A Royal Scandal (1945)
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40% of critics liked it
(5 reviews) -
30% of users liked it
(74 ratings)
Ernst Lubitsch was the original director for A Royal Scandal, but illness forced him to bow out; his replacement was Otto Preminger, who did his utmost to retain the "Lubitsch touch." Based on a play by Lajos Biro and Melchior Lengyel, the film dwells upon a fictional incident in the life… More Ernst Lubitsch was the original director for A Royal Scandal, but illness forced him to bow out; his replacement was Otto Preminger, who did his utmost to retain the "Lubitsch touch." Based on a play by Lajos Biro and Melchior Lengyel, the film dwells upon a fictional incident in the life of Russia's Catherine the Great, here played with blue-blooded bawdiness by Tallulah Bankhead. Catherine falls in love with a handsome young army officer (William Eythe), who turns out to be an insurrectionist planning her downfall. At the last moment, Catherine relents, allowing the officer to escape with his true love, lady-in-waiting Anne Baxter. A bit too cute for its own good, Royal Scandal has some choice moments: Most notable are Tallulah Bankhead's pained reaction upon being hailed as "The Mother of All Russias," and supporting actor Grady Sutton's southern-accented reference to the "U-ral Mountains". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Otto Preminger, Ernst Lubitsch
- Written By
- Lajos Biró, Bruno Frank, Melchior Lengyel
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1945 Wide
Critic Reviews
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, Time Out
There are hints of what might have been in the performances of Coburn and Price.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
A Royal Scandal, for all Miss Bankhead's presence, is an oddly dull and generally witless show.
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Variety Staff, Variety
A Royal Scandal is a highly hilarious comedy with superb performances by Tallulah Bankhead and Charles Coburn.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A few laughs, but Bankhead chews up the scenery and the pacing is off a beat.
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, Film4
Not a bad way to spend an hour and a half, but a strange anti-climax for Preminger after the brilliance of Laura, and a sad mark of Lubitsch's declining powers.
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Cast
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Tallulah Bankhead
as Catherine II the Great
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Charles Coburn
as Chancellor Nicolai Ilyitch
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Anne Baxter
as Countess Anna Jaschikoff
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William Eythe
as Lt. Alexei Chernoff
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Vincent Price
as Marquis de Fleury
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Mischa Auer
as Capt. Sukov
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Sig Rumann
as Gen. Ronsky
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Vladimir Sokoloff
as Malakoff
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Mikhail Rasumny
as Drunken General
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Grady Sutton
as Boris
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Donald Douglas
as Variatinsky
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Egon Brecher
as Wassilikow
- Paul Baratoff
- Renee Carson
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Harry Carter
as Footman
- Feodor Chaliapin Jr.
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Arno Frey
as Captain
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Eva Gabor
as Countess Demidow
- Wilton Graff
- Friedrich von Ledebur
- Torben Meyer
- Fred Nurney
- Dick Ryan
- Leonid Snegoff
- Henry Victor
- Michael Visaroff
- Marek Windheim
- Sam Savitsky
- Dina Smirnova
- Eugene Beday
- Nestor Eristoff
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Ann Hunter
as Ladies in Waiting
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Eugene Sigaloff
as Russian General
- Vernon Walker
