A ROYAL SCANDAL/Czarina (1946)

Straight away I have to admit that if I have a blindspot amongst the acknowledged great directors, it is Ernst Lubitsch. People rave about "the Lubitsch touch" but his films just waft over me leaving no real impression. I couldn't really tell you why and I'm quite happy to admit that the fault probably lies completely with me. A ROYAL SCANDAL was a Lubitsch project but illness prevented him from working more than a few days as director. He was replaced by his fellow countryman, Otto Preminger, who finished the film according to Lubitsch's plan and signed it. My main reason for seeking the film out was that it contains a performance by Vincent Price which I've never seen. Price plays the French Ambassador to the Court of Catherine the Great (Tallulah Bankhead, far removed from Dietrich's take on Catherine in THE SCARLET EMPRESS). Price has two scenes, one at the beginning and one at the end, and is good in both.The film is ostensibly a comedy but it raised n'er a smile on my face. Rating *