Review of The Scarlet Empress (1934) by David S — 19 Jan 2010

A film I've wanted to see for ages and, while it was worth seeing, didn't quite hold up to my expectations. Don't know how historically accurate it is, and I guess that doesn't really matter.

I did think it was kinda funny that the last scene was of Catherine with her horse inside the castle, hinting at the urban legend of how she died (not going to go into that...look it up). I can say that Dietrich was breathtaking as Catherine.

But also worth watching was Sam Jaffe as the mentally off King. The film is definitely a feast for the eyes. All in all, a good but not great film.