and romance film directed by Josef von Sternberg, released on May 9, 1934 with a runtime of 1h 44m. It stars Marlene Dietrich, John Lodge, Sam Jaffe and Louise Dresser. Viewers rate it 6.9 out of 10 across 143 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for The Scarlet Empress before you stream it.
Marlene Dietrich
as Princess Sophia Frederica / Catherine II
John Lodge
as Count Alexei
Sam Jaffe
as Grand Duke Peter
Louise Dresser
as Empress Elizabeth Petrovna
C. Aubrey Smith
as Prince August
Gavin Gordon
as Capt. Gregori Orloff
Olive Tell
as Princess Johanna Elizabeth
Ruthelma Stevens
as Countess Elizabeth 'Lizzie'
Davison Clark
as Archimandrite Simeon Todorsky / Arch-Episcope
Erville Alderson
as Chancelor Alexei Bestuchef
Maria Riva
as Sophia as a Child
Jane Darwell
as Miss Cardell, Sophia's Nurse (uncredited)
Directed by Josef von Sternberg, written by Manuel Komroff and Eleanor McGeary, produced by Josef von Sternberg.
Average viewer score of 6.9/10 from 143 ratings.
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…
Reviewed on June 13, 2022
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The Scarlet Empress (1934) is available to stream on FlixFling, and to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home and FlixFling. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of The Scarlet Empress (1934) includes Marlene Dietrich, John Lodge, Sam Jaffe, Louise Dresser and C. Aubrey Smith. The film was directed by Josef von Sternberg. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
The Scarlet Empress was released on May 9, 1934 and runs for 1h 44m.
The Scarlet Empress (1934) holds an average rating of 6.9 out of 10 from 143 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy drama, history and romance films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official The Scarlet Empress trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
