Great Catherine is a 1968 British comedy film directed by Gordon Flemyng, based on a 1913 one act play by George Bernard Shaw, and starring Peter O'Toole, Zero Mostel, Jeanne Moreau and Jack Hawkins.[1] Like the play, it is loosely based on the story of Sir Charles Hanbury Williams and his time spent as an envoy at the Russian court.
| Great Catherine | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Belgian theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Gordon Flemyng |
| Written by | Hugh Leonard |
| Based on | Great Catherine by George Bernard Shaw |
| Produced by | Jules Buck |
| Starring | Peter O'Toole Zero Mostel Jeanne Moreau Jack Hawkins Akim Tamiroff |
| Cinematography | Oswald Morris |
| Edited by | Anne V. Coates |
| Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
Production company | Keep Films |
| Distributed by | Warner-Pathé Distributors |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
It was shot at Shepperton Studios near London with sets designed by the art directors John Bryan and William Hutchinson. The score was composed by Dimitri Tiomkin.
Synopsis
editA British officer, Captain Charles Edstaston, is sent to the Russian court of Catherine the Great as an envoy, where he has to contend with the crafty machinations of her chief minister Potemkin.
Cast
edit- Peter O'Toole as Charles Edstaston
- Jeanne Moreau as Catherine the Great
- Zero Mostel as Potemkin
- Jack Hawkins as British Ambassador
- Akim Tamiroff as Sergeant
- Marie Lohr as Dowager Lady Gorse
- Kate O'Mara as Varinka
- Angela Scoular as Claire
- Oliver MacGreevy as General Pyskov
- James Mellor as Colonel Pugachov
- Lea Seidl as Grand Duchess
- Claire Gordon as Elizabeth Vokonska
- Declan Mulholland as Count Tokhtamysh
- Janet Kelly as Anna Schuvalova
- Henry Woolf as Egrebyomka
Critical reception
editTV Guide wrote, "They waited 55 years to make it (Shaw's play) into a film and would have been well advised to wait another 55 years. What a mishmash!...Mostel, unless held in check, always overacts, and this is a prime example of a stage actor, accustomed to having to play "big" for the people in the last row, overdoing things for the close-up camera";[2] whereas The New York Times wrote, "GREAT CATHERINE has a great clown named Zero Mostel...the glorious hamming of the portly American makes the picture...Surely Mr. Mostel's antics would have won the playwright's approval...The story, Braced immeasurably by the Shavian lines, as arranged by the scenarist, Hugh Leonard, and stylishly piloted by the director, Gordon Flemyng, the picture is also beautiful in its lavish décor, costumes and color photography."[3]
References
edit- ^ "Great Catherine". BFI. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012.
- ^ "Great Catherine". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
- ^ "Movie Reviews". The New York Times. 29 December 2021.
External links
edit
 | This article related to a British comedy film of the 1960s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article related to historical films is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |