His Excellency (1928 film)

His Excellency
His Excellency
Directed by	Grigori Roshal
Written by	Serafima Roshal; Vera Stroyeva
Starring	Leonid Leonidov; Maria Sinelnikova; Tamara Adelheim; Nikolay Cherkasov; Mikhail Rostovtsev
Cinematography	Nikolai Kozlovsky
Edited by	Mark Donskoy
Production; company	Belgoskino
Release date	1928;
Running time	60 minutes
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian

His Excellency (Russian: Его превосходительство, romanized: Yego prevoskhoditelstvo) is a 1928 Soviet drama film directed by Grigori Roshal.^[1] It was released in the United States under the name, "Seeds of Freedom."^[2] The film is based on real events. On 5 May 1902, shoemaker-laborer Hirsh Lekert, a member of the Jewish party Bund, attempted to murder the governor of Vilnius, Victor von Wahl.

Plot[]

On the eve of 1 May leaflets turn up in the city with the appeal to support the May Day demonstration of Vilnius workers. Cossacks disperse the May Day workers' march killing some and arresting others. Among the dead and arrested are Jewish laborers. Fearing riots, the Jewish bourgeois elite send their representatives to the governor with the request that he punish only the prisoners, and not the rest of the Jewish population. The governor agrees; he orders those who were arrested to be flogged. Hirsh Lekert, a cobbler, is outraged and proposes killing the governor. Despite advice from revolutionary friends (one intertitle states that "six shots do not make a revolution"), he shoots the governor and kills him. Lekert is arrested and sentenced to death.

Behind the Scenes[]

The film is notable in that star Leonidov played two important roles, Governor Victor von Wahl and the "Old Rabbi." He is both sides of the split face on the poster.

Cast[]

Leonid Leonidov as Governor von Wahl and "Old Rabbi"
Maria Sinelnikova as Miriam, the rabbi's adoptive daughter
as Hirsch Lekkert
Tamara Adelheim as Rivele
Nikolay Cherkasov as the tall clown
Mikhail Rostovtsev as the short clown
as Layser, the rabbi
A. Nenyukov as Pyotr
as Circus Star
as Factory Owner Spiess

References[]

^ James Hoberman (1 March 2000). The Red Atlantis: Communist Culture in the Absence of Communism. Temple University Press. pp. 78–79. ISBN 1566397677.
^ "Seeds of Freedom," Variety, 11 September 1929

External links[]

His Excellency at IMDb

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[ChristieTaylor2005-1] James Hoberman (1 March 2000). The Red Atlantis: Communist Culture in the Absence of Communism. Temple University Press. pp. 78–79. ISBN 1566397677.

[2] "Seeds of Freedom," Variety, 11 September 1929

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