Directed by Paul Czinner
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Criterion Eclipse)
A diminutive German princess (Elisabeth Bergner) marries a tempestuous Russian prince (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.). She is in love with him but his paranoia refuses to let him return it. Years pass and they grow further apart, eventually each plotting to overthrow the other. It plays out more like a spat between unhappy lovers than a power struggle for the throne of Russia. Any pretense of historical drama is more an accident of the palace setting and lavish costumes than the plot. Bergner's thick German accent may be appropriate for her character, but it can be difficult to understand her at times. Fairbanks' outbursts are hilariously juvenile, but perhaps they too are fitting of his character.
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