''Catherine the Last'' (German: ''Katharina, die Letzte'') is a 1936 Austrian

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Henry Koster Henry Koster (born Hermann Kosterlitz, May 1, 1905 – September 21, 1988) was a German-born film director. He was the husband of actress Peggy Moran. Early life Koster was born to Jewish parents in Berlin, Germany. He was introduced to ci ...

and starring

Franciska Gaal Franciska Gaal (born Franciska Silberspitz, 1 February 1903 – 13 August 1972) was a Hungarian cabaret artist and film actress of Jewish heritage. Gaal starred in a popular series of European romantic comedies during the 1930s. After attracting ...

Hans Holt Hans Holt (22 November 1909 – 3 August 2001) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1935 and 1990. Selected filmography * '' Hannerl and Her Lovers'' (1936) * ''Catherine the Last'' (1936) * '' Florentine' ...

and

Hans Olden Hans Olden (1892–1975) was an Austrian stage and film actor. Olden appeared in more than eighty films during his career, mostly in Austria but occasionally also in Germany. He was a supporter of the Austrian Nazi Party, his interest in Nazism p ...

.Bock & Bergfelder p.257 It was made by the Austrian

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Erwin Scharf. After making the film Koster moved to Hollywood. In 1938 the film was remade in America as ''

The Girl Downstairs ''The Girl Downstairs'' is a 1938 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Franciska Gaal, Franchot Tone and Walter Connolly. It is a remake of the 1936 Austrian film ''Catherine the Last'' directed by Henry Koster, whi ...

'' with Gaal reprising her role.

Synopsis

After Hans is frustrated in his attempts to see his girlfriend Sybill by her overprotective

business tycoon A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

father, he attempts to gain entry into the house by romancing the family's kitchen maid. While at first he simply uses her as a ruse, he eventually falls in love with her instead.

Cast

as Katharina, Kitchen maid *

as Hans von Gerstikow *

as Eduard, Hans' friend *

Otto Wallburg Otto Wallburg (21 February 1889 – 29 October 1944) was a German actor and Kabarett performer. He was a prolific film actor during the late silent and early sound era. Wallburg was born Otto Maximilian Wasserzug in Berlin, the son of a Jewis ...

as Sixtus Braun, Big industrialist * Dorothy Poole as Sybill Braun *

Eduard Linkers Eduard Linkers (11 October 1912 – 3 April 2004) was an Austrian actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1936 and 1988. Life He was born as Eduard Linker to a family of Jewish descent in Czernowitz, Austria-Hungary. He studied act ...

as Steinschneider, Braun's secretary *

Ernő Verebes Ernő Verebes (born Ernst Weiss, December 6, 1902 – June 13, 1971) was a Hungarian-American actor who began his career in Hungarian silent films in 1915. During his film career he worked and lived in Hungary, Germany and in the United States. ...

as Tobby, Hans' servant *

Adrienne Gessner Adrienne Gessner (23 July 1896 – 23 June 1987) was an Austrian actress. Gessner appeared in over fifty film and television shows during her career, including the 1955 costume film '. Gessner appeared in a mixture of German and Austrian films dur ...

as Berta, cook *

Fritz Imhoff Fritz Imhoff, real name: Friedrich Arnold Heinrich Jeschke (January 6, 1891, Alsergrund February 24, 1961, Wieden) was an Austrian actor. He was a brother of the Wienerlied composer (18901962). Selected filmography * '' Daughter of the Regi ...

as Bubs, car salesman * Adolf E. Licho as Excellency * Georg Schmieter as Fireman *

Sigurd Lohde Sigurd Lohde (1899–1977) was a German film and television actor.Youngkin p.457 Selected filmography * ''The Daredevil'' (1931) * ''The Leap into the Void'' (1932) * '' Mrs. Lehmann's Daughters'' (1932) * '' Tannenberg'' (1932) * '' The Big Bluf ...

as Police inspector *

Comedian Harmonists The Comedian Harmonists were an internationally famous, all-male German close harmony ensemble that performed between 1928 and 1934 as one of the most successful musical groups in Europe before World War II. The group consisted of Harry Fromm ...

as Themselves * Paul Morgan as Stephan, waiter

References

Bibliography

* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

* 1936 films Austrian romantic comedy films Austrian black-and-white films 1936 romantic comedy films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Henry Koster Films produced by Joe Pasternak Films scored by Hans J. Salter {{1930s-romantic-comedy-film-stub