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The Scarlet Empress
''The Scarlet Empress'' is a 1934 American historical drama film starring Marlene Dietrich and John Lodge about the life of Catherine the Great. It was directed and produced by Josef von Sternberg from a screenplay by Eleanor McGeary, loosely based on the diary of Catherine arranged by Manuel Komroff. Even though substantial historical liberties are taken, the film is viewed positively by modern critics. ''The Scarlet Empress'' is particularly notable for its attentive lighting and the expressionist art design that von Sternberg created for the Russian palace. The film stars Dietrich as Catherine, supported by Lodge, Sam Jaffe, Louise Dresser and C. Aubrey Smith. Dietrich's daughter Maria Riva plays Catherine as a child. Plot Princess Sophia Frederica is the innocent daughter of a minor East Prussian prince and an ambitious mother. She is brought to Russia by Count Alexei at the behest of Empress Elizabeth to marry her simple-minded nephew Grand Duke Peter. The overbearing El ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josef Von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major Hollywood studios. He is best known for his film collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich in the 1930s, including the highly regarded Paramount/UFA production, ''The Blue Angel'' (1930). Sternberg's finest works are noteworthy for their striking pictorial compositions, dense décor, chiaroscuro illumination, and relentless camera motion, endowing the scenes with emotional intensity. He is also credited with having initiated the gangster film genre with his silent era movie ''Underworld'' (1927). Sternberg's themes typically offer the spectacle of an individual's desperate struggle to maintain their personal integrity as they sacrifice themselves for lust or love. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Morocco'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elizabeth Of Russia
Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, her numerous construction projects, and her strong opposition to Prussian policies. The second-eldest daughter of Tsar Peter the Great (), Elizabeth lived through the confused successions of her father's descendants following her half-brother Alexei's death in 1718. The throne first passed to her mother Catherine I of Russia (), then to her nephew Peter II, who died in 1730 and was succeeded by Elizabeth's first cousin Anna. After the brief rule of Anna's infant great-nephew, Ivan VI, Elizabeth seized the throne with the military's support and declared her own nephew, the future Peter III, her heir. During her reign Elizabeth continued the policies of he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruthelma Stevens
Ruthelma Stevens (1903–1984) was an American film actress.Solomon p.357 Filmography References Bibliography * Solomon, Aubrey. ''The Fox Film Corporation, 1915-1935: A History and Filmography''. McFarland, 2011. External links * 1903 births 1984 deaths American film actresses People from Wichita, Kansas 20th-century American actresses {{US-film-actor-1900s-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joanna Elisabeth Of Holstein-Gottorp
Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp (24 October 1712 – 30 May 1760) was a member of the German House of Holstein-Gottorp, a princess consort of Anhalt-Zerbst by marriage, and the regent of Anhalt-Zerbst from 1747 to 1752 on behalf of her minor son, Frederick Augustus. She is best known as the mother of Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. Early life Joanna Elisabeth was born as the daughter of Christian August, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (1673–1726), Prince of Eutin and Prince-Bishop of Lübeck and his wife, Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach (1682–1755). She was a member of the influential House of (Schleswig-)Holstein-Gottorp, but only from a minor branch. Since her father was not rich, but had a total of eleven children, he sent Joanna to the court of her godmother, Elisabeth Sophie Marie of Schleswig-Holstein-Norburg (1683–1767), who had no children of her own. Joanna was thus brought up in one of the most luxurious courts of Northern Germany, together with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olive Tell
Olive Tell (September 27, 1894 – June 8, 1951) was a stage and screen actress from New York City. Biography Tell was educated in several cities in Europe. She and her younger actress sister Alma graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1915. The sisters began appearing in Broadway theaters around 1918. Olive made her New York debut in the drama ''Husband and Wife''. At first, she preferred acting in theater and detested her work on screen. She first appeared in motion pictures during World War I. Her early screen roles were in silent films, including '' The Silent Master'' (1917), ''The Unforeseen'' (1917), ''Her Sister'' (1917), and ''National Red Cross Pageant'' (1917). Tell appeared with popular film actors of the era such as Donald Gallaher, Karl Dane, Ann Little, Rod La Rocque, Ethel Barrymore and a young Tallulah Bankhead. Her first husband was killed in World War I. Tell married George Willis Kreh in April 1923; he died four months later; she married F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov
