In the middle of the 19th century, Tsar Alexander II made the acquaintance of a young aristocratic girl from the provinces, unruly in character. He falls in love with her and tries to see her again.
Acting
Darrieux balances impulsiveness and steel—absolutely magnetic.
Direction
Tourneur's final French film, quietly devastating.
Costume
Crinolines so opulent they practically suffocate.
Director
Maurice Tourneur
Danielle Darrieux
Catherine Dolgorousky, aka 'Katia'
John Loder
Tsar Alexandre II of Russia
Aimé Clariond
Count Schowaloff
Marie-Hélène Dasté
Tsarina Maria Alexandrovna
Jeanne Provost
Mademoiselle Trépeau
Marcel Carpentier
General Potapoff
Thérèse Dorny
Baroness
Marcelle Praince
Grand Duchess
Raymond Aimos
Anatole, Parisian worker
Georges Prieur
Chamberlain
Jacques Erwin
Troubetzkoï
André Carnège
Grand Duke
Pierre Labry
Police sergeant
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Tourneur fled France for Hollywood shortly after; this was his bittersweet farewell to European cinema.
Released as Europe braced for war, the film's doomed aristocracy feels eerily prophetic.
FR
