to say that Variatinsky was lying, but the czarina candidly confirms his claims, describes Chernoff as a "nobody" whom she "made" prominent, and accidentally discloses that she has been discarding Chernoff's policy plans without reading them. Chernoff returns to Ronsky and pledges his support. Later that night, he dismisses the palace guard and arrests the czarina. Troops storm the palace, but they are loyal to Catherine; Chancellor Nicolai has leveraged his illicit control of Russia's finances for the allegiance of the rebels and then immediately betrayed them. The uprising is quelled. Ronsky is made Chancellor Nicolai's servant, but a betrayed Catherine sentences Chernoff to death, a condemnation that he accepts as a traitor. Lobbying by Chancellor Nicolai and Countess Jaschikoff (who has returned from exile) convinces the czarina to pardon Chernoff. Finally, Catherine and the French ambassador conduct their long-delayed meeting. The diplomat, himself a young and handsome nobleman, greets Catherine with such obsequious flattery that the Czarina takes a romantic interest in him, and the film ends with Chancellor Nicolai leaving the two to flirt in privacy, confident that a relationship between the two will lead to the alliance for which he has long schemed. Cast Tallulah Bankhead as Catherine the Great Charles Coburn as Chancellor Nicolai Ilyitch Anne Baxter as Countess Anna Jaschikoff William Eythe as Lieutenant/Captain/Major/Colonel/General/Private Alexei Chernoff Vincent Price as Marquis de Fleury, Ambassador-Plenipotentiary of France, Vicomte de Bayeux, Comte de Bayon Valez, Baron de Villau, and Keeper of the Seals Mischa Auer as Captain Sukov Sig Ruman as General Michael Nicolai Vladimirovich Ronsky Vladimir Sokoloff as Malakoff Mikhail Rasumny as Drunken General Donald Douglas as Variatinsky Grady Sutton as Boris Nikitin Michael Visaroff as Russian General (uncredited) Production Ernst Lubitsch, who directed the silent film Forbidden Paradise upon which A Royal Scandal is based, was the first director hired, but when he fell ill, he was replaced by Otto Preminger. However, Lubitsch directed the rehearsals, and he worked with Edwin Justus Mayer in the scripting process. Reception In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther called the film "an oddly dull and generally witless show" and wrote: Notes External links 1945 films 1940s historical films 20th Century Fox films American historical films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films about Catherine the Great American films based on plays Films directed by Ernst Lubitsch Films directed by Otto