Konstantin EGGERT
Константин ЭГГЕРТ
Konstantin EGGERT
Vladimir GARDIN
Владимир ГАРДИН
Vladimir GARDINE
USSR, 1925, 77mn 
silent, fiction
Medvezhya svadba
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Медвежья свадьба

 

 Les Noces de l'ours

 Medvezhya svadba

 
Directed by : Konstantin EGGERT (Константин ЭГГЕРТ), Vladimir GARDIN (Владимир ГАРДИН)
Writing credits : Georgi GREBNER (Георгий ГРЕБНЕР), Anatoli LUNACHARSKY (Анатолий ЛУНАЧАРСКИЙ)
 
Cast
Konstantin EGGERT (Константин ЭГГЕРТ) ...le comte Kasimir Szemet et son fils le comte Mihai
Vera MALINOVSKAIA (Вера МАЛИНОВСКАЯ) ...Yulka
Natalia ROZENEL (Наталья РОЗЕНЕЛЬ) ...Mariya Ivinskaya
Aleksandra KARTSEVA (Александра КАРЦЕВА) ...Adelina Shemet
Varvara ALEKHINA (Варвара АЛЕХИНА) ...Adelina aged
Vladimir VLADISLAVSKY (Владимир ВЛАДИСЛАВСКИЙ) ...the general
 
Cinematography : Pyotr ERMOLOV (Пётр ЕРМОЛОВ), Eduard TISSE (Эдуард ТИССЭ)
Production design : Vladimir YEGOROV (Владимир ЕГОРОВ)
Other persons :
Assistant réalisateur : Youli RAIZMAN
Acteurs:
Youri ZAVADSKI ... Olgerd Keistut, cousin d’Adelina
Alexandre HEIROT ... le pasteur Wittenbach
Boris AFONINE ... le docteur Jan Bredis
N. SSTAHL ... Vija, la vieille tsigane
E. VOLKONSKAÏA ... la tante Augusta
Production : Mejrabpom-Rouss
Release date in Russia : 26/01/1926
 
Site : IMDb

Plot synopsis
In Lithuania, in the middle of the 19th century. In the heart of the forest hide the ruins of a formidable fortress where once a terrible drama was played out. During a hunt, the young Countess Adelina Szemet flirts with her cousin Olgerd, much to the chagrin of her husband Count Kasimir Szemet. An altercation ensues and then she is attacked by a bear and goes mad. Shortly after, she gives birth to a son. The husband does not know who is the father… This is the prologue.
Thirty-five years later, the son Mihail returns to the country and strange things happen. The young count seems possessed as soon as the storm blows and a mysterious half-beast half-man creature, called Lokis, attacks the young peasant girls. Pastor Wittenbach arrives and settles in the Szemet castle, whose library is rich in old works necessary for his research. He is confronted with the old Countess Adelina and her hallucinations. He is also the witness of a dramatic situation. Jan Bredis, doctor of the Szemet family, conjures Count Mihail to renounce the marriage with the young and pretty neighbor Julia because a terrible curse hangs over him. The Count consents but accepts Julia's invitation on the occasion of Aunt Augusta's birthday. Bredis warns his sister Maria that the marriage should be annulled. Exalted in spirit, Maria believes that love heals everything. Decided to break up, Mihail is nevertheless convinced by Julia to celebrate this marriage. Very great rejoicings then take place; the peasants, summoned by force, have a field day with dancing and feasting. But in the early morning, we discover the body of Julia, with her throat slit. Mihail fled. A manhunt is organized around. Hunted, Mihail takes refuge in his castle. He is shot by Maria. Meanwhile, Adelina has deceived the vigilance of her guardians and accidentally set fire to the castle. Thus ends the cursed line of Szemet.
The story plagiarizes the short story Lokis (1869) by Prosper Mérimée.
 

Commentaries and bibliography
Как Илья Ильф рецензировал фильм Медвежья свадьба – халтуру Луначарского, Гребнера и Эггерта [Critique du film Les Noces de l'ours, 1925, de Konstantin Eggert, par l'écrivain Ilya Ilf], Ilya ILF, Klasson, Ilya Ilf, klasson.livejournal.com, 2021
 

Selected in the following festivals or events :
- The Golden Age of Soviet Cinema : 1924-1930, kinoglaz.fr (France), 2023

Photos and videos