Catherine the Last

Katharina is a simple kitchen maid whose innocence and earnestness catches the eye of a wealthy, habitual womanizer. She believes his attentions are sincere while he treats flirtation as sport, and a string of misunderstandings and social frictions follows. House staff, rivals, and would be suitors complicate everyday routines, producing awkward comic scenes and small tests of character. Katharina's steady kindness and surprising resourcefulness unsettle class expectations, and the film keeps a light mood as relationships shift and opinions change, without revealing how things finally resolve. It centers on character growth more than spectacle.

Released in 1936 and directed by Henry Koster, the film credits Felix Jackson, Károly Nóti, and Sándor Hunyady among its creators. Franziska Gaal stars as Katharina, supported by Hans Holt, Hans Olden, Otto Wallburg, and Ernö Verebes in notable supporting roles, in Central Europe.

Reliable box office records for the picture are scarce. It was produced before the modern international market and did not register as a major worldwide hit. The movie saw most of its circulation in German speaking territories and neighboring markets.

Though not a global landmark, the film reflects 1930s European light comedy, showing class tensions and romantic games through a female lead who outpaces expectations. Performances by Gaal and the supporting cast kept the picture in memory for audiences familiar with prewar Central European studio output, and period popular culture.

Critics and later viewers tend to call it a pleasant romantic comedy, praising Gaal's warmth and timing while noting the plot's lightweight nature. Themes center on social status, sincerity versus flirtation, and how simple goodness can alter perceptions, all handled with a gentle comic rhythm rather than heavy drama today.