This lavish historical epic tells the (largely fictitious) story of the clever German Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst (Elisabeth Bergner) who outwits the hostile Russian court and marries Grand Duke Peter (Douglas Fairbanks Jr), eventually claiming the throne as Catharina I, Tsarina of Russia.

The film, directed by Viennese director Paul Czinner and starring his wife Elisabeth Bergner, was the first they made in British exile. When it opened in Germany in March 1934, the Nazi press viciously attacked their Jewish backgrounds which led to the film being banned from German cinemas. The screening at the ACF will be introduced by Brigitte Mayr & Michael Omasta (Synema) who have written numerous books on the subject of Austrian film in exile.