Prince Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov (russian: Князь Григорий Григорьевич Орлов; 6 October 1734, Bezhetsky Uyezd – 13 April 1783, Moscow) was a favourite of the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. He became a leader of the 1762 coup which overthrew Catherine's husband Peter III of Russia and installed Catherine as empress. For some years he was virtually co-ruler with her, but his repeated infidelities and the enmity of Catherine's other advisers led to his fall from power. Overthrow of Peter Orlov was the son of Gregory Orlov, governor of Great Novgorod. He had a younger brother Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov who would equally gain military and political prominence in Russia. Grigory Orlov was educated in the corps of cadets at Saint Petersburg, began his military career in the Seven Years' War, and was wounded at Zorndorf. While serving in the capital as an artillery officer, he caught the fancy of the then Grand Duchess Catherine Alekseyevna, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gavin Gordon (actor)
Fred Gavin Gordon (April 7, 1901 – April 6, 1983) was an American film, television, and radio actor. Life and career Born Fred Gavin Gordon in Chicora, Wayne County, Mississippi, he worked as a railway clerk and attended acting school in his spare time. He landed his first part on stage at the age of nineteen. After a film test, Gordon starred as Greta Garbo's leading man in ''Romance'' (1930). With his distinctive voice, Gordon acted in numerous radio dramas He died in Canoga Park, California on the day before his 82nd birthday. He is interred in Magnolia Cemetery, Mobile, Alabama.Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 18040). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition. Partial filmography * ''The Medicine Men'' (1929; short) * '' Chasing Through Europe'' (1929) - Don Merrill * ''His First Command'' (1929) - Lt. Freddie Allen * ''Romance'' (1930) - Tom Armstrong * '' The Silver Horde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian August, Prince Of Anhalt-Zerbst
Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (29 November 1690, in Dornburg – 16 March 1747, in Zerbst) was a German prince of the House of Ascania, and the father of Catherine the Great of Russia. He was a ruler of the Principality of Anhalt-Dornburg. From 1742, he was a ruler of the entire Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst. He was also a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall''. Life Christian August was the third son of John Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Dornburg and Christine Eleonore of Zeutsch (1666–1699). After the death of his father in 1704, Christian August inherited Anhalt-Dornburg jointly with his brothers John Louis II, John Augustus (died 1709), Christian Louis (died 1710) and John Frederick (died 1742). After possibly six months as a captain in the regiment guard in 1708, on 11 February 1709 he joined the Regiment on foot in Anhalt-Zerbst (No. 8) which later changed its name to the Grenadier's Regiment King Frederick William IV of Prussia. It was stationed in Stettin. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexey Razumovsky
Count Alexei Grigorievich Razumovsky (russian: Граф Алексе́й Григо́рьевич Разумо́вский, uk, Граф Олексій Григорович Розумовський; 1709–1771) was a Ukrainian-born Russian Registered Cossack who rose to become the lover, and it was suggested he was the morganatic spouse of the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna of Russia. A member of the House of Razumovsky, he survived Elizabeth. The matter of any children they may have had together is unresolved. Early life Alexei Grigorievich Razumovsky was born as Alexei (or Oleksiy) Rozum on 17 March 1709 (NS: 28 March) on Lemeshi, a farm in the area of Chernigov Regiment, Tsardom of Russia (now Ukraine), to the family of a registered Ukrainian-born Cossack, Gregory Rozum. In his youth he was a shepherd and he was taught to read and write by a rural sexton. Having a fine voice he sang in the choir at the village church. In 1731, Colonel Vyshnevsky, one of empress Anna Ivanov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1812 Overture
''The Year 1812, Solemn Overture'', Op. 49, popularly known as the ''1812 Overture'', is a concert overture in E major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to commemorate the successful Russian defense against Napoleon I's invading Grande Armée in 1812. The overture debuted in Moscow on , conducted by Ippolit Al'tani under a tent near the then-almost-finished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which also memorialised the 1812 defense of Russia.Felsenfeld, Daniel. Tchaikovsky: A Listener's Guide', p. 54. Amadeus Press, 2006. The fifteen-minute overture is best known for its climactic volley of cannon fire, ringing chimes, and a brass fanfare finale. It has also become a common accompaniment to fireworks displays on the United States' Independence Day. The ''1812 Overture'' went on to become one of Tchaikovsky's most popular works, along with his ballet scores to ''The Nutcracker'', '' The Sleeping Beauty'', and '' Swan Lake''. Instrumentation The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intertitle
In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialogue intertitles", and those used to provide related descriptive/narrative material are referred to as "expository intertitles". In modern usage, the terms refer to similar text and logo material inserted at or near the start or end of films and television shows. Silent film era In this era intertitles were mostly called "subtitles" and often had Art Deco motifs. They were a mainstay of silent films once the films became of sufficient length and detail to necessitate dialogue or narration to make sense of the enacted or documented events. ''The British Film Catalogue'' credits the 1898 film ''Our New General Servant'' by Robert W. Paul as the first British film to use intertitles. Film scholar Kamilla Elliott identifies another early use of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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