Rasputin and the Empress

1913, the Russian Empire under the rule of Tsar Nicholas II. The heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei, is ill with hemophilia , and slight bleeding threatens him with death. The doctor of the imperial family, Dr. Remezov, is powerless to stop the bleeding in the boy. Princess Natasha, maid of honor of Empress Alexandra and bride of Prince Pavel Chegodaev, advises to invite the healer Grigory Rasputin. He convinces the empress that he was sent by God to cure the child. He manages to cure the prince.

With the influence that Rasputin gains over his grateful parents, he begins to replace the imperial family retinue with his people, and the head of the secret police helps him in pursuing his goals. Prince Pavel Chegodaev fears that the actions of Rasputin will lead to the death of the Empire. However, even Natasha believes in Rasputin and warns him that Paul intends to kill him. Prince Chegodaev’s attempt to shoot Rasputin fails: he took precautions by putting on a hidden metal breastplate. Emperor Nicholas II makes Paul resign when he admits that he tried to kill Rasputin.

Convinced of invulnerability and gaining power, Rasputin begins to show signs of attention to Grand Duchess Maria, daughter of Nicholas II. Upon learning of this, Natasha becomes furious and shouts that she will tell the Empress about this. Rasputin leads her into a deep trance, but at that moment the Empress accidentally enters, and Natasha tells her everything. Rasputin declares that he can do what he wants - since now he is the actual king. In desperation, the empress turns to Prince Chegodaev for help.

At a big reception where Rasputin is an honored guest, he recognizes in the servant who served him his favorite traditional Tobolsk pastries, a man working for Chegodaev. Suspecting something was amiss, Rasputin ordered Prince Chegodaev to be delivered to him, and he himself took him to the basement at gunpoint. When they are alone, Prince Chegodaev taunts Rasputin, telling him that the cakes were poisoned by poison and engages in a battle with Rasputin, defeating the enemy weakening from the poison. However, Rasputin refuses to die. Covered in blood, he rises and goes to Prince Chegodaev with a cry that if he perishes, Russia will perish. Prince Chegodaev pulls out the weakened Rasputin into the street, drags him through the snow and throws him into the river, where Rasputin is drowning.

• Ethel Barrymore - Empress Alexandra
• Lionel Barrymore - Grigory Rasputin
• John Barrymore - Prince Pavel Chegodaev (prototype - Prince Felix Yusupov )
• Diana Winyard - Princess Natasha (prototype - Princess Irina Alexandrova Romanova-Yusupova )
• Ralph Morgan - Emperor Nicholas II
• Gene Parker - Princess Mary
• Tad Alexander - Tsarevich Alexey
• Shirley Ann - Princess Anastasia
• Sea Henry Gordon - Grand Duke Igor
• Edward Arnold - Dr. Remezov
• Henry Kolker - Chief of the Secret Police

Also starred in the film: Misha Auer , Mary Alden , Sarah Padden , Marta Sleeper , Gustav von Seifertitz , Leo White , Charlotte Henry and others.

The prototype of Princess Natasha was originally in the script Princess Irina Alexandrova Romanova-Yusupova , and the prototype of Pavel Chegodaev was Felix Yusupov , and they were bred under their own names; screenwriter Charles MacArthur during the filming replaced real names with fictitious ones.

But the change of character names, of course, could not hide the prototypes - that even the New York Times wrote about the recognizability of Prince Yusupov in Chegodaev in the review on the day of the film’s premiere.

Prince Yusupov really was related to the murder of Rasputin, and did not mind this detail in the film. But he objected to the image in the film of his wife - that she was allegedly raped by Rasputin and became his mistress.

In 1933, a lawsuit was filed in a London court against the Metro-Golden-Mayer film company about the dissemination of untrue defamatory information and slander .

The witness from the princess was, in particular, Major General John Henry Hanbury-Williams , who served at the Tsar’s Headquarters in Mogilev during the First World War, often visited Petrograd and knew the royal couple well.

Having watched the film twice, the jury agreed that the film defamed the princess.

The film company apologized to the princess and publicly stated that Princess Natasha in the film was a completely fictional character and had nothing to do with Princess Irina Yusupova.

The court awarded the plaintiff moral compensation of 25 thousand British pounds (which corresponds to about 500 thousand dollars for modern money), and banned the further distribution of the film, but the Metro-Golden-Mayer film studio paid Yusupov an additional 75 thousand British pounds of compensation for permission to rent the movie. In the United States, the issue was resolved during an out-of-court settlement. The total amount of compensation received by the Yusupov spouses in modern terms amounted to about 3 million US dollars. ^[one]

The scenes that were insulting to the plaintiffs, lasting about 10 minutes, were cut out (even the modern versions of the film contain only part of the deleted scenes), which made the plot of the film somewhat incomprehensible to the viewer who did not know about the cut scenes: in the first half of the film, Princess Natasha is a supporter of Rasputin, and in the second half, she is extremely afraid of him, seemingly for no reason.

