Catherine Of Russia (1963)

Married to Peter III (Raoul Grassilli), the heir to the throne of Russia, the Grand Duchess Catherine (Hildegard Knef) is under the thumb of her idiot husband. But as he descends further and further into madness, she begins to realize she has to take matters into her own hands for the sake of Russia. Directed by Umberto Lenzi (FROM HELL TO VICTORY). Lenzi is best known for his gialli output (SEVEN BLOODSTAINED ORCHIDS) and erotic thrillers (ORGASMO) from the 1970s. This opulent highly fictionalized pseudo epic looks quite elegant but it takes some sort of special "talent" to make a dull movie about Catherine The Great. Many actresses have taken a stab at the part with various degrees of success including Helen Mirren, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Jeanne Moreau, Catherine Zeta Jones, Tallulah Bankhead and most recently Elle Fanning. Here, I found Hildegard Knef impressive enough but she's adrift in a cliche ridden screenplay and overwhelmed by the spectacle. With Sergio Fantoni and Giacomo Rossi Stuart.