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The Scarlet Empress

 The Scarlet Empress
type
 TVTItem
 The Scarlet Empress
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 The Scarlet Empress
 The Scarlet Empress
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 TheScarletEmpress
 The Scarlet Empress
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 Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })The Scarlet Empress is a 1934 film directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Marlene Dietrich.It's a Very Loosely Based on a True Story biopic of Catherine the Great of Russia. Dietrich plays a German princess, Sophia, who is sent to Russia to marry Grand Duke Peter, heir to the throne. Unfortunately, it turns out that Peter is a goggle-eyed, grinning lunatic, far more interested in playing with toy soldiers and peeping into the bedroom of his aunt, the Empress Elizabeth. Elizabeth for her part is desperate for a male heir to succeed her drooling idiot of a nephew, and has brought Sophia—who takes the more Russian name "Catherine" upon her marriage—to Russia to pop out a baby to maintain the dynasty. Catherine lusts for the handsome Count Alexei, and he for her, but unfortunately for them both Alexei is still sexually servicing Elizabeth. A neglected Catherine has her own sexual awakening, bearing a son that almost certainly isn't Peter's. When Elizabeth finally dies and her idiot nephew becomes idiot Tsar Peter III, Catherine acts to save herself.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })This film was completed right under the wire as The Pre-Code Era gave way to The Hays Code. It shows in the narrative, as the film is filled with sexual imagery and themes.
 The Scarlet Empress
fetched
 2021-12-21T08:24:25Z
 The Scarlet Empress
parsed
 2021-12-21T08:24:25Z
 The Scarlet Empress
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 DBTropes
 The Scarlet Empress / int_1ce1cfd8
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 all lowercase letters
 The Scarlet Empress / int_1ce1cfd8
comment
 all lowercase letters: The entire opening credits, including the title. This was a very innovative thing to do for film credits in the 1930s.
 The Scarlet Empress / int_1ce1cfd8
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 1.0
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 The Scarlet Empress / int_1ce1cfd8
 The Scarlet Empress / int_56515a39
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 Artistic License – History
 The Scarlet Empress / int_56515a39
comment
 Artistic License – History: Lots. "Count Alexei" could be a reference to Elizabeth's long-time lover and probably secret husband count Alexei Razumovski - who in real life was much older than Catherine and had no special relations with her (otherwise she probably would have told us so in her memoirs, which are otherwise pretty honest). She did admit to having three lovers during her husband's lifetime: her first love Sergei Saltykov (who may have been Paul's father, though in reality the situation wasn't as clean-cut and it's possible Peter really did sire him), Polish nobleman Stanislaw Poniatowski (whom she later made the puppet king of Poland) and Orlov, who made it into the movie.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_3'); })
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 ItemName
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 The Scarlet Empress / int_name
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 1.0
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 The Scarlet Empress

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Scarlet Empress
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 all lowercase letters / int_7a86c5d8
 The Scarlet Empress
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 Insignia Rip-Off Ritual / int_7a86c5d8
 The Scarlet Empress
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 Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe / int_7a86c5d8
 The Scarlet Empress
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 The Caligula / int_7a86c5d8