The result of this lawsuit was the practice of including disclaimers in the titles of Hollywood films - the phrases “ All names and events in the work are fictitious, any coincidence with real people and events is pure coincidence ”.

In 1963, trying to repeat the success of the lawsuit, the Yusupov couple for similar reasons filed a lawsuit in the amount of $ 1.5 million against the British film company CBS , seeing in the characters of the film " Rasputin: Mad Monk " slandering himself, however, no decision was made on this case.

In 1989, English lawyer David Napley published the book Rasputin in Hollywood, which described in detail the progress of the lawsuit against the Yusupov lawsuit against Metro Golden Mayer .

The film was originally directed by Charles Brebin , but he didn’t work with actress Ethel Barrymore : she believed that playing the queen as he points out is impossible, while arguing: “ I knew Her Majesty personally .”

Richard Boleslavsky , a Russian actor, one of the founders of the Moscow Art Theater, who remained on tour in the United States in 1922 and made a career as a Hollywood director, was appointed director.

The assistant to the production designer was Alexander Toluboff, who was born and lived in Russia, who knew the architecture of St. Petersburg well .

The film was shot at a film studio in Culver City and took 17 weeks, of which five weeks under the direction of director Charles Brebin, however, although some of the scenes he shot were included in the final version of the film, his name is not indicated in the credits.

Before being appointed director of Richard Boleslavsky, the script was written daily - at least twelve people worked on it before the text fell into the hands of Charles MacArthur.

The film included shots of Russian military parades from the archive of documentary shootings of James Stuart Blackton .

The premiere of the film took place on December 23, 1932 in New York , in the United States cinemas the film went on March 24, 1933. The film was also shown in Finland, Denmark, Portugal, Great Britain, Germany, Austria and Greece.

The film was a small box office success: with a budget of $ 1 million, it raised $ 1 million 379 thousand, however, due to legal costs amounting to about $ 1 million, it caused a loss to the film studio.

The box office was also influenced by the fact that the film was released during the Great Depression - the audience was little interested in the history of the rich privileged ruling royal family. In her memoirs, Eitel Barrymore recalled the premiere of the film in New York:

I remember the premiere of the film - it was the first premiere I have ever seen. It was in the middle of the depression and was very different from what I heard or read about it - that is when the audience applauds the guests arriving. Spectators on the sidewalks were silent and gloomy, while guests dressed in furs and jewelry drove up in large cars. It was very embarrassing to feel.

Original text

I remember going to the “premiere” of a picture, the first one I had ever seen. This one in the middle of the depression was very different from those that I had heard and read about when the bystanders applauded the people who drive by them in big cars. This time there was no applause. The onlookers on the sidewalks were silent and sullen as people wearing furs and jewels rode by them in the big cars. It was a very uncomfortable experience ..

- Ethel Barrymore

The film is the first in the career of Diane Winyard (Natasha).

The film is the first sound film of actress Ethel Barrymore and the very first known recording of her voice.

This is the only film in which all three Barrymore appear together - Ethel , Lionel and John .

In the 1933 Mickey's Gala Premier cartoon, which makes fun of Hollywood stars, all three Barrymore appear in costumes from the movie Rasputin and the Empress.

It was noticed that the uniform of the soldiers in the 1939 film “ The Wizard of Oz ” coincides with the winter uniform of Tsarevich Alexei in the film “Rasputin and the Empress”, which is not surprising - the production designer Cederic Gibbons and the costume designer Adrian worked on both paintings.

Ethel , John and Lionel Barrymore act as the main performers in an exciting and fascinating pictorial melodrama called "Rasputin and the Empress." Although Lionel Barrymore plays the most important role, John, as Prince Chegodaev, and Miss Barrymore, as empress, give equally excellent performance in their roles. Lionel Barrymore does not leave a single stone upside down, giving a vivid image of the disgusting old man. But he never replayes.

Original text

Ethel, John and Lionel Barrymore serve as the principal players in an engrossing and exciting pictorial melodrama titled "Rasputin and the Empress. [...] Although Lionel Barrymore has the most important role, both John as Prince Chegodieff and Miss Barrymore as the Czarina give equally fine performances in their respective roles. [..] Lionel Barrymore leaves no stone unturned to give a vivid idea of ​​the repellent monk. Yet he never overacts.

- New York Times , December 24, 1932 ^[2]

• Ethel, Lionel and John Barrymore in a Pictorial Melodrama Called "Rasputin and the Empress." // New York Times , December 24, 1932
• Frank Miller - Rasputin and the Empress // Turner Classic Movies

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